GMB Ambulance Voice newsletter 8 August 2018
8 August 2018

Paramedic Dispute

 

We were invited to a meeting with the interim CEO and the chair of the Trust.

 

The invite followed our request for a meeting early last week and the intervention of the deputy director of opps on Friday suggesting they were looking to resolve the dispute.

 

At the meeting it was clear that the Trust see the only resolution to be via the new JEG Evaluation they have agreed with the other two unions. They did express concerns that our members were losing money that would be better spent buying their children ice cream but were not willing to move on our request for an independent investigation or evaluation.

 

They did, however, say they would discuss the issues between themselves and respond accordingly.

Today we have received that response which is that if we agree to the process being completed under the current terms of reference, they will be willing to commission ACAS to review what went wrong between 2004- 2018 so it doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future.

 

That will not happen because we are the only group of NHS staff not to have been afforded the opportunity of having our role reviewed under the JE scheme. No one else has waited nor will wait this length of time for that to happen.

 

It is clear that they are hoping our members will become increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement from senior managers and the deductions from salary.

 

They obviously underestimate our members who may have become frustrated but this is purely due to the lack of a proper and fair evaluation of their role, as it was in 2004.

They will not now settle for less, they will demand that the wrong is righted and those responsible for that wrong to be brought to task.

 

This is why they are taking the current action and will continue to do so until they get the justice they deserve.

It really isn’t about being able to afford ice cream for the kids. It’s about being paid what you are worth.

 

It’s about not being discriminated against because you haven’t been to university.

It’s about the founding principles of the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme which is; equal pay for work of equal value.

 

But mostly it’s about just how much this Trust values their paramedic staff.

The planned action for this weekend will be going ahead with strike action starting at 0600 on Saturday 11th August through to 0800 on Sunday 12th August 2018.

 

GMB paramedics are also not covering external events at all, if you are asked to cover such events as a duty and are involved in this action you can refuse.

 

We are aware of staff being taken off normal duties to cover these events but this goes against normal working arrangements and the C&M team agreement.

 

New Rota Proposals

Work is still ongoing on what they want to do with the Rota’s. They have made it clear that they would like to review all current shift patterns to match demand.

 

While we understand the requirements to meet the demand we are also aware of how such changes can affect our members work life balance. Which is why we would be loath to agree changes without proper consultation.

 

Management have now agreed that this consultation will take place via the normal routes but have told us work is still ongoing and they should be in a position to report back at the end of the month.

 

They appear to be changing some Rota’s without agreement in the guise of RRV review. They can do this either by individual agreement with the staff concerned, collective agreement with the unions or by giving the statutory notice period. In circumstances were none of the above has happened these changes will need to be challenged.

 

Please contact your local GMB rep for assistance.

 

Apprenticeship Pay

 

The pay for EMT 1 apprentices is set at a percentage of Band 4 for the 13 months training period. After this they go onto band 4 proper, however, the group who should have qualified recently has had their money held back due to paperwork not being completed.

 

We wrote to the trust to ask why and challenge the decision some weeks ago and still await a written response.

 

However, we have been made aware that the head of training is looking at the issue and will come back to us this week. We await the answer and will let you know as soon as we get it.

 

Branch Meeting

 

Given the ongoing issues both locally and on a national basis two branch meetings have been arranged for the following times and date. We have done this to give as many members the opportunity to attend.

 

Tuesday 21st August 2018 Time either;
1700 – 1830
1930 – 2100
Buckley Hill Ambulance Station Buckley Hill Lane,
Netherton,
Liverpool,
L29 1YB.

 

  1. Paramedic Dispute (plan for escalating action)
  2. NHS pay proposals (GMB next steps)
  3. Any other urgent business previously notified to the branch chair

 

As there are some very important issues to discuss please make every effort to attend.

 

GMB North West & Irish Region