Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Crunch talks on strike imminent
STRIKING NHS Tayside pharmacy workers are “hopeful” a resolution can be found as they prepare to enter the 11t h wee k of t he i r walkout.
The workers have been on strike since August 19 in a dispute over pay grades.
A job evaluation panel is due to meet tomorrow, followed by a consistency panel on Tuesday, to review the workers’ banding grade.
Unite the Union rep Steven Smith said: “We are going into our 11th week of striking and people are starting to get worried that their legal protection will be over, as it is only available for 12 weeks.
“That will mean they will have to go back to work but they want a resolution to this before that happens.
“A consistency panel was meant to meet last month but was cancelled due to there not being enough people for it, so the four or five-week wait has been frustrating.
“Folk have started to get colds with being out there for so long.”
Central to the dispute is the workers’ claim that they have been on the health board’s second-lowest pay grade, earning between £17,949 and £20,015 a year – despite their job role changing significantly over the last decade.
They now want the health board to acknowledge the duties they carry out as part of their job.
Mr Smith said: “I don’t know when the consistency panel will issue its decision.
“I am hopeful the panel will give us a positive outcome.
“There could also be a case for back pay because this issue has been ongoing for the past 10 years.
“There are people who are no longer employed by the health board who are entitled to this pay.”
It is claimed the two-month strike has provided an opportunity for the pharmacy workers to bond and strengthen as a team.
Mr Smith added: “On the whole, the strike has been good for team building.
“The workers have been great.”
Susan Robertson, Unite regional industrial officer, added: “We hope that once the panel convenes, the overwhelming evidence presented to t hem will ensure our members get the outcome they rightfully deserve and they can get back to work.”
An NHS Tayside spokesman said: “The board remains committed to resolving this issue i n good faith via a transparent and independent process which will ensure our staff can return to normal working.”