NIPSA urges members to VOTE YES to INDUSTRIAL ACTION including STRIKE and ACTION SHORT of STRIKE.
The ballot will open on 27 October 2022 – 18 November 2022. Please ensure that your contact details are up to date. If you have had any changes, please contact NIPSA Membership Section on 02890 661831 or email the
NIPSA’s position remains that pay lies at the centre of the problems facing HSC staff, HSC Staff continue to be subject to Pay Cuts resulting in ongoing problems around Recruitment and Retention which gives rise to Safe Staffing concerns.
The impact of a rising cost of living with inflation around 10%, rising mortgage costs, unsustainable energy and fuel bills, has resulted in many members who use their vehicles for work being subject to fuel poverty as a result of reimbursement rates that fail to rise in line with costs.
The historical ineffectiveness of workforce planning has made a bad situation worse, with continued high levels of vacancies across the HSC adding to excessive workloads and stress while leaving members exposed to chronically unsafe staffing levels across Nursing, Social Work, Day Centres and Administration services etc.
Spending hundreds of millions of pounds of scarce public money on Agency Staff at every level only compounds these systemic problems.
NIPSA along with National Trade Unions have continually advised that an “Inflation Busting” pay rise was needed to address the current crisis in Health and Social Care.
The response via the Pay Review Body (PRB) recommendation of £1400 or 4% is completely inadequate and as a result we are again forced to Ballot our members.
NIPSA’s Health Panel was appraised of the situation and reflecting the concerns of their Branches rejected the PRB recommendation and cited the need for action to include Safe Staffing and Travel reimbursement issues.
HSC Management and members were notified of the formal dispute situation on 2 September 2022.
NIPSA’s Health Central Panel met again on 7 October 2022 and confirmed that, with continued low salary levels, no formal offer to uplift Pay along with continued safe staffing and travel reimbursement pressures NIPSA has no alternative but to ballot members for Industrial action.
Preparation on this work has commenced and ballot papers will issue to members from the 27 October 2022, to be returned by no later than 2pm on Friday 18 November 2022.
Members can be assured that NIPSA did not take this decision lightly, but believe that the DOH and employers cannot be allowed to exploit NIPSA members across the HSC system by continuing to underpay and undervalue their work.
In relation to the dispute, NIPSA and the other Trade Unions have made it clear to the employers that we remain committed to negotiating an acceptable agreement should circumstance’s change.
It remains NIPSA’s intention to work collaboratively with the other Health Unions to build our industrial strength in order to achieve an acceptable outcome for members on all of these crucial issues. NIPSA will issue further information updating members as appropriate.
Next steps include:
- Discussions with other unions to agree where possible a common approach of the balloting process, including timing and forms of action
- Establish Strike Committees, prepare and issue campaigning materials
BE READY FOR YOUR BALLOT PAPER, HAVE YOUR SAY, FAIR PAY AND SAFE STAFFING, VOTE YES.
Terry Thomas
Assistant Secretary