A GROUP of health workers protested near a city hospital in a bid to get one of Bristol's health trusts to leave a "regional pay cartel".
Unison members from University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UHBristol) lobbied board members ahead of a meeting yesterday morning.
They want UHBristol to leave a group called the South West NHS Pay Consortium, which was formed by a group of 20 NHS hospital trusts to look at how patient services could be maintained in the face of multi-million pound budget cuts.
A leaked document published earlier this month outlined measures including the termination of all staff contracts and a reissue on different terms.
Unison say these new terms could include pay cuts of up to 15 per cent for staff earning more than £21,000 per year, an end to overtime for nights, weekends and bank holidays, reduced holiday leave, cuts in sick pay rates and longer shifts.
North Bristol and Weston General NHS Trusts are also part of the consortium.
Unison claims the organisation is a "cartel" designed to force down staff pay and conditions and will also harm patient care.
Simon Newell, Unison's regional organiser, said the proposals could mean "postcode pay" – where those in the south west get paid less than workers in the rest of the country.
Nathan Wagstaff, a patient transport organiser at the BRI, who is currently on a year's secondment to Unison, told the Post: "People are giving their all already.
"They shouldn't be penalised for something that is beyond their control. Hospital trusts should not be blindly joining this cartel that is not in the best interests of staff or patients."
A nurse at the BRI called Steve, who did not want to give his full name, also joined the protest this morning.
"We've already given so much – I don't feel that I can financially afford to give anymore," he said.
"We haven't had a pay rise for two years and are facing one of just one per cent in the next two years.
"I'm working 12 hour days and it's started to have a real impact on my family life."
The Royal College of Nurses and the Royal College of Midwives told the Post they were also lobbying south west hospital trusts to pull out of the consortium.
Claire Buchanan, acting director of workforce and organisational development at UH Bristol, said: "The consortium is in the early stages of its work and has not yet made any recommendations.
"This trust's pay bill is more than 60 per cent of our annual budget and our largest single expense.
"It is therefore essential that we look at the money we spend on staff as part of our work to improve efficiency and make the best use of public funds.
"As a part of the consortium, we will review whether our existing overall staff packages reflect how we recognise high-performing staff and also meet the financial pressures all trusts face in coming years.
"Discussions on pay and conditions are taking place at national level between NHS Employers and trade unions but the consortium is exploring potential changes that could be made at regional level.
"Here in the trust, we are working with trade unions and staff representatives."
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