| The Observer Sunday July 15, 2001 Nurses set for £35m equal pay triumph Anthony Browne Nurses and other medical staff in a Carlisle hospital are on the brink of winning £35 million in Europe's largest equal pay case, claiming that the NHS routinely discriminates against female workers.The case, backed by Britain's biggest union, Unison, is sending shockwaves through the health service, forcing the Department of Health into an emergency review of pay structures to avoid a total compensation bill for female staff that could reach £15 billion.The 1,000 nurses, cooks, domestics and ancillary staff at Cumberland Infirmary are claiming that their work is of equal value to that of male workers such as joiners and plumbers, who get paid up to 50 per cent more, work fewer hours and get better rates of overtime.The claim is backdated for 10 years, which means some staff stand to gain a compensation payment of up to £100,000 and instant massive pay rises, adding up to £12m to the hospital's annual pay bill.The hospital has repeatedly tried to settle the case, most recently offering a package worth £5.6m. However, the staff rejected it, confident they will win most of their claims.
A panel of four independent experts appointed by an industrial tribunal will in the next few weeks issue a report on their findings, which is expected to be largely favourable to the staff.Peter Doyle, of Unison, said: 'This is the biggest equal pay claim that has ever been made in Britain. It's also the strongest'.The original claim was made by 500 staff. Their numbers rose to 1,000 when the hospital merged with another one. Unison has taken 25 test cases to the tribunal, covering 14 different categories of work which they claim is of equal value to work done by men who are paid much more.The examples include: A domestic, who washes floors, who earns £7,505 a year, working a 39-hour week. 'Wall-washers', who are all men, earn £9,995 for a 37-hour week.A D-grade nurse earns £13,900 after completing degree-level qualifications and five years in the job, and can supervise up to 15 staff in clinical situations that can mean life or death for patients. A craftsman supervisor, who has a joinery apprenticeship, will earn £19,100 after three years' work, and will supervise a maximum of two people. The nurse is offered time off in lieu in return for overtime, while the craftsman supervisor is paid time and a half.A cook, who needs the same level of qualifications and serves the same length apprenticeship as a plumber, earns £172.62 for a 39-hour week. An NHS plumber earns £272.11 for a 37-hour week. A female ancillary worker in the clinical sterile services department will need up to NVQ level 3 qualification, and will be paid £580 a month for a 39-hour week. A craft worker, such as a joiner, needs the same level of training, and will earn £996 a month for a 37-hour week. The female ancilliary workers are more crucial to the working of the hospital, because without them all operations have to be cancelled, whereas joinery repairs can be done any time. NHS pay scales were established in 1948, and have not been reformed since, even though women's jobs have generally got more demanding, and men's jobs less demanding. Katie Clark, head of legal services at Unison, said: 'There's recognition on both sides that we have a very strong case, and that women's work in the health service has been undervalued. We're very confident that we'll be successful, and potentially it could lead to billions of pounds of claims across the NHS.' If they win, staff will get instant pay rises, backdated for 10 years. This will mean that many junior staff will leapfrog more senior staff, forcing managers to raise the pay levels of most of the workers in the hospital. The payouts could also lead to a massive exodus of staff. One nurse, who stands to gain £100,000, told The Observer : 'As soon as I get the money, I'm leaving this hell-hole. I've had enough.'
Letter from the Global Women’s Strike in response to above article Dear Madam/Sir, Having left nursing because wages didn't cover my childcare costs, I was delighted with the claim for equal pay for work of equal value by Cumberland Hospital nurses and other women hospital workers (Observer 15 July). Jobs on which UNISON based its claim were not only healthcare directly but cooking food, cleaning floors, etc. – the essential work carers do daily all over the world without pay. Low nurses’ pay reflects the devaluation of all caring work. And since most carers are women, this devalues women and almost every job we do. Whether we're out there trying to make the NHS a bearable place or cleaning a million offices at 6 am, wages don't begin to reflect how much our back-breaking work is worth to society. On 8 March 2002 in the third Global Women's Strike, women in over 65 countries will again demand "A world which values all women's work and all women's lives". This begins with payment for all caring work from the £800 billion-plus military budgets and global pay equity. Once caring work is re-valued, the whole society begins finally to prioritise people and the work of caring – for women and for men. That’s when the new millennium will really begin for women – and for girls. Cari Mitchell Global Women’s Strike
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