‘The start of something big’

Health visitors employed by Lincolnshire County Council are standing firm against the erosion of their pay and conditions as they took a fourth day of strike action on Monday (July 22).

At a demonstration in Boston held today (July 22) to coincide with the strike, the local community came out in force to support the 58 striking health visitors, whose current series strikes is believed to be the first time ever health visitors in Lincolnshire have walked out over their pay and professional standards.

The health visitors are angry at the council’s refusal to negotiate after the council has moved to downgrade their professional status so that fewer people are undertaking the health visitor role.

Since the health visitors were transferred from the NHS to the local authority in 2017, their pay has been frozen for the past two years – which has amounted to a loss of about £2,000 each year. This attack on health visitors’ pay and conditions has happened against a backdrop of the council giving its CEO Keith Ireland a massive £292,000 pay out for only six months of work.

Speaking to UniteLive from the demonstration today, Unite rep and health visitor Karen Hayes said she and her colleagues were standing up for their local communities.

“The erosion of our pay and the vital role we undertake has created a two-tier workforce that downgrades our responsibilities at a time when health visitors are needed now more than ever,” she said. “We are registered nurses who have chosen to take on additional training and qualifications to become specialists. We are determined to defend our pay, conditions and the communities we serve.”

Karen said that the reduction in the number of health visitors has put vulnerable families at risk.

“We have an absolutely vital role to play in our communities, for example supporting families where one or more parents are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction,” she explained.

Karen hailed the groundswell of community support they’ve received.

“People are really out in force today and we have many more each and every day joining our cause,” she said. “The health visitor role is under attack throughout England and we will continue to build support to defend it and defend families, many of whom are among the most vulnerable. We strongly believe our action will be the start of something big.”

Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe, who also attended today’s demonstration in Boston, agreed.

“We’ve had fantastic turnout today. It is believed these health visitors in Lincolnshire are taking strike action for the first time ever in defence of pay and professional standards, which goes to show that they are the very end of their tether,” he said.

“Since the decision in 2015 to allow health visiting to be transferred from the NHS to local authorities we’ve seen the slow decline of health visitor numbers,” he added. “We must act now to stop this worrying decline – this strike is part of that aim to protect the health visiting profession as a whole.

“We ask the council to get back to the negotiating table and seriously consider the alternatives that Unite has put forward,” Jarrett-Thorpe went on to say.

The striking health visitors are set to undertake a further 48-hour stoppage on Thursday, July 25. If you would like to support the striking Lincolnshire County Council health visitors by donating to their strike fund, please contact EM.Finance@unitetheunion.org.