‘Maximum support’

Labour’s shadow health and social care secretary Jon Ashworth will give Lincolnshire’s health visitors ‘maximum support’ when he addresses a well-supported rally in Lincoln tomorrow  (August 17).

The dispute centres on the calculation by Unite that its 58 Lincolnshire health visitor members have lost more than ÂŁ2,000 a year since they were transferred from the NHS to the county council in October 2017.

The latest round of talks with the county council, under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas, broke down yesterday (Thursday, August 15) leading to Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands Paresh Patel to describe the council bosses as ‘turning old-fashioned pig-headedness into an art form’.

The rally in Lincoln tomorrow will see the protestors meeting in the Minster Yard at 11.00am. The march will start at 11.30am going through the city centre and ending with speeches at High Bridge. Lincoln’s Labour MP Karen Lee will also address the rally.

Labour’s shadow health and social care secretary Jon Ashworth will tell the rally, “An incoming Labour government will make the restoration of the health visitor service in England a top priority in terms of a major boost in recruitment numbers and the funding to match.

“We will stop the constant salami slicing of the service witnessed in recent years which has led to the lowest number of health visitors in England since September 2009.

“We will put an end to the grotesque pay anomalies and erosion of professional standards, such as currently exists in Lincolnshire.

“We recognise the vital work that health visitors do for families and young children during those important early years – and that’s why I am here to give you maximum support.”

The health visitors have already taken or scheduled 13 days of strike action. Today (August 16), two further 48 hour strikes were announced starting on August 27 and then on September 5. Both actions commence just after midnight.

Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands Paresh Patel said, “Unite will support our health visitors in Lincolnshire for as long as it takes against a council that has turned old-fashioned pig-headedness into an art form.

“We call on local people to turn out tomorrow to show that their strong support for the health visitors who are the bedrock in local communities delivering a joined-up public health agenda for families, some of whom are in vulnerable circumstances.”

The health visitors are on the NHS Agenda for Change pay scales, but have had no increases in pay since being transferred to the local authority which has different pay rates – even though both council and NHS employees have received wage awards, these health visitors have not.

Unite, which embraces the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association (CPHVA), is also seriously concerned about the downgrading of the health visitors’ professional status, resulting in fewer staff doing the specialist health visitor role.