Thousands of NHS workers in Wales are being asked to vote for strike action over pay as many fear they may not be able to heart their homes this winter says public services union UNISON Cymru/Wales.
Porters, nurses, security guards, paramedics, cleaners, midwives, occupational therapists and other NHS staff across Wales and the rest of the UK join 50,000 UNISON health employees in Scotland, whose strike ballot has been live since the beginning of the month.
The move follows a derisory pay award of £1,400.
UNISON Cymru/Wales has heard from healthcare workers who are being forced to re-mortgage their homes and, in some cases, live off a diet of bread and soup just to survive.
Healthcare receptionist Lorna Hood (pictured above) has seen her fuel bills almost double and has had to contact her energy provider as she fears she may not be able to heat her home this winter.
Lorna has to travel a 50 mile round trip every day to get to work and said there are no public transport links to get her to work on time.
Lorna works in Swansea and said: “My outgoings have increased so much that fuel in my car has gone from £48 to between £80 and £90 to fill.
“I have to travel 50 miles a day for work and there is no public transport links.
“The first train needs a bus link and gets to my workplace for 10am but I start at 7am.
“I already have spoken to my home energy supplier as I know I will not be able to afford to heat my home this winter.
“I am a single person and there has never been any support for the many single people out there although you have to work and have to pay the same bills as a family.”
Lorna said she has friends leaving the NHS constantly to work in shops and cleaning companies close to home.
She said: “They have been working for the NHS for many years but this is now impossible.
“Without these low paid workers the whole system will fail.
“Newly qualified nurses will soon become a thing of the past if they can’t afford the debt from university fees.
“We need to stand up and fight for a decent living wage and we need to do it now.
“There are so many people suffering from stress due to unmanageable workloads and lack of staff. There is no incentive to work for the NHS.
“We need to fight for ourselves while we can. We need to be able to live and work, not stress and strive.
“If that means industrial action, we have to make that sacrifice as by January I know I may not be able to afford to get to work.”
Hugh McDyer, head of health for UNISON Cymru/Wales, said: “It is heart-breaking to hear of health workers who fear they may not be able to heat their homes this winter.
“Strike action is always a last resort but the pay award of £1,400 for health workers is nowhere near enough and leaves everyone in the NHS worse off.
“This is a real-terms pay cut across every single NHS salary band.”
UNISON is urging health workers to return their ballots promptly to overcome the strict laws on turnout put in place by a previous Conservative government to make industrial action more difficult, it adds.
