Care Quality Commission staff walked out on strike in Newcastle city centre and warned that a failure to solve a pay dispute meant staff were leaving and inspections of hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes were being delayed.
The CQC is the regulator for health and social care providers. Staff who are members of unions including UNISON, Unite and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) have walked-out as their industrial dispute continues. Members - who include inspectors, data analysts and call centre staff - have never been on strike before.
It comes in response to a pay increase offer of between 2.75% and 3.5%, and a one-off payment of £100 or £150 which was tabled in December. Analyst Sooz Ceska - who lives in Gateshead - is a UNISON staff rep.
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From the picket line outside the CQC offices on the Gallowgate, Sooz told ChronicleLive: "We have had pay freezes and pay cuts over many years so that in real terms we have had a 25% pay cut since 2010. Our pay is no longer competitive, so we have staff leaving to go back to the NHS and to providers.
"We have lots of vacancies and are asking the Government to answer a pay business case. Depending on how inflation goes, there's a good chance that the national minimum wage will over-take the pay of our lowest-paid staff. That shows how wages have not kept up. It's unsustainable."
Sooz explained that previously CQC staff had been reticent about asking for a pay rise, believing that frontline NHS workers deserved to be dealt with first. But she added: "We have potentially waited to see for others to have their pay addressed first. But now the cost of living is huge pressure."
The union members have been "working to rule" - undertaking only their contractual responsibilities to the letter and declining overtime, since April. Sooz added: "That means that urgent inspections have had to be prioritised - scheduled activity might be limited.
"Now, as we are on strike today, people won't be manning our contact centre. Reports will be delayed, providers might not get reports as quickly as usual. And the public won't have as accurate up-to-date picture on the quality of a provider."
The work-to-rule period is continuous, and scheduled to last until September.
Unison national officer Matthew Egan said: “Without CQC staff, all sorts of abuses, malpractice and neglect would go unnoticed in health and care services. The strike will have an inevitable impact on the commission’s work with delays and cancellations to inspections, worsening the huge backlog. Without government intervention, the dispute could escalate and drag on for months.
“Wage levels at the commission simply don’t reflect its essential work, which makes a real difference to the care and treatment of very many people. Improving pay would help stem the exodus of experienced staff. The CQC has to think again about this substandard pay award and must be allowed to negotiate with unions directly to avoid further disruption."
CQC staff regulate registered health and social care services across England including hospitals, care homes, GP practices and dental surgeries. The CQC has previously said it was working closely with unions during industrial action.
This comes as the Government has confirmed the majority of NHS staff will get a 5% pay rise following a vote of the constituent units which make up the NHS Staff Council. This body voted to accept an offered pay deal, despite opposition from the Royal College of Nursing and Unite.
However, this does not cover staff working at the CQC. Last week, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he wanted to see a "fair resolution" to disputes with unions over pay.
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