Low-paid NHS staff may be forced to leave their jobs after a Cheshire hospital brought back parking charges, a union boss has warned.
Some of the workers, which include porters, cleaners and nurses, are already reliant on foodbanks and can not afford to pay the £15-£20 monthly parking charge at Leighton Hospital in Crewe, UNISON said.
It has been free for NHS staff to park at the hospital since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, but the charge was brought back on May 1.
With the backing of UNISON, hundreds of staff - some of who earn minimum wage (£9.50 an hour) - have now come together to protest against the changes, made by bosses at Mid Cheshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT)
Unison north west regional organiser David McKnight told Cheshire Live: "These frontline workers have risked their lives throughout the pandemic. They’re now being unjustly penalised for being unable to take their work home or do their job at other locations.
"The parking charges are a stealth tax that these workers can’t afford. Some were already relying on food banks before the cost of living hitting an all-time high.
"Imposing these charges on low-paid staff is unfair and could lead to them quitting at a time when the NHS is already struggling to fill vacancies."
The staff hit by the charges often have no choice over where they’re based, Unison said.
It added other trusts across Cheshire and Merseyside are delaying the re-introduction of charges until July and working with staff to reduce the impact.
The daily parking charge for a member of staff if they're not paying the monthly charge is £5.
Alternatively they can look for parking on nearby streets. But Unison warned that this could cause traffic chaos and could also affect residents at a nearby housing development.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment on the issue.
In February Health Secretary Sajid Javid visited Leighton Hospital to officially open the new £15 million emergency department.
He said: "I do accept that across the country, not just here in the North West, there is a staffing challenge.
"We have many vacancies in the NHS, we do need more doctors and nurses, but the good news is that we do have, today, more doctors and nurses than ever before."
"They are recruiting here, I couldn't tell you for sure that there are more here than ever before, I just don't know enough about the local hospital.
"But from what I've heard today from the chief executive, they are recruiting and that's fantastic to see."
Asked about the difficulties faced by patients trying to access GPs, he said: "We are investing record amounts in primary care and in GP services in particular."
