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Stand up for your pay and your profession – vote ‘ yes ’ for the NHS
This month , for the first time in almost a decade , UNISON is balloting members across the entire NHS about going on strike .
By the time you read this , that ballot will already have closed in Scotland and Northern Ireland , but it will still be open in England and Wales .
The overwhelming discussion among members and in UNISON ’ s national OT steward committees is that workloads are rising , vacancies are left unfilled , and occupational therapy staff are being forced into new areas of practice because there just isn ’ t anyone left .”
If you haven ’ t yet voted in that ballot , read this article to better understand why you should – for your pay , your patients and your profession .
UNISON and RCOT
As this column has covered before , RCOT ’ s agreement with UNISON means that most RCOT members are automatically members of UNISON , covered by UNISON ’ s protections at work , and represented by UNISON in industrial issues .
This means UNISON represents you and UNISON ’ s ballots will include you , excepting some occupational therapists who are exclusively self-employed , retired or working overseas .
Occupational therapy staff working in local government have already won a higher pay deal than that awarded for NHS staff , and some members working in higher education may already be on strike .
50 OTnews November 2022