No unsocial hours pay.

I just received a worrying email.  I have promised the author that I will not give out the details of his/her trust location. 

The trust that this person works for as a Nurse is trying to stop unsocial hours pay.  The pay rate for nights, days, weekends etc will all be the same basic rate.

The unions are getting involved but if Nurses cannot strike how much power will they have to really fight it?

If this goes through in one trust it will go happen in others.

All staff Nurses work a mix of day shift, night shift, weekday shifts and weekend shifts every single month.  Currently they get paid a slightly higher rate for working unsocial hours.

Our shifts are different every week.  We work on no kind of pattern . The working week goes something like this for a staff nurse.. 

Monday 7AM to 3 PM.
Tuesday  2PM to 10 PM
Wednesday 7AM to 3PM.
Thursday day off. 
Friday 8PM to 9AM saturday morning.
Saturday off.
 Sunday 7AM to 3 PM.

The following week:

Tuesday 8PM to 9 AM
Wednesday 8 PM to 9AM
Thursday off
Friday 7AM to 9PM.

Ridiculous isn't it. My body clock is messed up.  Every week has that kind of mix of shifts. But the fact that we get a slightly higher rate for doing nights keeps my monthly wage at a certain level.

If this goes through they will see their wages fall by hundreds of pounds a month.  I know I would.  I do lots of nights and weekends.  And there is no opting out of them even if they refuse to pay unsocial hours.

This is not a good thing to happen at a time when cost of living is skyrocketing.

More staff nurses will quit.  Hospitals are having to close beds because of lack of staff.   That is how extreme the nursing shortage (which results from nurses refusing to work at the bedside because of poor conditions) is getting.  The staffing has become so bad that even management knows that the situation is bad.  Usually they will just keep beds open and make 2 RN's take 30 patients and then 6 more admissions.  But when the best you can get is one RN for 36 beds then beds close.

Lets hope that the plan to cut unsocial hours pay is all talk.