There is good news following our Branch Secretary, Peter Steventon, raising the issue of ECSW banding at the Joint Partnership Forum (JPF) on 30th November 2023.
The JPF is the decision-making group between trade unions and the Trust and is chaired by the CEO.
Simon Weldon, SECAmb’s CEO, has now committed to the re-evaluation of the ECSW job description.
SECAmb UNISON branch has long maintained that ECSWs should always have been evaluated at Band 4 and not Band 3.
“The ECSW workforce is working beyond their current banding and has potentially been underpaid for many years”, said Peter Steventon at the JPF meeting.
The Branch has been working for over 3 years to resolve this through informal discussions and formal letters since October 2020. Whilst there have been executive level discussions on concerns raised, to date, there had been no visible traction to move forward with a resolution.
So, this announcement marks a very significant step forward!
We are committed as a Branch to ensure that appropriate back pay is paid as per both employment law and Trust policy.
“As we all should agree, all job roles within the Trust have the right to be appropriately and fairly banded as per AFC terms and conditions”, added Peter Steventon – a point on which all those round the table were in agreement.