Regional staff at NHSE facing redundancy despite vital role
Women and ethnic minority workers are being hit hardest under job loss plans from NHS England, the Unite union can reveal today.
NHSE are making nearly 1300 workers compulsory redundant at regional offices around the country as part of the abolition of the organisation as it is absorbed back into the Department for Health.
Unite, one of the UK's leading health sector trade unions, has seen proposed structures that have been shared with unions and is highlighting the disproportionate effect any compulsory redundancies will have on women and BAME staff.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
"It beggars belief that anyone thinks the answer to the NHS's problems is fewer staff and more managers. These job losses will see women and BAME staff hit hardest as they are the ones furthest down the pay scales. Unite will be continuing to pressure the government into investing properly in our health service and not making the system and the service worse by cutting roles."
This is because the job cuts disproportionately affect the low to middle bands of the workforce with the highest bands seeing relatively low cuts to numbers - in fact in one executive management band there are in fact an increase in roles. Pay bands are populated by more men and more non-BAME the higher they go.
Unite national officer for health Richard Munn said:
"Our members are staring down the barrel of a gun as a valuable and vital health service body is abolished from under them. Despite Unite's requests, no clear details of budgets or headcounts have been forthcoming and it is clear from the new proposed structures that Unite members will be hit hard by compulsory redundancies. 
 
"While upper management are yet again protected from the worst impacts, women and BAME staff at the bottom of the pay scales will face the worst effects. This is a shameful act from a government that instead of truly investing in a world-class health service simply robs Peter to pay Paul."