Physiotherapists in England and Wales vote to strike over pay

Physiotherapists in 112 organisations in England and in every health board in Wales now have a mandate for strike action.

Physiotherapists in 112 organisations in England and in every health board in Wales now have a mandate for strike action (Alamy/PA)

Physiotherapists in England and Wales have voted to strike in their first ever ballot on pay.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said 54% of its members voted in the ballot and of these, 84% voted yes to strike action and 93% yes to action short of strike.

For England, turnout was 53%, with 84% voting yes to strike action and 92% yes to action short of strike.

In Wales, turnout was 63%, with 89% voting yes to strike action and 94% yes to action short of strike.

This workforce crisis simply cannot be solved without better pay

Claire Sullivan, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

Physiotherapists in 112 organisations in England and in every health board in Wales now have a mandate for strike action and will begin the process of planning for industrial action early in the new year.

Claire Sullivan, director of employer relations and union services at the CSP, said: “There is not a single physiotherapist or support worker who wants to strike.

“NHS staff want to be at work, treating, rehabilitating, caring for their patients, but the current staff shortages across the NHS are making this more difficult every day. This workforce crisis simply cannot be solved without better pay.

“Our members have now delivered compelling support for industrial action in support of fairer pay. In any industrial action we will always ensure the safety of patients is safeguarded – but NHS strikes remain entirely avoidable.

“Once again, I urge the Government to respond to our repeated health union calls for immediate pay talks for the NHS.”

Jill Taylor, a specialist NHS physiotherapist in the North East who chairs the CSP’s pay committee, said: “Our members have spoken resoundingly. We have never balloted over pay but physiotherapy staff are now left with no choice. We are short-staffed, overworked, exhausted.

“Delivering excellent care for our patients is our highest priority – and to do this we need more staff – we need to attract people to the NHS and we need to keep people in the NHS. We simply cannot do this until the Government gives NHS staff a fairer pay award.”

We don't want to strike, we can't afford to strike, but we feel that our options have been completely exhausted

Luke Tobin, physiotherapist

A physiotherapist at a London trust said: “I’ve voted yes in the CSP ballot regarding NHS pay because enough is enough. NHS pay has failed to keep in line with inflation over many years and this has been exacerbated by the current cost-of-living crisis.

“I’m seeing colleagues consistently having to work extra shifts just to pay the bills and feed themselves and their children. Within our trust we have had to set up food banks to support staff, which is quite frankly appalling.

“I’ve had colleagues leave the trust due to being unable to afford the rent/mortgage or the commute into central London and others who are unable to afford the upfront cost of petrol for their community roles. We are unable to recruit staff, and this is just adding to the stress and workload of the staff.”

Luke Tobin, a physiotherapist in south-east Wales, said: “Every CSP member I have spoken to regarding the ballot has voted to take industrial action, which is unprecedented for the physiotherapy workforce.

“At our heart is maintaining high quality patient care, but we simply can’t continue to operate under the current workforce pressures, without an increase in pay.

“Years of real-terms pay cuts have influenced the ability of the NHS to recruit and retain staff, resulting in shortages and inadequate working conditions for our members and subsequently poorer outcomes for patients.

“We don’t want to strike, we can’t afford to strike, but we feel that our options have been completely exhausted. We have to remain hopeful that there will be a renewed offer, one that doesn’t leave us with no other choice but to walk out.”