Have you noticed how salaries in occupational health (OH) seem to be going down rather than up as one would expect? We’re all on the same salaries that we were on five or six years ago, and I’ve discovered how this has come about.
I’ve been ‘hot desking’ lately, and have overheard a few telephone conversations regarding renewing our tender and keeping the salaries down so that we’re competitive and more likely to get the contract again. OH nurses we thought we could trust to promote our best interests are stabbing us in the back so that they can meet their objectives and get a nice bonus themselves. I think it’s disgusting.
I did a bit of agency work last time I was on leave and I got £200 for the day. I only did it because I was desperate, and that’s what these parasites rely on. I’d have been better off stacking shelves in Tesco, which is certainly less stressful, and you get the ‘sell by date’ food for a few pence at the end of the day.
To think we’ve come to this, and who’s to blame? The Fat Cat Providers of course. I’ve had a go about them before on this page but the leeches have reduced us to empty husks, OH ‘pit ponies’ with no drive, pride or enthusiasm. And what is the profession doing about this, I hear you cry? Nothing, it would seem – there are certainly no threats or warnings about strikes by OH nurses if we are not remunerated appropriately, or any Royal College of Nursing (RCN) ‘Campaign’ to support poor impoverished OH nurses, and we all know the RCN loves a good campaign – but only if you work in the NHS, it would seem. We’ll all be back in it soon – the NHS, I mean. That’s what the Black report on work and health was all about – bringing us to heel. It certainly was a black report for OH nurses.
