THOUSANDS of Gwent hospital staff are owed months of back pay amounting to more than £1 million - and health unions warn that workers are sick of waiting.
Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) claim many members await arrears payments of several hundreds of pounds, and in some cases more than £1,000.
Introduction of a new electronic staff record system at Gwent Healthcare Trust, where bosses acknowledge the back pay issue, is delaying the already slow implementation of Agenda For Change (A4C), a nationwide NHS pay modernisation programme.
Around 12,000 trust staff are having pay scales rebanded. Trust bosses estimate 7,000 are receiving revised rates, but 3,500 of these are awaiting back pay. Remaining staff await pay changes and many will be entitled to arrears.
Unison branch chairwoman Terry Thurgar, who raised the issue at the trust's annual public meeting, said individual arrears are mainly between £300 and £900 but can be more than £1,000.
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