Helga PileUnion

Biography

Helga Pile is Acting Head of Health at UNISON, the UK's largest trade union, which has nearly half a million members working in and with the NHS. She has worked for UNISON since 2006, latterly in the health department and previously as the union's lead for social care. She serves as trade union side chair of the national Social Partnership Forum and as staff side chair of the NHS Staff Council. She was a central figure during the 2023 NHS pay dispute and is frequently quoted in national media on NHS pay, workforce staffing, and workplace equality. The Health Service Journal has named her among the 50 most influential Black people in health policy in England on multiple occasions.

References

1. 1.Helga Pile | NHS Employers — Confirms current role as acting head of health at UNISON, trade union side chair of the national Social Partnership Forum, and staff side chair of the NHS Staff Council.
2. 2.Helga Pile | Social Partnership Forum — Confirms UNISON tenure from 2006, previous role as union's lead for social care, and current SPF trade union chair role.
3. 3.UNISON officer Helga Pile recognised as key health policy leader – UNISON National — HSJ recognition (2024) as one of 50 most influential Black people in health policy; confirms advocacy on NHS staffing, pay, ambulance workplace culture, and BAME discrimination.
4. 4.UNISON officer and activist recognised by health journal – UNISON National — HSJ top-10 recognition in 2023; confirms her role as public face of UNISON during 2023 NHS pay strikes and her Race for Equality campaign work.
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Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• NHS pay and Agenda for Change
• Health workforce and staffing
• Social care workforce
• Race equality in the NHS
• Industrial relations in health
• NHS Staff Council and social partnership

Notable achievements

• Named by the HSJ among the 50 most influential Black people in health policy in England in 2024, recognised for her role in the 2023 NHS strikes and her advocacy on staffing and pay. Source ↗
• Placed in the HSJ top 10 most influential Black people in English health in 2023, noted as the public face of UNISON on TV and radio during the NHS strikes. Source ↗
• Served as senior responsible officer (co-chair) for the national Social Partnership Forum commission on tackling and reducing violence against NHS staff, a commitment arising from the 2023 NHS pay deal. Source ↗
• Chairs the joint health unions group, leading multi-union calls for NHS pay structure reform talks with the government. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The standoff between the Treasury and NHS England over who'll pay for redundancies just adds to workers' sense of worry and anxiety. The handling of the situation has been a shambles.”

  Head of Health, Unison · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Labour’s NHS job cuts plan in chaos amid row over £1bn costs ↗

• “The health service needs to retain the ownership and control over patient data systems which are highly sensitive and critical infrastructure. Patients, staff and MPs are calling for Palantir's contract to be discontinued. NHS England must listen to them to restore public confidence.”

  Unison's head of health · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · MPs urge Labour to ditch £330m Palantir software contract with NHS ↗

Source references

1. Labour’s NHS job cuts plan in chaos amid row over £1bn coststheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. MPs urge Labour to ditch £330m Palantir software contract with NHStheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.nhsemployers.org/people/helga-pile
• Staff pagehttps://www.socialpartnershipforum.org/people/helga-pile
• Press office emailpress@unison.co.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.