West Midlands hospital staff to strike

The frustrated staff NHS workers are walking out on Thursday over disputes with the Government regarding pay conditions.

Staff at New Cross hospital plan to go on strike between 9am and 12pm and staff at Walsall Manor plans a longer walkout from 9am to 9pm.

Other hospitals will also be taking part.

But a member of the Unison Trade Union insisted the body will have emergency staff on cover on the day throughout the West Midlands region to avoid delays and help people should they require treatment at A&E.

Members of the Unison trade union, including nurses and porters, will then 'work to rule' between January 30 and February 24, meaning they will do only their contracted hours, will take their breaks and not do unpaid overtime.

A further 24-hour walkout will follow on February 24.

Franco Buonaguro, West Midlands regional head of health for Unison, said: "We warned months ago that this dispute is here to stay unless the Government and NHS employers are prepared to negotiate with us.

"Instead they are being completely irresponsible by refusing to have meaningful negotiations on how we resolve this dispute.

"Our members' pay has been frozen or held down for the past five years and there is no end in sight. On average, they have lost around 10 per cent in the value of their pay over the life of this parliament.

"We now have no option but to escalate and plan for longer strikes.

"The anger among health workers has reached levels where they are now ready to walk out for 24 hours. NHS staff have been singled out by this coalition government for the worst treatment across the public sector.

"All we are asking is for fair and decent pay for NHS workers."

The Department for Health has described the strikes as disappointing.

It said it had put forward proposals that would guarantee staff at least a one per cent rise but that they had been rejected by unions.