NHS staff at three Yorkshire hospitals have walked out in a row over job and pay cuts.
Staff at three hospitals in West Yorkshire went on strike today, fighting plans to cut jobs and pay. Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust says it needs to save twenty four million pounds by April next year. Adam Fowler reports from Wakefield.
Staff from the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust who are UNISON members have unanimously voted for "continued and escalated strike action" at a rally in Wakefield. They walked out in a row over job and pay cuts.
As staff walk out from hospitals in Pontefract, Wakefield and Dewsbury in a row over job and pay cuts we speak to Chief Executive of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Stephen Eames about how services are affected.
As staff at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust walk out in a row over pay and job cuts the management team has responded.
Graham Briggs, Director of HR at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“I am pleased that the contingency arrangements we put in place during the industrialaction are working well and all services for patients have been running as normal.
“I would like to thank all staff who are working hard with us to assure this is the case.
– Graham Briggs, Director of HR at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS TrustOur absolute priority is to provide safe, high quality care for our patients, which
is sustainable for the longer term. To do this we must have a workforce that isfinancially sustainable but which is also designed to best meet our service needs.
The proposed change in pay has been part of a review of some administrative andclerical job roles, which also includes a reduction in posts. So far, we have workedsuccessfully with staff and their representatives to facilitate redeployments andtherefore no one is being made redundant from the Trust that wants to remain inemployment.
He added:
– Graham Briggs, Director of HR at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS TrustWe have consulted with staff on the changes and we remain open to discussion.
However, we cannot escape the reality of our current position; in order to meetour financial challenge we have to reduce our pay bill which is around 70% of ourcosts. We also have an obligation as a publicly funded organisation to make sure weprovide the best value for money.
NHS staff in Wakefield, Dewsbury and Pontefract are on strike over plans to cut jobs and pay.
Last month a ballot of 537 UNISON members announced support for taking industrial action. Despite talks with the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust plans to cut 70 clerical jobs and cut the pay of 275 other staff will go ahead.
– UNISON Regional Organiser Jim BellThey are even threatening to use security staff to stop our members using the toilets.
This is not only childish, it could put pregnant women or people with medical conditions at risk.
It is a petty and provocative act by a naïve management who do not seem capable of treating their own staff decently and professionally.
The workers at risk, such as medical secretaries, have suffered a two year pay freeze and now face redundancy or a £2,000 pay cut.
He added:
– UNISON Regional Organiser Jim BellAfter we have taken the strike action on Thursday we will discuss with members how they want to escalate the action.
That will be a matter for discussion and agreement but I feel sure this strike will only be the start of what we are prepared to do to protect members' jobs and pay.