Hospital staff strike action dates announced

Hospital staff are set to begin three days of strike action, commencing on 12 September

More than 150 hospital workers including porters, security staff and cleaners will walk out on strike next month over what a union said were unequal working conditions.

The strikes are scheduled for 12, 15 and 16 September at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in Bradford after a ballot by the GMB union.

It said members were angry because they did not receive the same pension, annual leave and sick pay terms as other colleagues since their roles were outsourced to AGH Solutions (AGHS).

An AGHS spokesperson the firm would continue to work with the GMB to "resolve this before 12 September" but contingency plans were in place to maintain services if the strikes went ahead.

'Match words with action'

The union said more than 90% of those who voted, from a turnout of just below 60%, were in favour of industrial action at trust, based in Keighley.

GMB Organiser Joe Wheatley called for "urgent talks".

"The trust claims to value dignity and inclusion yet allows AGHS to treat its workers as second-class citizens.

"It's time to match words with action and give NHS pay for NHS jobs," he added.

The roles of the affected staff were moved to AGHS, which was set up in 2018 by the NHS trust that runs the hospital.

AGHS's Dennis Kentrop said despite staff being on different terms and conditions the firm valued "every member of the team equally".

"We offer very competitive AGHS pay, terms and conditions which continue to attract talented individuals to the company and provide valuable opportunities for local employment," he said.

Mr Kentrop said following negotiations with the union, the firm had already improved their proposal and hoped the situation could be resolved before industrial action.

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