Maternity workers walk out in pay grade dispute

Maternity workers on the picket line in Grimsby earlier

Maternity workers in Grimsby have walked out in a dispute over back pay.

Unison, the union, said the 48-hour strike followed a breakdown in talks with their employer, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

The healthcare assistants want compensation for time spent working within a lower pay grade, after they were moved up from band two to band three.

The trust said it wanted to "find a mutually satisfactory resolution" with the union.

Unison spokesman Ashley Harper has called for an improved offer

Unison said the workers at Diana, Princess of Wales hospital had carried out the clinical responsibilities of band three workers for several years, while only being paid as band two staff.

Ashley Harper, the union's regional organiser, said strike action was "always a last resort" and called for senior managers to "sit down with us again as soon as possible with an improved offer".

A spokesperson for the trust said: "Our priority continues to be the safety of the expectant parents and babies in our care and we have robust plans in place to maintain a safe service."

The strike is due to continue on Tuesday, with picket lines planned at the hospital's Scartho Road entrance between 06:30 and 08:00 BST, and again between 18:30 and 20:00.

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