Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust staff to strike

Staff members at Dewsbury Hospital were among those who walked out in November

NHS staff at three hospitals in West Yorkshire are to strike for five days next week over potential pay cuts.

The action, by medical secretaries and receptionists, is due to start on 28 January, the union Unison said.

Members working at Dewsbury Hospital, Pinderfields and Pontefract General Infirmary face pay cuts of up to £2,800 a year, the union claimed.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust says it needs to identify savings of £24m by April.

In November, Unison members at the three hospitals held four days of industrial action against the proposals.

In the same month, the trust sent redundancy letters to 74 members of clerical and admin staff.

Reacting to the latest strike announcement, the trust said it had made three revised offers to staff in an effort to end the dispute.

The most recent offer was to extend the period members would stay on their current salary from one year to a maximum of 18 months, the trust said.

Graham Briggs, the trust's director of human resources, said it was "disappointing" that a solution to the dispute had not been found.

There would be no disruption to patient care and treatment during the strike days, he added.