Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust union ballot for new strike

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

Staff at a cash-strapped West Yorkshire NHS hospital trust are being balloted for further industrial action over proposed job losses and pay cuts.

Union Unison said it would ballot its 3,000 members at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust from Friday.

Hundreds of administration and clerical workers already staged nine days of strike action in November and January over plans to re-grade jobs.

The trust has said it needs to make cuts of £24m by April.

Unison said clinical nurse specialists, dental nurses and more administration staff were affected, and ballot papers would be sent to workers at hospitals in Wakefield, Dewsbury and Pontefract.

Adrian O'Malley, Unison branch secretary, said the trust was pushing forward with "downbandings [pay cuts] and job losses in other departments".

In a statement, Graham Briggs, director of human resources at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said the trust had to tackle its "underlying financial debt" by reducing its pay bill.

He said: "We will continue to look for every opportunity to save money and provide more efficient ways of delivering both front line and support services.

"We believe that securing longer term employment opportunities for our staff, albeit sometimes on a lower grade with a sensible pay protection period, is a much better alternative to job losses."