John Radcliffe Hospital porters strike postponed

Porters are unhappy with plans to change shift patterns and merge roles

A planned 48-hour strike by porters at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford has been postponed.

Unison members had voted in favour of industrial action over changes to their shift patterns.

Porters were due to walk out from 22:00 BST on Tuesday. Further talks will now take place between the union, employer Carillion and arbitration service Acas.

Oxfordshire Unison Health Branch said some porters could lose up to £54 a week if their hours were altered.

Carillion, which runs the porter service for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, said it welcomed the move as a "positive development".

A spokesman said: "We look forward to working with Unison to agree improvements to the operation of the portering service that will deliver an improved service for patients and have the support and confidence of our staff. "

Unison said: "Porters were set to strike over proposals to reorganise the portering service which, if implemented, would see a reduction in pay, merger of job roles, loss of jobs and a reduction in service to patients and staff."

The union said if talks failed it would look to set a future date to strike.