Hospital staff strike over wage dispute

Healthcare workers at a Merseyside hospital will begin a week-long strike tomorrow due to a pay dispute.

Recovery room staff at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral are striking from Monday to Sunday because, they say, they are being treated with “a persistent failure to recognise and pay for their responsibilities in the workplace”.

The Unite union said workers had “lost up to £8,000 out of pocket because they were misclassified”.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust denied it had failed to “acknowledge the responsibility” of staff and said Unite had “chosen” not to take part in the assessment reviews.

‘A shame’

“In our effort to resolve this conflict, we have offered employees additional flexible options to provide evidence of work at a higher pay level,” the trust added.

“It is therefore disappointing that strike action is being considered.”

The trust said it had made “extensive arrangements” for the industrial action to minimise disruption to patients.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the trust must “do the right thing”.

“It is a disgrace that an NHS employer refuses to recognise the hard work of our members and the vital care they provide to patients,” she said.

“The Trust must do the right thing immediately and pay our members a fair wage for the work they do.”

Unite said staff were “determined” to continue the strike until “the trust begins negotiations”.

Derek Jones, Unite regional representative, added: “The Wirral Trust is behaving appallingly.”

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