Striking NHS staff threatened with
sack unless they accept cuts in pay

scores of striking hospital staff in Yorkshire have been warned they face dismissal unless they agree to pay cuts.
Admin and clerical staff at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals are on strike all weekAdmin and clerical staff at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals are on strike all week
Admin and clerical staff at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals are on strike all week

The move has been condemned by union leaders in an increasingly bitter dispute at the crisis-gripped Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust which runs services in Wakefield, Dewsbury and Pontefract.

Health bosses want to impose pay cuts of up to £2,800 a year among up to 500 low-paid mainly female staff including medical secretaries and receptionists, as part of moves to make millions in savings at the debt-ridden trust.

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Staff affected have been told they will lose their jobs unless they accept lower paid positions.

Last night Jim Bell, regional organiser of Unison, said members had been advised not to accept the offer and the union was taking legal advice.

He accused management of playing “dangerous games” by risking not having enough staff to fill key roles.

“Management have chosen the nuclear option as opposed to the negotiating option – they’re playing fast and loose with the safety of patients,” he said.

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“Members are exceptionally determined. They know they are in the right.”

Graham Briggs, director of human resources at the trust, said management had made four separate offers to extend pay protection for affected staff and a fifth concession had now been turned down by unions.

“Their decision to reject this out of hand meant we had no alternative but to press ahead with implementation and 162 staff were sent notice of dismissal and re-engagement,” he said.

“This effectively means that their contracts on current terms and conditions are terminated and they are immediately re-appointed on the revised terms and conditions.”

He said “every effort” was being made to ensure patients were not affected by five days of strike action this week.