HOSPITAL workers on Merseyside are to strike for 48 hours over pay, the Unison union announced yesterday.
The action by more than 400 clinical support staff employed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will take place on August 31 and September 2.
The workers, who voted 99 per cent for strike action, help nurses at Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge hospitals on the Wirral.
Unison said they should be paid at least £2,000 a year more because their duties are “well above their pay grade.”
North West regional organiser David McKnight said: “Taking strike action is no easy decision.
“These clinical support workers are dedicated to providing outstanding care to people across the Wirral.
“But the trust is defiantly refusing these workers what they’re owed and insisting that they provide care on the cheap.
“It’s time the trust did the right thing and paid up to avoid strike action.”
A Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) spokesperson said: “Our Clinical Support Workers (CSWs) are a vital part of our workforce, and we value the work they do.
"We are listening to them, and it is our position that they should be paid the right banding for the work we are asking them to do. If our CSWs feel they are not being paid the right banding, there will be an opportunity for them to provide information about this.
“It’s therefore really disappointing that dates for 48 hours of strike action have been announced, by the Unison union for its CSW members, as 31 August to 2 September.
“In May 2023, we pledged to work with Trade Unions on this issue and we set up a partnership working group to oversee this. We made an offer for consideration of any regrading to be backdated to the date we last reviewed CSW banding with our Trade Unions.
"Unfortunately Unison refused this offer and balloted their members for strike action.
“This issue is not unique to WUTH. It affects other NHS organisations.
“We are continuing our work to review the banding of our CSWs. Our preferred approach is to do so in partnership with our trade unions.
“We would like to reassure residents of Wirral that we will be doing everything we can to minimise the impact on patients of this planned strike action.”
