NEARLY 200 services staff at a major West Yorkshire hospital will take seven days of strike action in a fight for pension equality, GMB said today.

Porters, domestic, catering and security staff will walk out from January 20 to 26 over a “stark” employer pension contributions disparity at Airedale Hospital.

The workers are employed by AGH Solutions (AGHS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. 

Some receive the NHS pension of 6.5 per cent employee contributions and 23.78 per cent employer contributions, while others on the AGHS domestic pension receive 4 per cent employee contributions with just 3 per cent employer contributions.

GMB organiser Joe Wheatley accused administrators of telling frontline workers that “they don’t care if they can’t afford to retire.”

He added: “This dispute is about whether NHS workers retire with dignity or in poverty.

“We invite the administrators of the Trust and AGHS to answer that question.”

Dennis Kentrop, Managing Director of AGH Solutions Limited said: “We are very proud to work for and with the NHS and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, but we are in essence a private company with different terms and conditions from the NHS.

“Offering our own terms and conditions gives us the flexibility to continue to attract talented individuals and secure the technical skills required by the company. It also means that we can aim to provide a more flexible pension option compared to the NHS pension (Agenda for Change), where contributions are fixed and the only alternative is to opt out.

“We are disappointed that our improved pension offer was rejected by GMB and we were not able to reach an agreement to avoid further disruption to patient care.

“I hope that we can continue to work with the union to resolve this before 20 January.”

The Trust was contacted for comment.