STRIKING hospital workers delivered a Christmas card to the office of Health Secretary Victoria Atkins today warning her strike action will continue at three NHS trusts unless they are given pay justice.

Members of Unite whose jobs have been hived off to the private sector say they have been denied a lump sum payment of £1,650 paid to directly employed NHS workers.

They work at Barts Health NHS Trust in East London, Together Support Solutions (2SS), a wholly owned subsidiary of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and contractor Mitie at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust in the West Midlands.

Unite members at the trusts are now taking industrial action over pay and safe staffing levels.They work mainly in jobs such as catering, cleaning, domestic work and portering.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It beggars belief that in the run-up to Christmas the Department for Health is still behaving like Scrooge and refusing to pay the money our members are owed.”

The department was contacted for comment.