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HOSPITAL workers in Lancashire are planning a third wave of strike action over unpaid wages, their union said today.
Biomedical scientists at hospitals in Burnley and Blackburn, run by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, are involved in one of Britain’s longest-running ongoing disputes.
The Unite members took strike action from May 31 to July 28 and August 20 to November 11, and now the union says they will ballot on further strikes over Christmas.
The 21 workers say they have lost between £8,000 and £12,000 on average due to an issue with pay grades, in which they became eligible for higher pay but were not given it over a period of years.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham reaffirmed the union’s “unstinting support.
“These highly skilled staff just want what they are owed. It’s time the trust did the right thing by them.”
Unite regional officer Keith Hutson said the trust has “put the speedy and efficient analysis of blood samples at risk.”
The trust’s interim chief executive Martin Hodgson said that resolving the dispute was a high priority and that it continues to engage with Unite and workers in the pathology team.
