Hospital staff will strike

Around a dozen members of staff in the bulk stores department have been staging a series of one and two-day strikes after a management decision to cut thousands of pounds of allowances from their pay packets.

Earlier this month the strikes were suspended when union reps and managers held discussions to try to resolve the dispute.

But the strike is now back on - and is being stepped up to a strike lasting five days. Workers who earn an average of between 10,000 and 12,000 a year say they stand to lose 3,000 each if attendance and performance payouts are axed.

John Campbell, Unison branch secretary at the hospital, said the latest strike is being extended to five days at the request of members angry with management who even suggested the service could become automated, leading to job cuts.

"They suspended the action as a goodwill gesture to find an amicable way forward," he said. "They feel they are being taken advantage of and the members are very clear they want to resume action.

"There is every possibility it could escalate to more than a week and we could have a situation of an all-out strike," warned Mr Campbell.

The five-day strike will start next Tuesday and will continue on weekdays until the following Monday.

Employees say their workload has increased and there are fewer staff to do the job.

A spokeswoman for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said they were "puzzled" and "disappointed" by the union's decision. ""As far as we are aware, negotiations will continue at a meeting which has already been scheduled for early next."

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