Workers at four London NHS Trusts to strike in pay and staffing dispute

Unite union members on the picket line at St Thomas's hospital during July 2023 strikes Credit: PA

Workers at four London NHS Trusts will take strike action next month in a dispute over staffing and pay.

Unite said more than 2,800 of its members at Barts Health NHS Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust, East London Foundation Trust and Guys and St Thomas’ will take action.

The union said the dispute is a result of workers experiencing staff shortages.

The strikes, involving nurses, pathologists, cleaners, caterers, porters and ancillary staff, will be held on various days between September 13 and 22.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “NHS employers must stop sweeping the staffing crisis under the carpet. Hospitals are so short of staff that patients are frequently being put at risk.

“Until the fundamental causes of low pay and impossible working conditions are resolved, the problem is only going get worse.”

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