Operating theatre staff at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have voted unanimously in favour of strike action in a dispute over changes to overtime payments.
UNISON said staff at Bedford and Luton & Dunstable hospitals backed industrial action after the trust changed the way additional hours are paid.
The union says theatre staff were previously paid time-and-a-half for working beyond their contracted 37.5 hours per week, but that arrangement ended earlier this year.
According to UNISON, staff must now book additional shifts through the trust’s staff bank system and are paid at standard rates for those hours.
The union claims the change could leave some experienced nurses and operating department practitioners around £120 worse off per additional shift worked.
Strike dates have not yet been announced.
“Consistency and fairness”
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the changes were introduced to ensure consistency and fairness across its workforce and followed a formal consultation process.
A spokesperson said: “We value our theatre teams enormously and fully recognise the skill, commitment and pressure involved in their roles.
“We are sorry that some colleagues feel distressed by the recent changes, and we are continuing to meet with staff and trade union representatives to listen to their concerns and to ensure they have all the correct information in relation to the changes.”
The trust said it standardised overtime and additional-hours payments for theatre staff earlier this year so that all employees are paid consistently and in line with national NHS Agenda for Change arrangements.
The spokesperson added, “These changes were not made lightly.
“They were introduced to ensure fairness across our workforce, to bring legacy local arrangements in line with Trust-wide standards, and to support the long-term sustainability of our services.”
The trust said it remained committed to working with staff and trade unions and hoped industrial action could be avoided.
“Our priority is always to maintain safe, high-quality care for patients while supporting our staff as much as possible,” the spokesperson said.
Union concerns
UNISON says the changes could make it more difficult to fill additional shifts and could affect efforts to tackle waiting lists and staff shortages.
Caroline Hennessy, UNISON Eastern head of health, said: “The NHS is under huge financial pressure at the moment, but bosses shouldn’t go looking in theatre staff’s pockets to make their savings.
“This unanimous vote for strikes shows exactly how upset workers are at this raid on their wages.
“There’s still time to avoid strikes. The trust just has to bring back the overtime rates that workers were paid already.”
Elaine Inacio, a senior theatre assistant at Bedford Hospital, added that staff felt they had been left with little choice.
“Staff aren’t asking for anything extra, just the pay we were on before,” she said.
“It’s already stressful enough working in operating theatres, but morale has absolutely plummeted since this pay cut.
“Nobody wants to go on strike, but we’ve been left with no choice.”
UNISON said staff are now discussing their next steps, and strike dates are expected to be announced unless an agreement can be reached.
The trust said it would continue discussions with staff, trade unions and ACAS to resolve the dispute and avoid disruption to services.
