Hundreds of Salisbury Hospital staff strike over pay

Union members at Salisbury District Hospital struck for four hours.

UNISON, Unite and the Royal College of Midwives downed tools from 7am till 11am, while the Society of Radiographers struck from 8am to midday.

Pickets were held at hospital entrances.

Guidelines limit the number of people on each picket to six, although many more were on strike behind the scenes during the morning's action.

Denis Bangura works in the pathology labs as a biomedical scientist and is a UNISON rep.

“The reason why I went out on strike today and previously is because we are always told that ‘we are in this together’, yet the MP's somehow manage to give themselves a nine per cent pay rise and nothing for the majority of NHS workers,” he said.

“I am struggling with paying bills and putting food on the table yet my plight is not worth a measly one per cent.

“We are been told that the economy is now in a better state, yet we are having to fight to get one per cent."

Denis said losing a few hours’ pay was worth the struggle.

“If we don't stand up now and be counted they will walk all over us,” he said.

Salisbury’s UNISON branch secretary Mark Wareham said all unions were bitterly disappointed with the continuing pay cuts.

“We have had five years of pay cuts in real terms and our pay is well over ten percent lower than it used to be,” he said.

“People are struggling to make ends meet, particularly at the bottom of the pay scale.

“Here in Salisbury, the cost of living is very high and people, particularly in areas like housekeeping, portering, catering and nursing assistants are really struggling.

“We think where people take a stand and show their strength of feeling it’s more likely to make the Government sit up and listen."

Some union members are also refusing unpaid overtime and insisting on taking their breaks until Sunday.

“The NHS is run on goodwill,” said Mark.

“We know the NHS gets thousands of hours in unpaid labour.”