Pay strikes by bio-medicine staff at two teaching hospitals in Lancashire have escalated, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today.

The strikes at Blackburn and Burnley hospitals are over Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s refusal to pay the holiday pay the workers are entitled to.

Management at the trust have a long history of poor employee relations and this is continuing despite an employment tribunal finding against them.

The employer lost at tribunal over this issue several years ago for an employee, but they have refused to settle it for the rest of the employees who are now owed thousands of pounds.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The trust’s current behaviour is part of a long pattern of treating these workers badly. Biomedical sciences workers are already under immense strain due to staffing pressures, yet the trust is refusing to pay them what they are legally entitled to. Unite stands firmly behind them in this dispute.”

The trust has given conflicting reasons as to why it cannot resolve the dispute. First, it falsely claimed that the findings of the tribunal did not apply to other workers and then placed the responsibility on the Department of Health and Social Care before switching to blaming NHS Employers. It is now blaming NHS England for the delay.

Despite the trust’s multiple excuses, there is nothing stopping it from offering an interim payment to the workers while issues at a national level are resolved, which would end the strikes.

Anger has been further fuelled by the trust being dishonest and abusing derogations agreed with the workers to provide life and limb cover during the strikes. Striking staff have been consistently working shifts where routine work has been carried out, in direct contravention of the derogation agreement.

To undermine the strike, the trust has abused derogations and drafted in inexperienced staff who should not carrying out biomedical work. Without the derogations it still has the resources to provide critical cover but other services are impacted.

Unite regional officer Helen Flanagan said: “Our members do not want to be on the picket line. They have been forced to strike by the trust’s disgraceful refusal to pay them the holiday pay they are entitled to and its abuse of their goodwill. This dispute will continue to escalate until the trust tables an acceptable offer.”

The workers previously took strike action throughout June and July.

Fresh strike action that will see significant delays to tests and procedures across the trust will take place every Monday to Friday through to 4 September. Further strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved.

Staff in biomedicine work across different shifts which means that their pay varies. The law dictates that holiday pay should be calculated on the average of all earnings, with the principle that a worker should receive no less when on holiday than they would receive when working.

ENDS

For media enquires ONLY contact senior Unite communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215 or 020 3371 2065.

Email: ryan.fletcher@unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.