Hundreds of thousands of NHS health workers start voting today (Thursday, October 27) on whether to strike over pay. Around 350,000 members of Unison working for more than 250 health trusts and boards across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, are being balloted.
Porters, nurses, security guards, paramedics, cleaners, midwives, occupational therapists and other NHS staff are among those being asked if they want to mount a campaign of industrial action. Around 50,000 Unison health employees in Scotland are already being balloted.
Unison urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase the rise of £1,400 awarded to health workers in England earlier in the summer. Its general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Striking is the last thing dedicated health workers want to do, but with services in such a dire state, and staff struggling to deliver for patients with fewer colleagues than ever, many feel like the end of the road has been reached.
