Overtime Turn Into Over Strike, Hospital Porters Walk Out for Two Days

Dozens of hospital porters at Royal Berkshire Hospital have begun a two day strike after a long running dispute over reduced overtime rate remained unresolved. The industrial action involves porters represented by the GMB union, which said workers were being pushed toward poverty because of the reduction in overtime earnings. The union said members had rejected a recent offer intended to bridge the loss of earnings until March. Sergio Dias, a porter and GMB representative at the Reading hospital, said workers had been reluctant to take strike action but felt their concerns had not been adequately addressed after a prolonged dispute. James Blythe, chief executive of the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Trust, said the trust was really keen to resolve the disagreement and insisted that hospital services were continuing to operate normally. The two sides had worked with Acas in an attempt to reach an agreement last week. However, according to the GMB, 98% of its members rejected the latest offer. Louis Bryson, GMB regional organiser, criticised the trust approach to overtime payments, arguing that lower paid hospital workers were facing financial pressure. The union said around 70 porters at the hospital are members of the GMB. Dias said the strike was not an action workers wanted to take, but argued that member had exhausted other option. This is something we didn't want to do. We tried by all means not to come to this. He described the action as an investment in securing better conditions in the future, adding that workers had accepted a short term financial loss in the hope of achieving a longer term improvement. Meanwhile, the hospital trust said patients should continue attending their appointments unless they are contacted directly. The trust warned that some patients could experience longer waits for non urgent transfers during the industrial action, but said contingency arrangements were in place. Blythe said the trust wanted to reach an agreement with the porters and bring the dispute to an end. We are really keen to find a way through this. He added that the trust knew porters did not want to remain on strike and said management was committed to returning to negotiation. The two day industrial action is scheduled to end at 07:00 BST on Thursday, after which both sides will face renewed pressure to resolve the overtime dispute.