24/08/2026
Today (24.08.2026), members of working at the took to picket lines at Fairfield General Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, Salford Royal Hospital and, pictured here, the Royal Oldham Hospital, in an ongoing dispute over overtime payments.
UNISON says staff covering shortages are entitled to time-and-a-half pay. However, some are receiving less for an overtime shift than they would for a normal shift, with some reportedly losing more than £80 per shift.
The dispute follows the Trust's use of the agency NHS Professionals to manage overtime staffing arrangements.
Last week, UNISON approached the Trust in an effort to resolve the dispute, but the union says the Trust withdrew before talks could take place.
In a press release issued ahead of the strike UNISON North West regional organiser Kevin Dolan said: “This isn’t complicated. Staff are simply asking for what their contract says they’re entitled to. Nothing more.”
Today, the Trust declared a critical incident. Gertie Nic Philib, chief people and strategy officer at the NCA, said senior doctors had reviewed patients requiring emergency, urgent or time-critical care and that UNISON had been asked to support staffing arrangements, but this had “not been agreed”.
The timing of the declaration is a cynical attempt to shift responsibility for the disruption onto striking workers when the dispute centres on pay and staffing arrangements arising from poor managerial decisions.
If the Trust's senior leadership is serious about patient safety and resolving the disruption, returning to talks with UNISON should be the priority.
Staff will return to picket lines on Wednesday and Friday this week.
Solidarity with those on strike. ✊
