NHS hospital employees demanding £470 pay rise attain their 200TH DAY of strikes… as union boss claims they’ve been left ‘no selection’
NHS workers who have been striking for months have demanded they are given a £472 pay rise on their 200th day of industrial action.
Members of Unison at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General Hospitals have been on strike since March – becoming one of the longest in NHS history.
They work as phlebotomists, taking blood samples from patients, at both hospitals.
The union said the staff should be regraded after performing extra duties at work.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘It’s a scandal that hospital managers have allowed this dispute to drag on for 200 days.
‘They must pay up now and show the phlebotomists the respect they deserve for the skilled work they do.
‘These dedicated NHS staff help diagnose illnesses and keep services running smoothly. They didn’t want to strike but were left with no choice after years of being underpaid and ignored.’
They are currently paid £24,465 ‘despite their expertise and vital role in patient treatment, with some having worked in the NHS for more than two decades’.
Members of Unison at Gloucestershire Royal (pictured) and Cheltenham General Hospitals have been on strike since March – becoming one of the longest in NHS history
They work as phlebotomists, taking blood samples from patients. Pictured: Cheltenham General Hospitals
Union organisers said the ‘complex nature’ of the phlebotomists’ work should put them on Band 3 pay, rising their pay to £24,937.
However they are currently on Band 2 – the lowest salary band of the NHS.
Unison South West regional organiser Chris Roche previously said: ‘The trust has had over 12 months to correct the pay of their staff, but has instead chosen to miss deadlines and break promises.
‘Phlebotomists are vital to the health service and deserve much better than the treatment they’ve received. They should be paid fairly for the work they do, not left struggling to pay their bills.
‘NHS staff want to be at work caring for their patients. They don’t want to be on strike and have tried everything to get hospital bosses to do the right thing.
‘But the phlebotomists now feel they’ve no choice but to stand-up for themselves and the health service they provide. Hospital managers must act quickly and pay the wages its staff deserve.’
It comes as first year resident doctors ‘overwhelmingly’ voted to strike amid a row over jobs.
British Medical Association (BMA) officials announced 97 per cent of those balloted —previously known as junior doctors — voted in favour of taking action.
It comes as first year resident doctors ‘overwhelmingly’ voted to strike amid a row over jobs
The move could see the NHS face six months of disruption.
A third (34 per cent) of resident doctors responding to a BMA survey, which closed today, said they had no substantive employment or regular work from August 2025.
This rose to more than half (52 per cent) among second year doctors.
The BMA said no strikes are currently planned, but talks with the Government on pay ‘will now have to produce a solution on jobs as well as the 21 per cent pay erosion resident doctors have endured since 2008 to avoid future action’.
Resident doctors have already taken industrial action 12 times since 2023, crippling services and forcing health bosses to cancel an estimated 1.5million appointments.
