Hospital staff in Huddersfield walked out for the second Monday in a row as industrial action continues at the NHS.
Members of the Society of Radiographers were on strike for four hours this morning and will work to rule for the rest of the week.
The action by staff who operate vital scanning equipment, such as X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, comes a week after identical action by by midwives, nurses and ambulance crews.
The unions have voted for industrial action in protest at the Government’s controversial decision not to accept a recommended 1% pay rise for all health workers.
The action by diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy professionals was their first strike over pay since the early 1980s, with warnings of further walkouts if the bitter dispute is not resolved.
Picket lines were mounted outside hospitals across the country, including a small but determined group outside the main entrance of Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
Sheila Hassan, the society’s president-elect, who works at St Thomas’, said she had been “amazed” at the level of support for the strike, and from members of the public.
“Radiographers’ pay has been cut by 15% in real terms since 2010 and other terms and conditions have worsened, while our workload has increased.
“People have just had enough. There is also a feeling of disgust that the MPs have accepted a huge recommended pay rise for themselves, but ours is rejected. It’s just not fair.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We are disappointed that trade unions are taking industrial action.
“NHS staff are our greatest asset, and we’ve increased the NHS budget to pay for over 12,500 more clinical staff since 2010. We cannot afford a pay rise in addition to increments - which disproportionately reward the highest earners - without risking frontline jobs.”
