HOSPITAL workers and paramedics across Hampshire are set to strike again.
Unions are continuing in their battle with the Government over pay, and staff will now take to the picket lines again on Thursday.
It comes after strikes at hospitals including Southampton General and the Royal Hampshire County last year, and could be followed by a 24-hour strike next month.
The industrial action comes at a time when both hospitals and paramedics are under severe pressure due to increasing demand and staff shortages.
The pay dispute has rumbled on since ministers rejected a pay rise of one per cent for all NHS staff.
The Government says it cannot afford incremental pay increases on top of a general pay rise without putting frontline jobs at risk.
However unions have hit back, saying workers are overworked and underpaid and accusing Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of treating them “with contempt”.
Negotiations had been ongoing between ministers and unions over a deal, but UNISON announced yesterday that union members will stage a 12-hour strike on Thursday.
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