THE long running dispute between Warrington Hospital and Theatre Staff is now over.
Unite the Union has advised the Trust that following a recent postal ballot of members in Warrington Hospital Theatres that the dispute over terms and conditions has now ended.
All planned industrial action is therefore now cancelled.
The Trust will now work with individual staff members to migrate them onto the new terms and conditions which will see staff move to the same roster system as the rest of the organisation.
Patients that have been affected by the industrial action have all had their procedures rescheduled.
Jan Ross, Acting Chief Operating Officer said “We apologise to all patients that have been affected by the industrial action to date. We are pleased to have reached an agreement with our Theatre Staff and look forward to working together to make the new rostering system work for everyone.”
Derek Jones, Regional Officer for Unite said “Our members in Warrington Hospital Theatres have undertaken a number of days of industrial action to achieve a settlement to the dispute. They are sorry for any inconvenience to patients this may have caused but always provided emergency cover during the strike days. Although industrial action is always a last resort, Unite and its members felt it was needed to achieve an offer from the employer acceptable to the majority of our members.
“Unite and our members within theatres at Warrington Hospital, hope that bridges can now be rebuilt through new partnership structures within the department and the Trust, so their confidence can be restored going forward and prevent any disputes in the future and the need to be balloted for action again.
The dispute over terms and conditions has been ongoing for four years.
A number of planned operations have had to be cancelled during recent industrial action.
