Specialist nurses at Royal Oldham Hospital strike amid overtime dispute

Critical care nurses at Royal Oldham Hospital walked out on strike today after talks with management collapsed over a dispute about overtime pay. Dozens of nurses gathered at the Rochdale Road entrance this morning, holding placards and urging public support for their fight to receive proper overtime rates as outlined in their NHS contracts.

The dispute centers on how the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust handles overtime payments. Nurses claim they're being paid less for overtime shifts than regular ones, despite contracts stating they should receive time-and-a-half for extra hours. The union says this happens because staff are forced onto secondary contracts with NHS Professionals, an agency that eliminates proper overtime payments and pension contributions.

Patrick Maher, a UNISON union steward, explained the nurses' position: 'These nurses didn't come to work to strike; they came to work to help people, to save people. And yet, they are here striking for overtime pay to be the correct rates.' He warned that without fair compensation, staff will leave and hospital services will suffer.

The strike follows similar actions at Fairfield Hospital and Salford Royal Hospital, highlighting a regional problem. While the trust says patient safety remains their 'absolute priority' and they're working to minimize disruption, UNISON accuses them of refusing to negotiate further despite requests to resolve the dispute. Anyone with hospital appointments is advised to attend as scheduled unless contacted otherwise.