Fair pay, fair mileage and safe staffing levels are top priorities for striking NIPSA workers at Craigavon Hospital and across the Southern Health Trust

Paul Cranston, who works in the Pharmacy Department at Craigavon Area Hospital, a NIPSA representative explained NIPSA members are on strike for fair pay, fair mileage and safe staffing.

"People are having to pay mileage out of their own pocket,” said Mr Cranston adding that safe staffing levels have become a very serious issue for NIPSA members.

"Safe staffing is a big thing at the moment. Quite a lot of people are leaving. We are losing highly skilled, experienced people to go to other jobs elsewhere which maybe aren’t as skilled but they are getting a higher pay. Now we are struggling to replace those people with guys coming in that maybe don’t have the skills that the rest of us do and a lot of us are having to act up to help with that.”

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Mr Cranston said a four percent rise had been forced on staff this year and that is due to be paid from March.

“There has been no pay rise this year until now and there is nothing proposed for next year,” said Mr Cranston adding that staff in Trusts in Northern Ireland are on salaries way below counterparts in the UK.

The NIPSA rep blamed the fall of the Stormont Executive saying that nothing can be done until the politicians return to power. He said there had been politicians on the picket line supporting them but that nothing could be done until Stormont is back up and running. “Until they get back to Stormont and do what we have elected them to do, there is nothing that can be done for us until then.”

Mr Cranston said members were barely coping through the Cost of Living Crisis. “They are still not getting enough to support them the way the rate of inflation is. The guys are struggling. We are out here today and we are not getting paid for today on top of not getting a decent pay. It just shows you how strongly members feel so hopefully the government will listen.”

A NIPSA spokesperson said: “Thousands of members of NIPSA in the health service will be on 24 hour strike across NI. NIPSA members involved in the action include domiciliary care, social work, ambulance workers, administration and nursing staff.”

Further escalation will follow over the next few weeks with a potential one day public sector general strike already under discussion.

Pádraig Mulholland, NIPSA Deputy General Secretary said: "NIPSA members in the health service are increasing their industrial action at the same time as our sister unions are striking in the education sector. Our combined action is a warning to employers that workers are not prepared to accept real terms pay cuts and the destruction of services.

"We must have inflation busting pay rises for all health service workers and an end to the chronic understaffing that puts lives at risk. We cannot have a decent health service if thousands of posts are vacant and the staff are living in poverty.”