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Further NHS strikes planned for November

Staff across the NHS will strike for four hours on the morning of 24 November, according to union Unite.

The action follows continued anger among staff and unions over health secretary Jeremy Hunt's decision not to award the 1% pay increase recommended by the Pay Review Body in February.

Workers have been further riled by a perceived unwillingness on the part of Hunt to hold talks over pay.

Unite has 100,000 members in the health service. They previously voted to strike, along with Unison, the Royal College of Midwives and others, on 13 October.

Unite head of health Rachel Maskell accused Hunt of "pulling the shutters down" on talks over pay.

"It is a snub to the dedicated and hardworking health professionals that sustain the NHS day in, day out, 365 days-a-year, as demand for services soar," she said.

“The stonewalling [by] Hunt has energised our members to build on the industrial action they took earlier this month and to strike for four hours on Monday 24 November.”

In total 11 unions will be involved in industrial action on and in the days following 24 November. Nine will strike and a further two (The British Dieticians Association and Hospital Consultants & Specialists Association) will take part in action short of striking. This typically involves refusing to work over contracted hours. 

The strikes that have taken place since October 13 are the first over pay in the NHS for 32 years.