Hospital staff set for strikes

Nurses, porters and other staff at some of Britain's leading teaching hospitals are set for a series of 24-hour strikes after voting for industrial action over pay, it was announced yesterday.

Around 1,000 members of Unison employed by UCL Hospitals Trust in central London are seeking a 6.5 per cent pay rise. The union has rejected a rise of 3.25 per cent for its members, who work at the Middlesex, University College and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospitals.