MORE than 200 hospital services staff began a week-long strike over receiving lower pensions than NHS colleagues at Airedale General Hospital today.

The GMB members are outsourced porters, domestics, catering and security staff employed by NHS subsidiary AGH Solutions.

They want full alignment for all AGH Solutions workers onto NHS Agenda for Change pay, terms and conditions including pensions.

Last Friday they handed a petition of more than 7,000 signatures to Airedale NHS Foundation Trust’s chief executive Foluke Ajayi with their demands.

The strike is set to last until January 26 if an agreement is not reached, GMB said.

The union hailed “significant improvements” to bring their terms and conditions closer to NHS standards following series of walkouts last year.

AGH Solutions has said that it has made “significant improvements” to its pay, terms and conditions and would work with the GMB union to try to resolve the dispute.