Striking Airedale Hospital workers will today [Friday, 16 January 2026] hand in 7,000 strong petition to bosses, days before they walk out for a week.
More than 200 essential staff, including porters, domestic staff, catering teams, and security personnel, will strike from 20 January to 26 January, demanding NHS pensions for NHS work.
Today GMB members will hand-deliver a petition with more than 7,000 signatures to Airedale NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive, Foluke Ajayi.The affected staff were outsourced to AGH Solutions (AGHS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, in 2018.
Since then, they have secured significant improvements to bring their terms and conditions closer to NHS standards. However, pension inequality remains unresolved.
Joe Wheatley, GMB Organiser, said:
“The strength of feeling and support for GMB members at the hospital has been overwhelming.
"As we gear up for the next round of industrial action, it’s not too late for Airedale bosses to see sense and return to the negotiating table to resolve the pension debacle.
"It cannot be right that the top 10 senior managers at Airedale Trust earn nearly as much as it would cost to uplift 300 NHS workers onto the NHS pension.
"The ball is now firmly in Foluke Ajayi’s court, and the public are watching and waiting for her to do the right thing.”
