by Simon Tulett

Strike action at Darent Valley Hospital has been averted thanks to negotiations, but staff say there could still be a walkout if further concessions are not made.

Cleaners, caterers and porters at the facility, in Darenth Wood Road, Dartford, were on schedule to down tools during the Christmas period in an overtime pay row.

Unison, the public sector services union, says hospital bosses reneged on a promised pay deal for non-clinical staff who work unsociable hours, which would bring their wages more in line with other NHS employees.

Staff working for Carillion, a private company contracted by Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, had proposed an official strike ballot but this was called off following talks with the trust, which runs the hospital.

Carillion workers will now receive unsociable hours pay from January 1, 2010, with cash backdated to April 2009. But Unison says many staff are still concerned because their overtime pay will not be backdated to October 2006, when a nationwide NHS pay deal, including unsociable shift rates, was agreed.

Zoe Van Dyke, Unison regional organiser, said the cash shortfalls for each member of staff in the last three years could be as much as £4,000. "I was quite surprised at how angry they were," she said.

A further consultative ballot on the new terms was due to be carried out yesterday (Wednesday), with results announced in the next few days.