Top union representatives have backed workers at Airedale Hospital who are fighting to keep subsidised meals.

The GMB national officer for the NHS, Sharon Holder, visited workers at the Steeton hospital who have been outraged by a 33 per cent price increase in meals to be phased in by next April. Staff representatives say it will make lower paid workers worse off and wipe out their last wage increase.

They argue that the move has also badly hit morale at the hospital, and have urged the trust board to rethink its actions. Airedale NHS Trust directors say the £80,000 annual subsidy on staff meals has to go as part of a £1.8million cost-cutting drive.

Staff also raised concerns about the merger of mental health services between Bradford and Airedale, and what they perceived to be a lack of consultation with staff.

Many of the workers feel that this is the start of the merger between Airedale and Bradford NHS trusts.

They fear this could lead to more services being transferred to Bradford, leaving patients and staff in the Keighley and South Craven area with a much longer journey down the Aire Valley.

Gary Baker, the GMB regional organiser for the NHS, said: "More and more workers in this region are feeling let down and unsure of their futures, mainly because trust boards don't know how to talk to staff and just implement changes, as we have seen with the recent increase in staff meals at Airedale.

"It is just making it harder for staff to stay in the NHS as many can earn more money in the private sector."