PHYSIOTHERAPISTS are to stage their biggest strike to date after accusing the government of refusing to negotiate with health unions over NHS pay.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said 4,500 of its members at 56 trusts in England will strike on Wednesday March 22, describing it as a significant escalation of the dispute.

It follows two strikes in January and February in which physiotherapy staff at 30 and 33 trusts respectively walked out.

The CSP said progress has continued in Scotland and Wales, with respective governments engaging in negotiations and offering physiotherapy staff a better pay deal.

The government has been criticised for only holding talks on NHS pay with the Royal College of Nursing.

Claire Sullivan, director of employment relations at the CSP, said: “It is incredibly frustrating for us to be at exactly the same point we were at the beginning of the year despite our continued calls for talks with the government.

“The blanket silence from ministers on this issue has left us with no choice but to ask members to walk out again.

“This strike will be our biggest yet, meaning it will affect more patients and more areas of the NHS, and it is simply inexplicable that the government is doing nothing to resolve this dispute.

“Its tactics over the last week — speaking to just one union when all staff apart from doctors and dentists are on the same pay scale — were provocative, divisive and simply outrageous.

“We have a mandate to strike in 119 trusts until June and will not hesitate to continue using it beyond March 22 if nothing changes.”