HEALTH workers in Colchester have asked for reassurances there will not be changes locally to the way pay deals are made.

Representatives from trade union Unite wrote to Dr Gordon Coutts, chief executive of the Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, with concerns about national changes to NHS employee terms and conditions.

The letter and petition asked for assurances there would be no change to the way terms are negotiated and agreed locally.

A spokesman for the health trust said: “We currently apply NHS national terms and conditions and local flexibilities where the national terms allow. Any local arrangements are always agreed in full partnership with our staff side union representatives.”