Health minister John Denham and NHS head of private finance and capital Peter Coates last week met a delegation of striking Unison members from Dudley Group of Hospitals trust. About 600 mainly ancillary workers have voted for a fifth strike - for 10 days from Monday - against their transfer out of the NHS in a private finance initiative deal. Unison joint branch secretary Mark New said: 'The fact we had a meeting was significant. They are having to take this seriously and discuss it at the highest level. '