A CALL for a millennium strike on December 31 and January 1 is to be debated by delegates to the largest health service union's conference after Frank Dobson confirmed yesterday that there would be no national millennium payments for NHS staff, writes Roy Rogers, Industry Correspondent.

The health secretary also angered NHS workers by telling delegates to Unison's health care conference that the 2.8% offer to 250,000 NHS staff not covered by pay review body awards was broadly in line with other public sector settlements and therefore unlikely to be improved.

Mr Dobson, who was given a fairly rough ride by the 800 delegates to the Brighton conference stressed there would be no national offer in reply to the union's claim for payments of #500 for NHS staff operating overnight shifts on December 31/January 1 and #250 for the first morning shift of January 1, although he said it was up to local NHS trusts to decide what was necessary in their areas.

However, an internal NHS circular from human resources director Hugh Taylor goes further by detailing that ''the Government have decided they are not prepared to agree to any new, specific national arrangement nor to provide central funds for extra payments to staff''. It adds that staff and managers should expect that those who are rostered to work or be on call should accept their obligations ''under their normal terms of service''.

The emergency motion from the union's south-west regional health committee denounces this ''cynical exploitation'' of NHS workers and calls for the two-day stoppage unless national negotiations are opened immediately.

Challenged to explain the reasoning behind the 2.8% offered to non pay review body staff when nurses and midwives had been awarded between 4.7% and 11%, Mr Dobson said it was the nurses and midwives review body that recommended a larger pay settlement, and the Government had accepted that recommendation.

On the other hand, the 2.8% offer to non pay review body staff including admin and clerical workers, ambulance service staff, professional and technical employees, and hospital ancillaries was ''broadly in line with other offers in the public sector''.