North West hospital staff to strike for pay equality

Outsourced staff at three NHS trusts in north west England will strike for pay equality in two weeks unless their employer Compass agrees to match NHS rates. UNISON has issued official strike notifications covering workers at St Helens and Knowsley teaching hospitals, Blackpool teaching hospitals and Liverpool heart and chest hospitals. One-day strikes will take place on 31 July if current talks between the union and Compass don’t produce a solution, after workers at all three trusts produced 100% votes for action, on turnouts of between 66.7% and 78.6%. The members involved are catering, cleaning, security, portering and reception staff. Most of them are on the national minimum wage of just £8.21 an hour. But they work alongside colleagues – either directly employed by the NHS or employed by Compass on TUPE-protected NHS terms – who are paid at least £9.03 an hour. TUPE: what is it and what does it mean? That 82p an hour difference amounts to a loss of £1,600 a year for full-time workers, says UNISON. “It’s disheartening to work alongside colleagues doing the same job who are getting paid more than you,” says St Helens hospital Compass porter Donovan Rowe. “It’s affecting staff morale and creating a divide between staff on NHS contracts and the rest of us. We do the same jobs and it’s only right that we get the same pay. “I’m working weekend and night shifts, but unlike my NHS colleagues, don’t earn any extra for doing these.” As well as a higher...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: News health care Industrial action National Health Service NHS nhs pay north west region private contractors strike Source Type: news