Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust makes 'real step change' after series of strikes

More than 1,000 hospital porters, cleaners and catering staff working for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust will get the NHS basic pay rates, sick leave and access to pensions.

The move by the trust, which include Charing Cross, Hammermith and Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospitals in our borough plus St Mary’s in Paddington,follows a series of strikes by the workers who were employed by contractors.

The decision was welcomed by cleaner Loretta, a member of the United Voices of the World union.

She said: "In November our strikes forced them to pay us the London Living Wage, it meant we got an extra several hundred pounds a month, but it wasn’t enough. We thought, ‘why shouldn’t we be paid like all other NHS workers?’ and we kept on fighting for full equality."

The hospital worker who organised her colleagues said:  "Now I won’t have to choose between paying my rent and protecting my health. Striking was not an easy thing to do, but we’ve proven that by sticking together, and by having the support of the amazing union UVW, that workers can win for themselves and patients up and down the country."

The trust said the move "will help ensure our hospital  services staff are able to play their full and fair role within our care teams and enable us to improve service quality".

It staged a review last autumn as contracts were due to run out in March. It decided to manage the services itself, instead.

However the move could be temporary as it will evaluate the move after a year to see whether it carries on employing those workers directly.

Imperial College Healthcare chief executive Professor Tim Orchard said: "We now have an opportunity to make a real step change – for our patients and our staff – that best suits our circumstances.

"These changes will create additional cost pressures next year but we are confident that there are also benefits to unlock, arising from better team working, more co-ordinated planning and improved quality."

The Trust will now consult its staff and trade union partners on transferring approximately 1,000 hotel services staff to its employment from the current holder of its hotel services contract, Sodexo, under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) rules.

Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter

February 3, 2020