UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, will today (20 Jan) join striking Compass – Medirest workers on the picket line at Buckinghamshire NHS Trust. The workers are on a 48-hour strike over pay and conditions. Mr Prentis will also be speaking at a rally in High Wycombe town centre at 1pm.
188 workers employed as cleaners, porters, and in hospital catering, should have been on Agenda for Change* terms and conditions since October 1 2006, funded by a cash injection of £75 million to all Trusts from the Labour government. This would have given NHS workers, even those employed by a private contractor, a basic pay rate and standardised terms and conditions such as sick and holiday pay.
The refusal by Compass-Medirest to honour Agenda for Change pay and conditions, means that their staff get just £6.35 per hour, when they should be getting £6.98 Ð the current bottom rate in the NHS. The staff donÕt get sick pay, leading to many coming into work on wards when they are ill. On such low pay, they cannot afford to take time off. They also do not get extra pay for working weekends or overtime.
The strike is the last resort for the union, which has been trying to negotiate with the company for four years. The negotiations included approaching ACAS, but talks failed when the company and the Trust showed no willingness to boost pay and conditions for staff. This is the workers second wave of action, after two days in December last year.
Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:
ÒBuckinghamshire is one of the wealthiest areas in the UK, but Compass Medirest workers and their families are left struggling to make ends meet. They get just above the minimum wage, but are being cheated out of the pay they are entitled to by this hugely profitable company. £6.35 per hour leaves staff getting just £20 a week above benefit levels, and high inflation and rising bills are piling on the pressure.
ÒThe combination of low pay and lack of sick pay means that Medirest workers in Bucks have little choice but to go in even when they are ill. That is bad news for vulnerable patients on the wards, and for those being served food to in hospital canteens.
ÒThis is 2011, it cannot be right that staff can be treated in this 18th century fashion. It is time for the Trust and the Company to see sense and treat workers fairly. This strike is a last resort, but the company and trust have left these workers with little choice.Ó
Notes to Editors
*Agenda for Change was designed to bring and fair and equal pay into the NHS. It was the biggest shake up in pay since the NHS was founded more than 60 years ago.
The new pay and grading package covered more than 1 million NHS workers, including people working on contracts for the NHS, to prevent a two-tier workforce.
The picket line is at Bucks Hospital, and the rally will be taking place on High Wycombe High Street (near McDonalds) from 1pm, for 30 mins.