General secretary Christina McAnea welcomed members from the south west to UNISON Centre yesterday to help them celebrate a major campaigning victory.
Members from Dorset who worked across three NHS trusts prevented the introduction of a subco which would have moved 1,700 facilities staff out of direct NHS employment, affecting their terms and conditions including their pensions.
It is a huge win for porters, caterers, housekeepers, and other NHS facilities staff.
Christina McAnea, who has led national opposition to subcos since 2017, praised the campaign: “Every time we’ve seen a subco, we’ve launched a campaign against it – and this was no different,” she said.
“There was no way we were accepting it. Having members up for the fight is fantastic. Dorset’s victory is a brilliant example of how organising works.”
UNISON members mobilised quickly, held meetings, protests and co-ordinated action sending more than 1,500 letters to local MPs. Posters were repeatedly removed by the trust – but members replaced them and pushed back harder.
General secretary Christina McAnea with members form Dorset
“I’ve worked in the NHS for 33 years,” said one member. “This fight wasn’t just for me — it was to protect terms and conditions for the people who come after us.”
One worker recalled: “There were no advantages for staff to move to a subco. We’re already underpaid – you can’t cut our salaries any more. The managers never say, ‘let’s have a subco for the management’, but they think it’s okay for people lower down the chain.”
Despite management’s attempts to lift morale – including offering free cake and even bringing alpacas on site – staff saw through the distractions. “Housekeeping didn’t even get an alpaca,” one worker joked. “We wanted respect, not treats.”
“People who’d never been involved before started coming to meetings and asking questions,” said another rep. “It’s built us into a stronger union.”
One win, but the war isn’t over
The creation of the subco has now been paused, following sustained pressure from UNISON members, reps and Labour MPs. While the threat isn’t completely gone, Dorset’s campaign has set a strong precedent for others across the country.
One member pointed out: “Just because we won our fight doesn’t mean it’s over – there are still colleagues in subcos that need to be brought back into the NHS.”
“This win shows what’s possible when workers stand together,” added Christina McAnea. “But we must stay alert – trusts might still look for ways to exploit subcos as a backdoor to privatisation. Dorset has shown how to stop them.”
For those involved, the experience has been transformative. “It’s been chaos — but inspiring chaos,” one member said. “If my job hadn’t been at risk, I might even say I enjoyed it.”
Another added: “Facilities staff are the unseen NHS. We keep hospitals running. This campaign showed our power.”
As one rep summed it up: “We are the workers. We are the ones who power through. And this is our NHS.”
