GMB, the union for NHS and healthcare workers, has announced that the strike action being undertaken by their members within South London & Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM) will continue for a further four days this month.
The members are employed by outsourcing giant ISS as domestics and caterers within the Trust and are in dispute with their employer over wages and conditions.
The workers have already taken strike action for 2 days, and will walk out for a further 4 days commencing Wednesday 17 May.
Helen O’Connor, GMB Regional Organiser said:
“Our hard-working members have been robbed blind by ISS for a number of years, with contractually owed pay rises not being passed on and the workforce plunged into poverty as a result.
“SLaM Trust management seem to believe they are a Real London Living Wage employer, but the basic pay of these outsourced workers tells a different story as they are 90p an hour short of the Real Living Wage.
“Our members do not want to go out on strike again, but they do not trust ISS since the pay rises they are entitled to were deliberately withheld.
“They are deeply unhappy that they have been forced to take 48 hours of strike action for ISS to finally offer very low pay rises from previous years, which will not be sufficient to resolve the dispute.
“The last 48-hour strike caused significant disruption across the trust - we know that food was served up to patients and temperature checks were not completed creating a health and safety risk and we anticipate that four days of strike action will have an even worse impact.
“Enough is enough and GMB is calling on SLaM management to intervene in this dispute for the sake of the workers, the patients and everyone across the hospital sites.”
