St George’s Hospital faces ‘severe disruption’ when staff go on strike next week, GMB Union has warned.
Staff employed as cleaners and hostesses by outsourcing giant Mitie at the Tooting hospital will take their first three days of strike action from Monday [30 May] over pay and conditions.
The company caused huge anger when wages were withheld for seven weeks whilst they restructured pay cycles - shortly before announcing they had acquired telecom company 8point8 for £10 million.
The planned three days of strike action, which will begin on Monday 30th May for 24 hours [1], will include a march and a rally as GMB members demand that the contract is taken back in house by St Georges NHS Trust.
Helen O’Connor, GMB Organiser, said:
“GMB members are furious Mitie has spent millions on taking over a new company whilst their own wages, terms and conditions are being driven into the floor.
“Their hard work has secured the contract for Mitie in St George’s hospital but all they experience is pay shortfalls and disruption.
“These workers have served the hospital throughout the pandemic at great risk to themselves and they care about their work and the patients.
“Our members want compensation for the hardship and suffering that Mitie have put them through by withholding wages and they want to all be on NHS contracts and have fair and equal terms and conditions.
"Our members will have no option but to strike if the trust fails to come to the table to resolve this dispute.
“No one wants a strike in a hospital, but GMB has hundreds of angry members who are willing to do so.
“We anticipate significant disruption to cleaning and catering services in the hospital if the strike action goes ahead.”
