Hospital Workers Initiate Strike Regarding Unpaid Covid-19 Bonus

Hospital porters, cleaners, and catering personnel have commenced a two-week industrial action. This strike stems from a disagreement concerning bonuses intended for health workers, which were designed to acknowledge the strain experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The GMB union stated that its members employed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital did not receive this payment, as they were not directly employed by the NHS as of March 31, 2023. Kerry Nash, a senior organiser for the GMB, commented that the workers who did not receive the payment contribute to “vital services” and “should be recognised”. The NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group indicated that it is collaborating with trade unions to settle the disagreement. It also assured patients that it possesses “robust plans” to guarantee that hospital appointments remain undisturbed. Ms. Nash provided comments to the BBC on Monday morning from the picket line situated outside the Royal Liverpool Hospital. This current action marks the second strike, following a 48-hour strike that occurred in June of this year. She stated: “They’re not asking for anything different than what’s been paid to other staff in the NHS, and even some of their colleagues.” The GMB union informed the BBC that the hospital’s porters, cleaners, and caterers were contracted out to ISS, a private firm, throughout the pandemic, but were subsequently brought back under direct employment on April 1, 2023. The union asserted that, consequently, 60% of these previously outsourced employees did not receive the lump sum payment that was provided to directly-employed NHS staff and those colleagues working under the NHS’s Agenda for Change contract. This contract, which was implemented in December 2004, establishes the pay structure for over one million individuals working for the health service via permanent and fixed-term agreements. Jackie Whittaker, a case supervisor at Royal Liverpool Hospital, stressed that the industrial action was essentially about “fairness”. She questioned: “There are people standing alongside each other doing the same job. How can you pay one and not the other?” Jackie Johnson, another employee participating in the picket, informed the BBC that she believes porters, cleaners, and catering personnel in hospitals are frequently “taken for granted”. She added: “We do a good job, a hard job. It makes you feel demoralised. We think, ‘is there a difference between us?’” A spokesperson for the NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group stated: “We value and recognise the contributions our colleagues have made. We are continuing to work with trade unions and remain committed to resolving this dispute.“We’d like to reassure patients and our communities that we have robust plans in place to ensure we continue to provide patients with safe care and that they should attend their hospital appointments as planned.” They further mentioned that the contract with ISS for porters, cleaners, and caterers was initiated prior to the pandemic and remained in effect until these services were internalized in April 2023. A spokesperson for ISS commented: “While employees at ISS are typically outside the scope of the Government’s NHS benefit provisions, including the lump sum payment, we are committed to seeking to secure the best conditions for all our valued team members. The employees concerned are no longer contracted with ISS.”