Further strikes at St George's Hospital as talks fail
South London hospital cleaners won’t be working during record breaking heatwave
GMB, the union for all NHS workers, has announced further strike dates at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, as talks between the trust’s contractor and union representatives failed to reach a settlement.
Staff employed by the trust’s contractor Mitie as cleaners and hostesses are set to take a further five days of strike action starting this Sunday [17 July] as the row over pay and conditions escalates.
The strike dates have been confirmed as Sunday 17, Wednesday 20, Thursday 21, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July, with the workers operating a ‘work-to-rule’ policy in between times.
The GMB members have taken ten days of strike action so far and are demanding equal pay for equal work as some are on NHS contracts and others are on inferior Mitie terms and conditions.
Helen O’Connor, GMB Regional Organiser said:
“Given that the Met Office have issued an amber alert due to the temperatures expected next week, you’d have thought that the trust or their contractor might be a bit keener to settle this dispute.
“A hospital not being cleaned properly is unacceptable at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a heatwave, with flies buzzing around and smelly rubbish going uncollected.
“GMB’s low paid members at St George’s can’t afford to play games and they seek a speedy resolution to this dispute.
“This dispute is damaging the hospital and it is impacting patient care, so GMB is once again calling on St George’s to put a stop to these strikes for once and for all by engaging in talks with us.”
