Dudley NHS staff gain Mitie victory

More than 300 hospital workers in Dudley represented by UNISON are celebrating victory after their employer, Mitie, committed to paying the lump sum COVID bonus due to them at the end of last week.

The one-off payment is worth at least £1,655 for full-time health workers, including porters, domestics, sterile services and catering staff working in the NHS.

Mitie applied for funding for the pay deal from the Department of Health and Social Care and has written to UNISON to say that its application for funding had been successful.

Staff had taken three days of strike action over the company’s previous refusal to honour the payment, already given to health workers employed directly by the NHS in June.

The sum was part of a deal agreed for all staff on NHS contracts and Agenda for Change pay scales, but Mitie said it could not afford to pay up.

UNISON has now called off further strike dates due to take place today and on Wednesday.

UNISON West Midlands regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said: “This is a victory for the hundreds of low-paid health workers employed by Mitie in Dudley.

“They worked through the pandemic in the most challenging conditions imaginable. It is only right they receive the same COVID bonus payment as directly employed NHS staff.

“Workers took the tough decision to make a stand and show their strength of feeling. The high-profile strike action created pressure that focused the minds of Mitie executives and has ended the dispute.

“But Mitie generates huge profits and had the ability to pay its staff all along. It could have easily avoided this strike.

“UNISON and Unite have called off further action. Mitie must now get this money into the pockets of its workers immediately.”

The article Dudley NHS staff gain Mitie victory first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Dudley NHS staff gain Mitie victory

More than 300 hospital workers in Dudley represented by UNISON are celebrating victory after their employer, Mitie, committed to paying the lump sum COVID bonus due to them at the end of last week.

The one-off payment is worth at least £1,655 for full-time health workers, including porters, domestics, sterile services and catering staff working in the NHS.

Mitie applied for funding for the pay deal from the Department of Health and Social Care and has written to UNISON to say that its application for funding had been successful.

Staff had taken three days of strike action over the company’s previous refusal to honour the payment, already given to health workers employed directly by the NHS in June.

The sum was part of a deal agreed for all staff on NHS contracts and Agenda for Change pay scales, but Mitie said it could not afford to pay up.

UNISON has now called off further strike dates due to take place today and on Wednesday.

UNISON West Midlands regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said: “This is a victory for the hundreds of low-paid health workers employed by Mitie in Dudley.

“They worked through the pandemic in the most challenging conditions imaginable. It is only right they receive the same COVID bonus payment as directly employed NHS staff.

“Workers took the tough decision to make a stand and show their strength of feeling. The high-profile strike action created pressure that focused the minds of Mitie executives and has ended the dispute.

“But Mitie generates huge profits and had the ability to pay its staff all along. It could have easily avoided this strike.

“UNISON and Unite have called off further action. Mitie must now get this money into the pockets of its workers immediately.”

The article Dudley NHS staff gain Mitie victory first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Dudley MP raises Mitie strikers’ struggle in the Commons

UNISON members employed by private contractor Mitie at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, in the West Midlands, received support yesterday from local MP Marco Longhi, in their fight to receive a government mandated COVID-19 bonus payment that has been paid to non-medical staff who are directly employed by the NHS.

Having already taken three days of strike action, they will be striking again on 25 and 27 March.

Conservative MP Mr Longhi asked the leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, whether she would support the workers.

He said: “I would like to place on record my thanks to the workers employed by Mitie during the pandemic and encourage the Department of Health and Social Care to work with me and resolve this issue.”

Ms Mordaunt responded that extra funding was being made available for private contractors such as Mitie to apply for money for the extra payment for those not directly employed by the health service.

She added that she would make sure the individual case of the Dudley hospital workers is looked at in a bid to resolve the problem.

Denise Stevens, a domestic at the hospital and a UNISON steward (pictured above on the right), said: “All we are asking for is the same COVID-19 bonus payment that NHS colleagues received last year.

“The support from the local Black Country community has been huge on strike days and throughout this dispute.

“We have received support from the Dudley North MP, Marco Longhi, as well as Labour politicians in the area, demonstrating that our support is widespread and from across the political spectrum.”

Regional organiser Ollie Hopkins added: “Mitie say they can’t afford to pay the bonus, but they have found the money to bus in strike-breaking workers, from Cumbria to Kent, with food provided, paid travel time, accommodation and a voucher offered for covering the strike action.

“The cruel irony, that Mitie say they can’t afford to pay low-paid workers the COVID bonus but can find the money for the strike breaking, has not been lost on the workers.

“As Marco Longhi MP said in Parliament, Mitie wants the taxpayer to cover the payments.

“But with millions in profits, Mitie should stop dragging their feet and waiting for the government to bail them out. Their CEO’s bonus was bigger than the total cost of the 450 Dudley health workers bonuses combined, so they have the money to end this dispute in an instant.”

The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay

The article Dudley MP raises Mitie strikers’ struggle in the Commons first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Dudley MP raises Mitie strikers’ struggle in the Commons

UNISON members employed by private contractor Mitie at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, in the West Midlands, received support yesterday from local MP Marco Longhi, in their fight to receive a government mandated COVID-19 bonus payment that has been paid to non-medical staff who are directly employed by the NHS.

Having already taken three days of strike action, they will be striking again on 25 and 27 March.

Conservative MP Mr Longhi asked the leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, whether she would support the workers.

He said: “I would like to place on record my thanks to the workers employed by Mitie during the pandemic and encourage the Department of Health and Social Care to work with me and resolve this issue.”

Ms Mordaunt responded that extra funding was being made available for private contractors such as Mitie to apply for money for the extra payment for those not directly employed by the health service.

She added that she would make sure the individual case of the Dudley hospital workers is looked at in a bid to resolve the problem.

Denise Stevens, a domestic at the hospital and a UNISON steward (pictured above on the right), said: “All we are asking for is the same COVID-19 bonus payment that NHS colleagues received last year.

“The support from the local Black Country community has been huge on strike days and throughout this dispute.

“We have received support from the Dudley North MP, Marco Longhi, as well as Labour politicians in the area, demonstrating that our support is widespread and from across the political spectrum.”

Regional organiser Ollie Hopkins added: “Mitie say they can’t afford to pay the bonus, but they have found the money to bus in strike-breaking workers, from Cumbria to Kent, with food provided, paid travel time, accommodation and a voucher offered for covering the strike action.

“The cruel irony, that Mitie say they can’t afford to pay low-paid workers the COVID bonus but can find the money for the strike breaking, has not been lost on the workers.

“As Marco Longhi MP said in Parliament, Mitie wants the taxpayer to cover the payments.

“But with millions in profits, Mitie should stop dragging their feet and waiting for the government to bail them out. Their CEO’s bonus was bigger than the total cost of the 450 Dudley health workers bonuses combined, so they have the money to end this dispute in an instant.”

The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay

The article Dudley MP raises Mitie strikers’ struggle in the Commons first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Mitie must pay healthcare workers what they are owed or strikes will continue, say UNISON and Unite

Mitie chief executive Phil Bentley must pay healthcare workers in the West Midlands the lump sum they are owed, say UNISON and Unite today (Thursday).

The general secretaries of the UK’s two largest unions have written to Mr Bentley to say strikes* planned for today (Thursday) from 5am and next Friday (8 March) will go ahead unless hospital staff get a one-off £1,655 payment** that other NHS staff have already received.

Cleaners, porters and catering employees are among around 370 workers set to strike again following action which began with Unite in December.

All are contracted by Mitie to work at three hospitals run by The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and are among the lowest-paid staff in the NHS.

The letter to Mr Bentley says that the £1,655 lump sum was part of the deal agreed by the government and health unions last year following strikes in the NHS. The one-off payment has already been awarded to “hundreds of thousands of NHS employees”.

The letter says many of the staff “worked, alongside their NHS colleagues, throughout the Covid pandemic”, and that Mitie is “treating them unfairly and forcing them into hardship” by withholding the money.

UNISON and Unite say the company claims the extra payment is unaffordable. The letter adds: “If that is the case, then we struggle to see how Mitie could pay the £5.9m remuneration package you (Mr Bentley) received last year, or your annual bonus.

“Mitie can easily afford to pay the lump sum. Its profits were generated from the hard work and dedication of low-paid employees. They (the staff) put their own health at risk and that of their families for no additional reward.”

Mitie is attempting to break the strikes by bussing in staff represented by the Prison Officers’ Association from other NHS sites, which the unions say is “despicable”.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Health staff would rather be back at work than on the picket line. But Mitie has forced them into taking strike action.

“The company says it hasn’t got the money to pay this lump sum. Yet it can find the cash to spend on bringing in strike-breaking workers from sites miles away.

“Mitie must do what’s right and pay up now or the strikes will continue.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is shameful that these vital workers who keep the NHS going are being kicked in the teeth by their employer. Mitie is a multi-million-pound company which announced huge profits last year. It can easily afford to pay them the money they are owed.

“Instead, Mitie has dragged its feet every step of the way and forced some of the lowest-paid workers in the NHS onto the picket line in their fight for fair pay. They will have Unite’s full backing.”

Notes to editors:
– *A picket will in place outside the entrance to Russells Hall Hospital, Pensnett Road/High Street, Dudley from 8am to noon today. Photographs will be available on request.
-? **In June 2023, a deal was agreed for all staff on NHS contracts who are on Agenda for Change pay scales. This included a one-off payment for 2022/23.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
– Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.

Media contacts:
Ollie Hopkins M: 07939 143195 E: o.hopkins@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
David Carnell M: 07718 666592 E: david.carnell@unitetheunion.org

The article Mitie must pay healthcare workers what they are owed or strikes will continue, say UNISON and Unite first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Mitie must pay healthcare workers what they are owed or strikes will continue, say UNISON and Unite

Mitie chief executive Phil Bentley must pay healthcare workers in the West Midlands the lump sum they are owed, say UNISON and Unite today (Thursday).

The general secretaries of the UK’s two largest unions have written to Mr Bentley to say strikes* planned for today (Thursday) from 5am and next Friday (8 March) will go ahead unless hospital staff get a one-off £1,655 payment** that other NHS staff have already received.

Cleaners, porters and catering employees are among around 370 workers set to strike again following action which began with Unite in December.

All are contracted by Mitie to work at three hospitals run by The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and are among the lowest-paid staff in the NHS.

The letter to Mr Bentley says that the £1,655 lump sum was part of the deal agreed by the government and health unions last year following strikes in the NHS. The one-off payment has already been awarded to “hundreds of thousands of NHS employees”.

The letter says many of the staff “worked, alongside their NHS colleagues, throughout the Covid pandemic”, and that Mitie is “treating them unfairly and forcing them into hardship” by withholding the money.

UNISON and Unite say the company claims the extra payment is unaffordable. The letter adds: “If that is the case, then we struggle to see how Mitie could pay the £5.9m remuneration package you (Mr Bentley) received last year, or your annual bonus.

“Mitie can easily afford to pay the lump sum. Its profits were generated from the hard work and dedication of low-paid employees. They (the staff) put their own health at risk and that of their families for no additional reward.”

Mitie is attempting to break the strikes by bussing in staff represented by the Prison Officers’ Association from other NHS sites, which the unions say is “despicable”.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Health staff would rather be back at work than on the picket line. But Mitie has forced them into taking strike action.

“The company says it hasn’t got the money to pay this lump sum. Yet it can find the cash to spend on bringing in strike-breaking workers from sites miles away.

“Mitie must do what’s right and pay up now or the strikes will continue.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is shameful that these vital workers who keep the NHS going are being kicked in the teeth by their employer. Mitie is a multi-million-pound company which announced huge profits last year. It can easily afford to pay them the money they are owed.

“Instead, Mitie has dragged its feet every step of the way and forced some of the lowest-paid workers in the NHS onto the picket line in their fight for fair pay. They will have Unite’s full backing.”

Notes to editors:
– *A picket will in place outside the entrance to Russells Hall Hospital, Pensnett Road/High Street, Dudley from 8am to noon today. Photographs will be available on request.
-? **In June 2023, a deal was agreed for all staff on NHS contracts who are on Agenda for Change pay scales. This included a one-off payment for 2022/23.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
– Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.

Media contacts:
Ollie Hopkins M: 07939 143195 E: o.hopkins@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
David Carnell M: 07718 666592 E: david.carnell@unitetheunion.org

The article Mitie must pay healthcare workers what they are owed or strikes will continue, say UNISON and Unite first appeared on the UNISON National site.

The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay

It’s a classic case of David v Goliath, with part-time hospital cleaner ‘Dudley Denise’ facing up to Mitie CEO ‘Miami Phil’. But in Denise’s corner, she and her colleagues have UNISON.

And when a group of them visited UNISON Centre on Wednesday, general secretary Christina McAnea (pictured above) made sure they knew the union is proud of them and that they’ll get all the support they need.

The members, who are employed by private contractor Mitie at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, walked out on their first day of strike action at 5am this morning (Friday), along with colleagues in UNITE.

The company continues to refuse to pay a COVID bonus payment that the government agreed last year as part of a wider settlement to the NHS dispute.

This is despite Mitie being signed up to Agenda for Change, which means members of the NHS workforce that it employs should not be treated differently to those employed directly by the service.

The bonus would be worth around £1,600 for the lowest-paid staff.

There’s long been a perception among some people that non-medical staff in the health service are not as ‘important’ as the medical staff. But as was crystal clear from a round-table conversation with Christina, the health service cannot run without them.

A placard for Mitie workers saying 'where's our pay' in contrast to the company's profits

From porters to cleaners, from cooks to switchboard operators and those providing sterile services, not only are they key workers in the NHS, they were key workers throughout the pandemic – and their experiences of that were no different to those of medical staff.

The group spoke of porters not seeing newborn family members for months because of the risk of passing on the virus; of cleaners following trolleys taking the COVID dead to the hospital morgue, cleaning as they went.

They recalled the double-figure queues of ambulances waiting outside the same morgue, along with the colleagues they themselves lost. And of course, there was a lack of PPE.

“When it was over, we were given a certificate and a badge,” says Rich. “But it will live with us for the rest of our lives.”

Linda adds: “It’s not about the money. It’s about the recognition for what we did during COVID.”

As employees, they have received emails telling them that the company couldn’t afford to pay the bonus. As “token shareholders” in Mitie, they have also received emails telling them that the company was making “record profits”.

Last November, Mitie announced mighty half-year profits of £28m (up 24%) and has forecast a full-year profit of £190m.

The company handed boss Phil Bentley a reported pay packet of £5.9m, with a bonus of £980,000. The bonus alone is more than the sum that Mitie itself calculates would be needed to pay the staff their deserved bonuses.

Mr Bentley formerly ran Cable and Wireless in Florida and he has been dubbed ‘Miami Phil’ by the strikers.

There’s no record of whether he came up against any Miami vice during his sojourn in the Sunshine State, but here, he’s up against ‘Dudley Denise’, a UNISON steward with over 37 years of experience working at Russells Hall (pictured below).

Denise, a Mitie worker and UNISON steward

“I went there as a young girl – and I’ve done everything there,” she explains. “I did 22 years as a porter; I’ve done supervising there – I was a supervisor for 14 years.

“And then I lost my husband and I moved onto mornings – I’d always worked evenings because of the children. And now I’m cleaning where all the managers are,” she adds with a chuckle.

The group had told Christina that they were “like a family”. Does Denise think that is why they’re so together in this dispute?

“I think we’ve all been there so many years, from young girls – in our sixties now! Some of my friends have lost their husbands or divorced, but we’ve always kept our ties. We’ve always done Christmas parties, birthday parties; we’ve always had that closeness – we just get on great.”

Mitie worker and UNISON rep Rich

Rich (above) has been a porter at the hospital for over 16 years. He’s currently the Mitie lead steward and chair of the Dudley group for UNISON.

“I think it’s because of our shared experiences during COVID – and over the last 10, 15 years. It’s like a family of us at the hospital. I’ve been to weddings, funerals; we’ve been to baptisms. We go out drinking together, we go out partying together – we celebrate everything together.”

But Rich thinks the bonus is the straw that’s broken the camel’s back.

“I think it’s just the fact of … we’ve just had enough now. Since Mitie have come in, things have been … shall we say, not so good. They’ve tried to make a lot of changes which they say are for the better, but we know they’re not. They’re just doing things to line their own pockets, basically, and forgetting about the workers.

“The whole £1,600 COVID payment has just unified people even more, to be fair.”

After lunch at UNISON Centre, the group visited Mitie HQ at the Shard, before going on to Parliament, where they met Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley North, who told the group that he supported them and that the issue was one of fairness.

Mitie workers at Westminster

Taking the fight to Westminster

He has already written to Victoria Atkins, the secretary of state for health and social care, to ask that the response to private employers that have applied to the government for funding to pay the bonus – including Mitie – is speeded up.

Mitie workers meet Marco Longhi MP

With Marco Longhi MP

Mr Longhi also agreed to write to Mitie’s CEO focusing on reputational damage – and he added that his personal view is that Mitie should really be paying the money out of the company’s own funds.

From Westminster, it was back to Dudley. Regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said the group were “feeling so positive and energised. They all got so much out of the day and really felt enthused by seeing the full support from the union that they have”.

And who’d bet against ‘Dudley Denise’ and her colleagues in their fight with ‘Miami Phil’ and his corporate Goliath?

The article The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.

The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay

It’s a classic case of David v Goliath, with part-time hospital cleaner ‘Dudley Denise’ facing up to Mitie CEO ‘Miami Phil’. But in Denise’s corner, she and her colleagues have UNISON.

And when a group of them visited UNISON Centre on Wednesday, general secretary Christina McAnea (pictured above) made sure they knew the union is proud of them and that they’ll get all the support they need.

The members, who are employed by private contractor Mitie at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, walked out on their first day of strike action at 5am this morning (Friday), along with colleagues in UNITE.

The company continues to refuse to pay a COVID bonus payment that the government agreed last year as part of a wider settlement to the NHS dispute.

This is despite Mitie being signed up to Agenda for Change, which means members of the NHS workforce that it employs should not be treated differently to those employed directly by the service.

The bonus would be worth around £1,600 for the lowest-paid staff.

There’s long been a perception among some people that non-medical staff in the health service are not as ‘important’ as the medical staff. But as was crystal clear from a round-table conversation with Christina, the health service cannot run without them.

A placard for Mitie workers saying 'where's our pay' in contrast to the company's profits

From porters to cleaners, from cooks to switchboard operators and those providing sterile services, not only are they key workers in the NHS, they were key workers throughout the pandemic – and their experiences of that were no different to those of medical staff.

The group spoke of porters not seeing newborn family members for months because of the risk of passing on the virus; of cleaners following trolleys taking the COVID dead to the hospital morgue, cleaning as they went.

They recalled the double-figure queues of ambulances waiting outside the same morgue, along with the colleagues they themselves lost. And of course, there was a lack of PPE.

“When it was over, we were given a certificate and a badge,” says Rich. “But it will live with us for the rest of our lives.”

Linda adds: “It’s not about the money. It’s about the recognition for what we did during COVID.”

As employees, they have received emails telling them that the company couldn’t afford to pay the bonus. As “token shareholders” in Mitie, they have also received emails telling them that the company was making “record profits”.

Last November, Mitie announced mighty half-year profits of £28m (up 24%) and has forecast a full-year profit of £190m.

The company handed boss Phil Bentley a reported pay packet of £5.9m, with a bonus of £980,000. The bonus alone is more than the sum that Mitie itself calculates would be needed to pay the staff their deserved bonuses.

Mr Bentley formerly ran Cable and Wireless in Florida and he has been dubbed ‘Miami Phil’ by the strikers.

There’s no record of whether he came up against any Miami vice during his sojourn in the Sunshine State, but here, he’s up against ‘Dudley Denise’, a UNISON steward with over 37 years of experience working at Russells Hall (pictured below).

Denise, a Mitie worker and UNISON steward

“I went there as a young girl – and I’ve done everything there,” she explains. “I did 22 years as a porter; I’ve done supervising there – I was a supervisor for 14 years.

“And then I lost my husband and I moved onto mornings – I’d always worked evenings because of the children. And now I’m cleaning where all the managers are,” she adds with a chuckle.

The group had told Christina that they were “like a family”. Does Denise think that is why they’re so together in this dispute?

“I think we’ve all been there so many years, from young girls – in our sixties now! Some of my friends have lost their husbands or divorced, but we’ve always kept our ties. We’ve always done Christmas parties, birthday parties; we’ve always had that closeness – we just get on great.”

Mitie worker and UNISON rep Rich

Rich (above) has been a porter at the hospital for over 16 years. He’s currently the Mitie lead steward and chair of the Dudley group for UNISON.

“I think it’s because of our shared experiences during COVID – and over the last 10, 15 years. It’s like a family of us at the hospital. I’ve been to weddings, funerals; we’ve been to baptisms. We go out drinking together, we go out partying together – we celebrate everything together.”

But Rich thinks the bonus is the straw that’s broken the camel’s back.

“I think it’s just the fact of … we’ve just had enough now. Since Mitie have come in, things have been … shall we say, not so good. They’ve tried to make a lot of changes which they say are for the better, but we know they’re not. They’re just doing things to line their own pockets, basically, and forgetting about the workers.

“The whole £1,600 COVID payment has just unified people even more, to be fair.”

After lunch at UNISON Centre, the group visited Mitie HQ at the Shard, before going on to Parliament, where they met Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley North, who told the group that he supported them and that the issue was one of fairness.

Mitie workers at Westminster

Taking the fight to Westminster

He has already written to Victoria Atkins, the secretary of state for health and social care, to ask that the response to private employers that have applied to the government for funding to pay the bonus – including Mitie – is speeded up.

Mitie workers meet Marco Longhi MP

With Marco Longhi MP

Mr Longhi also agreed to write to Mitie’s CEO focusing on reputational damage – and he added that his personal view is that Mitie should really be paying the money out of the company’s own funds.

From Westminster, it was back to Dudley. Regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said the group were “feeling so positive and energised. They all got so much out of the day and really felt enthused by seeing the full support from the union that they have”.

And who’d bet against ‘Dudley Denise’ and her colleagues in their fight with ‘Miami Phil’ and his corporate Goliath?

The article The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Hundreds of Mitie staff striking today at Dudley Group hospitals

Around 300 of the lowest-paid staff working at hospitals in Dudley will take strike action today (Friday) over their employer’s refusal to pay them a lump sum worth at least £1,655 that has already been given to hundreds of thousands of people employed by the NHS, says UNISON.

The health staff, who work at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (DGFT) but are employed by private contractor Mitie, began their 24-hour walkout at 5am. Another strike lasting 24 hours is lined up for next Thursday (29 February).

The workers, who include cleaners, domestics, porters, catering staff and many other important hospital roles, must be treated fairly and handed the money they’re owed, the union says.

In June 2023, a deal was agreed for all staff on NHS contracts who are on Agenda for Change pay scales. This included a one-off payment for 2022/23.

However, Mitie has not honoured this, says UNISON. As a result, its employees have earned far less than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS and doing similar work, the union adds.

Mitie’s claim that the extra payment is unaffordable does not stack up, says UNISON. Last year company boss Phil Bentley reportedly received a remuneration package totalling £5.9 million.

Earlier this month staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action following a three-week ballot.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Everyone working in the NHS is part of the same healthcare family and should be paid properly.

“Private contractors should all be honouring their obligation to pay staff what they’re due. It’s time for Mitie and some other firms to make good on these missing payments. That would end this strike in an instant.”

UNISON West Midlands regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said: “Staff care deeply about patients and services. The last thing they want to do is strike, but Mitie has forced them into this situation.

“They have been treated incredibly shabbily. It’s all the more shocking that Mitie is a company making millions in profit each year.

“The chief executive’s annual bonus alone would almost cover this payment for all the Dudley workers. And yet the company says it doesn’t have the money to give some of the lowest-paid staff in the NHS the money they’re due.

“It’s no wonder they’re outraged.”

UNISON steward and Mitie domestic Denise Stevens said: “Mitie can stop the strike action and end the dispute in an instant if managers pay us the lump sum that other NHS colleagues all received.

“None of us wanted to be in the position of taking strike action, but Mitie has left us no choice.

Notes to editors:
– Earlier this week a delegation of the workers, including UNISON stewards, protested and held up banners outside the Shard building in London where Mitie has its headquarters. They also visited Parliament where they met Dudley North MP Marco Longhi, who agreed to write to Mitie, the chief executive of NHS England and health secretary Victora Atkins on their behalf.
– An overwhelming majority of workers (96%) who took part in the ballot voted in favour of strike action. The turnout was 78%.
– A picket line will be outside the main entrance road to Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, today from 8am to 4pm.
– In June 2023, directly employed NHS workers received a lump-sum “non-consolidated bonus” as part of the NHS pay deal. For the lowest paid in the NHS, the lump sum was £1,655.
– Mitie chief executive Phil Bentley is reported to have taken home £5.85m last year. This included his £900,000 salary and £838,000 annual bonus. The company estimates it would cost up to £900,000 to make the payment to staff.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: press@unison.co.uk
Ollie Hopkins M: 07939 143195 E: o.hopkins@unison.co.uk

The article Hundreds of Mitie staff striking today at Dudley Group hospitals first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Hundreds of Mitie staff striking today at Dudley Group hospitals

Around 300 of the lowest-paid staff working at hospitals in Dudley will take strike action today (Friday) over their employer’s refusal to pay them a lump sum worth at least £1,655 that has already been given to hundreds of thousands of people employed by the NHS, says UNISON.

The health staff, who work at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (DGFT) but are employed by private contractor Mitie, began their 24-hour walkout at 5am. Another strike lasting 24 hours is lined up for next Thursday (29 February).

The workers, who include cleaners, domestics, porters, catering staff and many other important hospital roles, must be treated fairly and handed the money they’re owed, the union says.

In June 2023, a deal was agreed for all staff on NHS contracts who are on Agenda for Change pay scales. This included a one-off payment for 2022/23.

However, Mitie has not honoured this, says UNISON. As a result, its employees have earned far less than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS and doing similar work, the union adds.

Mitie’s claim that the extra payment is unaffordable does not stack up, says UNISON. Last year company boss Phil Bentley reportedly received a remuneration package totalling £5.9 million.

Earlier this month staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action following a three-week ballot.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Everyone working in the NHS is part of the same healthcare family and should be paid properly.

“Private contractors should all be honouring their obligation to pay staff what they’re due. It’s time for Mitie and some other firms to make good on these missing payments. That would end this strike in an instant.”

UNISON West Midlands regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said: “Staff care deeply about patients and services. The last thing they want to do is strike, but Mitie has forced them into this situation.

“They have been treated incredibly shabbily. It’s all the more shocking that Mitie is a company making millions in profit each year.

“The chief executive’s annual bonus alone would almost cover this payment for all the Dudley workers. And yet the company says it doesn’t have the money to give some of the lowest-paid staff in the NHS the money they’re due.

“It’s no wonder they’re outraged.”

UNISON steward and Mitie domestic Denise Stevens said: “Mitie can stop the strike action and end the dispute in an instant if managers pay us the lump sum that other NHS colleagues all received.

“None of us wanted to be in the position of taking strike action, but Mitie has left us no choice.

Notes to editors:
– Earlier this week a delegation of the workers, including UNISON stewards, protested and held up banners outside the Shard building in London where Mitie has its headquarters. They also visited Parliament where they met Dudley North MP Marco Longhi, who agreed to write to Mitie, the chief executive of NHS England and health secretary Victora Atkins on their behalf.
– An overwhelming majority of workers (96%) who took part in the ballot voted in favour of strike action. The turnout was 78%.
– A picket line will be outside the main entrance road to Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, today from 8am to 4pm.
– In June 2023, directly employed NHS workers received a lump-sum “non-consolidated bonus” as part of the NHS pay deal. For the lowest paid in the NHS, the lump sum was £1,655.
– Mitie chief executive Phil Bentley is reported to have taken home £5.85m last year. This included his £900,000 salary and £838,000 annual bonus. The company estimates it would cost up to £900,000 to make the payment to staff.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: press@unison.co.uk
Ollie Hopkins M: 07939 143195 E: o.hopkins@unison.co.uk

The article Hundreds of Mitie staff striking today at Dudley Group hospitals first appeared on the UNISON National site.