Category: eastern region

Health workers in East Suffolk and North Essex launch strike appeal

On Monday 25 November, cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other facilities staff started three weeks’ worth of strike action to keep their jobs in the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

The dispute comes after the trust wrote to staff in April to tell them their jobs could be outsourced. In May, the chief executive of the trust, Nick Hulme, was filmed telling workers lobbying a board meeting that the decision to outsource had already been made.

Staff fear the sell-off will threaten their pay and conditions and pose a serious risk to patient safety.

As an example, outsourced staff in Ipswich get fewer days of annual leave and less sick pay than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS. They also missed out on the extra one-off payment of £1,655 that NHS staff received in the last financial year.

Now, more than 350 workers, employed at Colchester Hospital, Aldeburgh Hospital and several other ESNEFT community sites have walked out until Friday 13 December – or until the trust abandons plans to outsource their jobs.

They had already taken more than 20 days of strikes and ahead of this week’s strikes, staff had to hold a second ballot to renew their legal mandate to take industrial action. Workers again voted 99% in favour of strikes in results announced on Friday (22 November).

To support the strikers you can donate to their strike fund (details below) and you can also:

Sign the petition

Write to the board

How to donate to the strike appeal:

UNISON Colchester & Ipswich Area Health

UNITY Bank

Sort code: 60-83-01

Account number: 20403881

Reference: STRIKE

The article Health workers in East Suffolk and North Essex launch strike appeal first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Health workers in East Suffolk and North Essex launch strike appeal

On Monday 25 November, cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other facilities staff started three weeks’ worth of strike action to keep their jobs in the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

The dispute comes after the trust wrote to staff in April to tell them their jobs could be outsourced. In May, the chief executive of the trust, Nick Hulme, was filmed telling workers lobbying a board meeting that the decision to outsource had already been made.

Staff fear the sell-off will threaten their pay and conditions and pose a serious risk to patient safety.

As an example, outsourced staff in Ipswich get fewer days of annual leave and less sick pay than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS. They also missed out on the extra one-off payment of £1,655 that NHS staff received in the last financial year.

Now, more than 350 workers, employed at Colchester Hospital, Aldeburgh Hospital and several other ESNEFT community sites have walked out until Friday 13 December – or until the trust abandons plans to outsource their jobs.

They had already taken more than 20 days of strikes and ahead of this week’s strikes, staff had to hold a second ballot to renew their legal mandate to take industrial action. Workers again voted 99% in favour of strikes in results announced on Friday (22 November).

To support the strikers you can donate to their strike fund (details below) and you can also:

Sign the petition

Write to the board

How to donate to the strike appeal:

UNISON Colchester & Ipswich Area Health

UNITY Bank

Sort code: 60-83-01

Account number: 20403881

Reference: STRIKE

The article Health workers in East Suffolk and North Essex launch strike appeal first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Colchester Hospital support staff vow to keep striking against outsourcing

Health members on the Colchester picket, 19 August. Image: James Rodie

Hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other Colchester Hospital support staff are to continue their strike action this month, in what has become a tense battle to keep their jobs within the NHS.

The UNISON members first staged a week-long strike between 19-23 August. The action also hit several community sites run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), whose  senior managers are planning to sell off soft facilities management services such as cleaning, catering, portering, housekeeping and security.

The next round of action is from 10-14 September. The region is asking members throughout the union to support some of the NHS’s lowest-paid staff, by contributing to a strike fund (details below).

Facilities at Ipswich Hospital, the trust’s other major acute care site, are already run by private company OCS. UNISON argues that when the OCS contract comes to an end next April, all services should be brought back in-house. Instead, the trust has decided to outsource all services as a single contract.?

Colchester staff, who voted 99% in favour of strikes, fear the sell-off will threaten their pay and conditions and pose a serious risk to patient safety. ?Outsourced staff in Ipswich get fewer days of annual leave and less sick pay than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS. They also missed out on the extra one-off payment of £1,655 that NHS staff received in the last financial year.

Bringing Services Home: UNISON believes that public services belong in public ownership

UNISON Eastern regional organiser Sam Older said that the September strike will take place if ESNEFT chief executive Nick Hulme and his team refuse to listen to staff concerns.

He added: “Strike action is a last resort for our members. They want to be with their patients, but took the hard decision to take five days of action in August to protect the future of their services.

“There’s overwhelming evidence that outsourcing leads to dirtier hospitals and higher infection rates, but trust bosses are ploughing on regardless. Nick Hulme and the trust board can easily stop this disruption and protect patients by keeping these essential staff in the NHS where they belong.”

Colchester hospital porter John Franklin said: “We give our hearts and souls into working for the NHS and supporting patients, but we will not accept being sold off like a piece of equipment to a private company to make money.

“The trust can fool itself into thinking this would be better value for money or improve services, but staff know this is simply not the truth.

“We will continue to fight for our jobs, for the public and for the best service possible — and that means staying in-house.”

How to support the Colchester members

Please send messages of solidarity to branch@ciah-unison.co.uk.

And if you’re able to send financial support to the strikers, please send it to:

UNISON Colchester & Ipswich Area Health

UNITY Bank

Sort code: 60-83-01;

Account number: 20403881

Reference: STRIKE

It is also possible to show support by signing the UNISON petition. Any members who are local to the trust can also write to their MP asking them to act.

Sign the petition

Write to your MP?

 

The article Colchester Hospital support staff vow to keep striking against outsourcing first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Colchester Hospital support staff vow to keep striking against outsourcing

Health members on the Colchester picket, 19 August. Image: James Rodie

Hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other Colchester Hospital support staff are to continue their strike action this month, in what has become a tense battle to keep their jobs within the NHS.

The UNISON members first staged a week-long strike between 19-23 August. The action also hit several community sites run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), whose  senior managers are planning to sell off soft facilities management services such as cleaning, catering, portering, housekeeping and security.

The next round of action is from 10-14 September. The region is asking members throughout the union to support some of the NHS’s lowest-paid staff, by contributing to a strike fund (details below).

Facilities at Ipswich Hospital, the trust’s other major acute care site, are already run by private company OCS. UNISON argues that when the OCS contract comes to an end next April, all services should be brought back in-house. Instead, the trust has decided to outsource all services as a single contract.?

Colchester staff, who voted 99% in favour of strikes, fear the sell-off will threaten their pay and conditions and pose a serious risk to patient safety. ?Outsourced staff in Ipswich get fewer days of annual leave and less sick pay than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS. They also missed out on the extra one-off payment of £1,655 that NHS staff received in the last financial year.

Bringing Services Home: UNISON believes that public services belong in public ownership

UNISON Eastern regional organiser Sam Older said that the September strike will take place if ESNEFT chief executive Nick Hulme and his team refuse to listen to staff concerns.

He added: “Strike action is a last resort for our members. They want to be with their patients, but took the hard decision to take five days of action in August to protect the future of their services.

“There’s overwhelming evidence that outsourcing leads to dirtier hospitals and higher infection rates, but trust bosses are ploughing on regardless. Nick Hulme and the trust board can easily stop this disruption and protect patients by keeping these essential staff in the NHS where they belong.”

Colchester hospital porter John Franklin said: “We give our hearts and souls into working for the NHS and supporting patients, but we will not accept being sold off like a piece of equipment to a private company to make money.

“The trust can fool itself into thinking this would be better value for money or improve services, but staff know this is simply not the truth.

“We will continue to fight for our jobs, for the public and for the best service possible — and that means staying in-house.”

How to support the Colchester members

Please send messages of solidarity to branch@ciah-unison.co.uk.

And if you’re able to send financial support to the strikers, please send it to:

UNISON Colchester & Ipswich Area Health

UNITY Bank

Sort code: 60-83-01;

Account number: 20403881

Reference: STRIKE

It is also possible to show support by signing the UNISON petition. Any members who are local to the trust can also write to their MP asking them to act.

Sign the petition

Write to your MP?

 

The article Colchester Hospital support staff vow to keep striking against outsourcing first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Yoga instructors pose a strike problem for unbending council

Yoga, Pilates and aerobics instructors employed by Colchester City Council are to take strike action later this month after nearly a decade without a pay rise, UNISON announced today.The fitness instructors will walk out for seven days from Wednesday 28 February until Tuesday 5 March. Although the Leisure World and Northern Gateway Leisure Park trainers are directly employed by the council, they are not part of the same pay scheme as other staff.UNISON says unbending bosses at the local authority have refused to increase pay for yoga and Pilates coaches from £25 per session since 2015, while aerobics instructors have been earning just £22.50.The council initially rejected any rise for yoga and Pilates workers, proposing a mere £2.50 a time extra for aerobics trainers.But following a ballot of the instructors last month, in which 86% of the staff voted for strike action, the council increased its offer to £26 for all three disciplines, plus an element of performance-related pay.The fitness workers say this could still see them earning £4 a session less than instructors at neighbouring Tendring and Chelmsford councils.The instructors say the session rates don’t take account for the preparation and clear-up time involved in each class, as well as that spent with participants before and after each session. And UNISON says the proposed rise is still considerably lower than if the rate had kept pace with inflation.Melinda Harrison, an aerobics instructor at the council for the past nine years, said: “Every other employee has had a pay rise, but we’ve been completely ignored. It’s like we don’t exist. We don’t get reviewed. It’s like the council has forgotten us.“Ten years is a long time to go without a pay rise and the cost of living has shot up. It’s completely unfair to leave us out when everyone else has had a wage increase.”UNISON Eastern area organiser Emma Aboubaker said: “Fitness instructors aren’t immune to the rising bills and prices. They’ve been left with no option but to strike.“It’s now crunch time for the council. Bosses there need to get a jog on if they want to avoid strikes.”

The article Yoga instructors pose a strike problem for unbending council first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Yoga instructors pose a strike problem for unbending council

Yoga, Pilates and aerobics instructors employed by Colchester City Council are to take strike action later this month after nearly a decade without a pay rise, UNISON announced today.The fitness instructors will walk out for seven days from Wednesday 28 February until Tuesday 5 March. Although the Leisure World and Northern Gateway Leisure Park trainers are directly employed by the council, they are not part of the same pay scheme as other staff.UNISON says unbending bosses at the local authority have refused to increase pay for yoga and Pilates coaches from £25 per session since 2015, while aerobics instructors have been earning just £22.50.The council initially rejected any rise for yoga and Pilates workers, proposing a mere £2.50 a time extra for aerobics trainers.But following a ballot of the instructors last month, in which 86% of the staff voted for strike action, the council increased its offer to £26 for all three disciplines, plus an element of performance-related pay.The fitness workers say this could still see them earning £4 a session less than instructors at neighbouring Tendring and Chelmsford councils.The instructors say the session rates don’t take account for the preparation and clear-up time involved in each class, as well as that spent with participants before and after each session. And UNISON says the proposed rise is still considerably lower than if the rate had kept pace with inflation.Melinda Harrison, an aerobics instructor at the council for the past nine years, said: “Every other employee has had a pay rise, but we’ve been completely ignored. It’s like we don’t exist. We don’t get reviewed. It’s like the council has forgotten us.“Ten years is a long time to go without a pay rise and the cost of living has shot up. It’s completely unfair to leave us out when everyone else has had a wage increase.”UNISON Eastern area organiser Emma Aboubaker said: “Fitness instructors aren’t immune to the rising bills and prices. They’ve been left with no option but to strike.“It’s now crunch time for the council. Bosses there need to get a jog on if they want to avoid strikes.”

The article Yoga instructors pose a strike problem for unbending council first appeared on the UNISON National site.