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September 2006
Britain: heath service supply workers vote to strike
UNISON members in NHS Logistics, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action against government plans to sell their service to German-owned parcel company DHL.
Some 74% supported industrial action and a timetable for action will be announced shortly. Emergency life and limb cover will be provided, but hospitals will be likely to feel the effects very rapidly, especially in the supply of bulky items which are difficult to store.
NHS Logistics has received awards for its good management and innovative service and provides supplies of everything from bedpans to breakfast cereals directly to hospital wards.
Announcing the ballot result at the annual conference of the Trade Union Congress, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "These are hardworking public service workers who have never taken strike action before and they are making a stand to protect their service and protect our NHS."
The announcement followed the adoption by the TUC of a firm policy against privatisation and market reforms in the public services. The resolution passed at the conference included the statement, “There is no role for markets in public services because they are harmful, wasteful, and unjust” and offered “full support to the civil service and other public sector unions in the event of further industrial action to defend jobs and services against cuts, privatisation and offshoring.”
Whipps Cross strike
Meanwhile, more than 200 UNISON members at
Initial is a private contractor which provides a range hospitals services, including cleaning, porterage, switchboard, car parking, catering and courier services, in Britain's increasingly privatised National Health Service.
The Whipps Cross dispute is over implementation of Initial's promised staff conditions package, which is equivalent to the Agenda for Change deal covering staff directly employed by the NHS.
So far, the porters, domestics and catering staff, who are mainly female and black, have taken eight days of official strike action in the past three months in their bid for justice.
The stoppages have been well-supported by the workers directly involved in the dispute, as well as by other staff members in the hospital and the general public.
See also our previous article.