Workers to receive recognition for working during pandemic after lengthy strike action

 

Hundreds of Unite members working at Barts NHS Trust have won an iconic industrial dispute that saw them take extensive strike action, the union announced today (Weds 26 June).

 

Unite’s members at the time of the pandemic worked for outsourcing company Serco before transferring back into the NHS just after the imposed deadline for staff to receive a lump-sum Covid payment. Nearly 700 Unite members working as porters, cleaners and facilities staff at the largest NHS trust in the UK were demanding the payment worth around £1,600 for working during the pandemic.

 

After months of negotiations, strikes and demonstrations, workers have now accepted a deal from Barts that will see them receive additional "special leave" to the equivalent value of the lump-sum payment. Unite members voted overwhelming to accept the deal in a ballot that closed today.

 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is a brilliant and incredibly hard-fought victory that our members should be incredibly proud of. They stood firm against their employer to get paid what they were rightfully entitled to. 

 

"This shows yet again the power that the union movement has and how Unite’s unrelenting focus on jobs, pay and conditions means our members continue to win victory after victory across every sector of the UK economy.”

 

Unite has also represented members at another outsourcing company within Barts called Synergy, responsible for cleaning linens and preparing bedding for patients. They have also been victorious and their employer has agreed to a cash payment worth in the region of £1,600

 

Unite has been involved in a large number of disputes across the NHS to get members the pandemic lump-sum payments and Barts is the latest victory after successes at Yorkshire Ambulance Trust, the Dudley Group NHS Trust and the East Kent NHS Trust. Unite will continue to campaign for its members to receive this payment where it has been unjustly withheld.

 

To help win the dispute Unite’s campaign included tactics for tackling often intransigent employers, including targeting the board of Barts (notably former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith) and demonstrations at NHS England.

 

Unite regional officer Tabusam Ahmed added: “Our members at Barts are some of the lowest paid staff in the NHS who turned up for work when they were most needed and put themselves in danger during the pandemic. They never waivered in their fight for what was right and they should be lauded for their determination.

 

"This victory will resonate across the NHS and anyone who feels they should have received this payment and didn't needs to join Unite - the union that is winning for its members."

-ENDS-

For media enquiries only please contact Unite senior communications adviser David Carnell on 07718 666592 or email david.carnell@unitetheunion.org