Strikes increase as answers demanded over outsourcer Siemen’s funding of chief executive trip to Munich conference and £1.3m reimbursement for failure to service MRI machines

Strikes at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust will increase, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today.

The industrial action, which began in January, involves both pathology and clinical engineering staff based at Queen’s Hospital in Romford over outsourcing and pay protection.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The trust’s pathology and clinical engineering workforce are absolutely right to take strike action. The trust is failing to offer fair pay protection to pathology workers and there are serious questions to answer about outsourcing in both the clinical engineering and pathology departments. These workers have their union’s total backing.”

The clinical engineering staff are striking over being recently forced to transfer from the NHS to Siemens Heathineers and are demanding an independent investigation.

There are significant questions about the decision to further outsource clinical engineering to Siemens, which Unite does not believe is value for money or best for services or staff.

These include a £1.3 million reimbursement payment to the trust from Siemens. Unite understands this payment is for the failure to service critical medical equipment, including MRI scanners, for more than a decade.

Siemens also paid hotel, food and flight charges for chief executive Michael Trainer to attend a Siemens Healthineers international conference in Munich in January 2025.

Meanwhile, pathology staff are striking over the trust’s failure to offer them adequate pay protection due to the introduction of a new shift system. The new system will leave many workers £400 to £1,000 a month worse off. The trust is denying the workers proper pay protection, despite previously granting enhanced pay protection to senior managers.

During meetings with the trust, Unite stated that workers are concerned that they do not have adequate pay protections if pathology is privatised and the workers are transferred to an employer outside of the NHS. The trust’s lack of response to Unite’s questions about potential privatisation has reinforced concerns that the pathology department could also be outsourced.

The workers will strike outside of Queen's Hospital from 27 April to 1 May after having taken eight days of strike action in March and February. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved.  

Unite regional officer Sujata Virdee said: “Labour was elected promising that the scrouge of outsourcing would be reversed, but in health secretary Wes Streeting’s own constituency an NHS trust is doing the exact opposite to neither the benefit of patients or staff.

“The trust must come clean about its plans for pathology, offer its workers proper pay protection and allow an independent investigation into the outsourcing of the clinical engineering department.”

ENDS

For media enquires ONLY contact senior Unite communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215 or 020 3371 2065.

Email: ryan.fletcher@unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.