Porters at Whipps Cross Hospital east London have voted overwhelmingly to be balloted for strike action by their union Unison.
The issue is over the refusal by their employer Healthcare Initial to implement the decision of an independent review panel which found in favour of placing them on pay band two under the Agenda for Change pay and conditions agreement for workers in the National Health Service. They are currently on band one.
“We have had enough of being treated like this,” said one porter. Both porters and domestics took strike action at the hospital against the two-tier workforce in recent years, winning equality of treatment with their NHS colleagues.
Joint branch secretary for Unison and porter Len Hockey said: “The Healthcare Initial workers here, particularly the porters, have shown a tremendous determination to struggle in two successful rounds of strike action against two different contractors in 2003 and 2006. I think that both the Hospital Trust and Healthcare Initial need to know that members’ resolve to see justice is as strong today as it was then”.
