NHS delivery force on strike
Hundreds of NHS workers will stage the biggest strike in the health service for almost 20 years today, in a bitter row over privatisation.
Workers at NHS Logistics, who deliver goods ranging from bedpans to food to hospitals and GP surgeries across England, will walk out at 10pm for 24 hours in protest at being transferred to German-owned delivery giant DHL.
They will stage a second 24 hour stoppage on September 26 to coincide with a debate on the health service at next week’s Labour party conference.
The workers voted last week to take industrial action after the Government confirmed the transfer of their jobs to DHL in a 10-year contract which Unison said was worth GBP3.7 billion.
Karen Jennings, the union’s head of health, said: “Our members have worked hard to build NHS Logistics into an award-winning service and don’t deserve to be treated in this way. There is simply no logical explanation for this transfer.”
The logistics workers have never been on strike before, but union officials said they were “angry” at the privatisation of their jobs.
Workers who will walk out are based at distribution centres in Alfreton, Derbyshire; Runcorn, Cheshire; Normanton, West Yorkshire; Maidstone, Kent; and Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.
Unison said it would draw up emergency plans, but warned that the strike will have an immediate impact on hospital supplies.
Officials warned that hospitals across England will quickly run out of bulky items such as bedpans and will run short of hand gel, latex gloves and food.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “The NHS uses around 500,000 different products such as catering supplies, office equipment and medical supplies, but only around 51,000 of these products are provided by NHS Logistics.
The majority of hospitals have their own local supply and delivery arrangements.
“The impact of a one-day action is not expected to cause significant disruption to NHS operations. The impact will be similar to coping with a bank holiday.
“However, we have put detailed contingency plans in place to ensure minimum disruption to NHS services in the event of industrial action.”
The strike will be the biggest in the NHS since 1988 when midwives were involved in a row over pay.
