Health workers strike over privatisation
Hundreds of health workers are today holding a 24 hour strike in a bitter row over privatisation – just as the controversy is set to be debated at Labour’s annual conference.
Workers at NHS Logistics, based at five distribution centres in England, walked out at 11pm last night for the second strike in a week in protest at a contract being awarded to German firm DHL.
Unison said the strike will lead to a shortage of some supplies being delivered to hospitals and GP surgeries across England.
The union has called on the Government to suspend the 10 year contract, due to come into force on October 1, and warned there were “growing concerns” about pay and conditions.
A separate dispute at DHL has blown up involving thousands of driver and other workers in a row over pay and jobs.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said the dispute has heightened fears among logistics workers about the future security of their jobs.
He wrote to Health minister Andy Burnham saying the sell off was a “privatisation too far”.
Mr Prentis led a delegation of Unison members from the Labour party conference to join a picket line in Runcorn, Cheshire, after the strike had started.
He warned the Government that workers at the logistics operation had been given no written guarantees about the future security of their jobs and conditions.
The Department of Health said it had contingency plans to deal with the strike.
The row will be debated at Labour’s annual conference in Manchester today.
Meanwhile, an alliance of unions representing nurses, doctors, midwives and other health employees has been launched to put pressure on the Government to slow down its NHS reforms.
A huge lobby of Parliament is planned for November 1 to highlight cuts in NHS Trust budgets which were threatening thousands of jobs.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the morale of NHS workers had sunk to “rock bottom” following a constant stream of reforms as well as cuts in budgets.
