UK
Essex and Suffolk NHS workers escalate strike
NHS strikers are asking for supporters to show up on the picket lines as they take up to five weeks of continuous action
Esneft strikers on the picket line (Pic: Unison Eastern Region on Facebook)
By Yuri Prasad
Tuesday 26 November 2024
NHS strikers in Essex and Suffolk have thrown down the gauntlet to trust bosses that want to outsource their jobs to the private sector.
The Unison union members—who are porters, cleaners, cooks and other soft facilities workers—walked out on Monday of this week for up to five weeks of continuous action. That means they could be out until Friday 13 December.
The workers’ defiant mood follows a strike re-ballot that returned a brilliant 98.62 percent vote for action on a 76 percent turnout.
Union rep Matt Prior told Socialist Worker that he is “delighted” by the result, especially as more than 100 new union members took part in the ballot.
“People are really fired up and ready to go,” he said. “The ballot shows that a layer of people in the union that at first weren’t sure about striking are now much harder on our side. They can see that we’ve got no alternative, but also that pressure works.”
Matt says proof of that pressure is that East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (Esneft) management have been forced into talks with the union.
For a month they told workers that outsourcing is a “done deal”. But now, says Matt, the trust board is now considering an in-house tender for all the services the strikers provide.
Matt says, “Trust bosses underestimated us. That was a big mistake. They had thought that Unison officials were driving the strike and that members didn’t really care who employed them and on what conditions.
“We’ve been buoyed by the financial support we’ve had from the national union. But the strength of feeling on the ground is reflected on our picket lines and in the ballot result.
“And, at the end of the day, it’s us strikers that decide how long we are out for.” The strike is now entering a crucial phase, with a trust board meeting on Tuesday 5 December due to make a decision on outsourcing.
Matt says the union is well prepared to fight on if the directors make the wrong call. “We know that by taking longer action, during the build up of winter pressures, we piled on the pressure,” he said. “And I’m not bluffing when I say we can carry on this strike into next year if necessary.”
This is now a months-long strike heading into the Christmas period, so it’s vital that fellow trade unionists step up their solidarity.
“We’ve had a lot of messages of support and donations, and that’s been brilliant,” says Matt. “It would be really great if some of that solidarity now turned up on our picket lines too. It would be great to welcome other Unison branches and other health workers to Colchester hospital.
“We picket every weekday morning from 9am till noon, and everyone is welcome.”Arrange a delegation to the picket line at Colchester Hospital, Turner Rd, CO4 5JL
Tuesday 26 November 2024
SOCIALIST WORKER Issue 2933
NHS strikers in Essex and Suffolk have thrown down the gauntlet to trust bosses that want to outsource their jobs to the private sector.
The Unison union members—who are porters, cleaners, cooks and other soft facilities workers—walked out on Monday of this week for up to five weeks of continuous action. That means they could be out until Friday 13 December.
The workers’ defiant mood follows a strike re-ballot that returned a brilliant 98.62 percent vote for action on a 76 percent turnout.
Union rep Matt Prior told Socialist Worker that he is “delighted” by the result, especially as more than 100 new union members took part in the ballot.
“People are really fired up and ready to go,” he said. “The ballot shows that a layer of people in the union that at first weren’t sure about striking are now much harder on our side. They can see that we’ve got no alternative, but also that pressure works.”
Matt says proof of that pressure is that East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (Esneft) management have been forced into talks with the union.
For a month they told workers that outsourcing is a “done deal”. But now, says Matt, the trust board is now considering an in-house tender for all the services the strikers provide.
Matt says, “Trust bosses underestimated us. That was a big mistake. They had thought that Unison officials were driving the strike and that members didn’t really care who employed them and on what conditions.
“We’ve been buoyed by the financial support we’ve had from the national union. But the strength of feeling on the ground is reflected on our picket lines and in the ballot result.
“And, at the end of the day, it’s us strikers that decide how long we are out for.” The strike is now entering a crucial phase, with a trust board meeting on Tuesday 5 December due to make a decision on outsourcing.
Matt says the union is well prepared to fight on if the directors make the wrong call. “We know that by taking longer action, during the build up of winter pressures, we piled on the pressure,” he said. “And I’m not bluffing when I say we can carry on this strike into next year if necessary.”
This is now a months-long strike heading into the Christmas period, so it’s vital that fellow trade unionists step up their solidarity.
“We’ve had a lot of messages of support and donations, and that’s been brilliant,” says Matt. “It would be really great if some of that solidarity now turned up on our picket lines too. It would be great to welcome other Unison branches and other health workers to Colchester hospital.
“We picket every weekday morning from 9am till noon, and everyone is welcome.”Arrange a delegation to the picket line at Colchester Hospital, Turner Rd, CO4 5JL
Send messages of solidarity to branch@ciah-unison.co.uk
Send strike fund donations to: Unison Colchester & Ipswich Area Health, Unity Bank. Sort code: 60-83-01. Account: 20403881. Reference: STRIKE
South London and Merseyside hospital walkouts
Hundreds of porters, cleaners and caterers employed by hated outsourcer ISS were set to begin a four-day strike in south London on Friday of this week.
GMB members at Croydon, Maudsley, Lewisham and Bethlem hospitals all planned to walk out on Friday.
They are fighting over pay, excessive workloads and staffing cutbacks—and management bullying.
A strike by more than 130 workers at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen hospitals on Merseyside has ended with a win. GMB members—who are porters, cleaners and caterers—struck over non-payment of the “Covid bonus”.
The government last year awarded the bonus to NHS workers who worked through the height of the pandemic. But thousands of outsourced workers, including those in the process of being brought back in house, missed out on it.
After a day of strikes last week, trust bosses relented and agreed to the bonus, which is worth at least £1,655.
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