Dozens of infection control workers in the rapid response team at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital have begun strike action today (Monday 24 February) over a dispute about their contracts and working conditions.
The team perform ‘ultra cleans’ in the most highly infectious disease areas of the hospital and help to prevent further spread of diseases.
They will strike for five days over various issues, which they said includes the continued use of bank staff instead of hiring additional employees on permanent contracts, no adequate rest area at Guys Hospital, rest facilities at St Thomas’ with no ventilation, senior ‘soft service’ employees with better facilities, and a lack of engagement with their union Unite over harmful chemicals usage.
The works added that the majority of them are BAME and are some of the lowest paid workers within the NHS.
A spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said: “We want all our staff to feel supported at work which is why we have been working hard for many weeks to bring an end to this dispute with our rapid response cleaners. We have listened to their concerns and made several changes to address them. It is regrettable that Unite are determined to press ahead with this industrial action despite the progress we have made together. We have robust contingency plans in place to mitigate the action and ensure services remain unaffected. We remain committed to working with our staff to resolve this dispute as soon as possible.”
They added that all cleaning shifts will be covered for the duration of the industrial action, the rest rooms at both Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital are available for all rapid response team operatives, and the rest facilities at Guy’s Hospital will be upgraded with a new kitchen and furniture.
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, added: “During Covid-19, the rapid response team were the frontline defence against outbreaks and are trained to be the first responders against the spread of other infectious diseases. These are some of the most valuable workers in the NHS doing unseen work to keep patients and other staff safe. Previous strikes at the hospital by the rapid response team were called off to allow talks to take place. The lack of any meaningful progress has now led to Unite calling new strike dates.”
Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Trust was contacted for comment prior to publication.
