Homerton Hospital caterers strike again over ‘second class’ treatment in Covid payment row – Hackney Citizen

Protesters outside the hospital last week. Photo: George Binette

Homerton Hospital staff are set to strike again tomorrow after complaining of ‘second-rate treatment’ in a dispute over their so-called ‘Covid bonus’.

The one-off payment of at least £1,655 was given to more than a million NHS workers in 2022/23 in recognition of their extraordinary efforts during the pandemic.

27,000 healthcare workers working for ‘non-NHS’ organisations also received bonuses from the previous Conservative government.

In a letter to the Hackney GazetteGeorge Binette, the union representative for Hackney North Labour, said: “The vast majority of Homerton cleaners and catering staff were not among the beneficiaries (of the bonus), while only a quarter of ISS staff, who had previously worked for a private contractor, received the payment.”

Campaigners now claim that none of ISS’s estimated 400 employees actually received the bonus.

Tomorrow’s planned demonstration is the latest clash between the workers, their direct employers at Denmark-based management company ISS and Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

It follows a protest last week, where strikers were flanked by supporters from the Homerton Unison branch and Hackney North Labour.

ISS staff are also focused on the next meeting of the Trust’s board on September 5, where they plan to push their demands further.

One of the governors has already introduced a motion calling for the current soft facility management contract, currently held by ISS, to be brought ‘in-house’ when it expires next year.

Binette added: “The current situation highlights that the privatisation of NHS support jobs has always been about reducing labour costs, without improving patient care.”

He also named at least three Homerton employees who died from Covid-19, along with others left with “life-changing” conditions.

A spokesman for the hospital Trust said: “As discussed at the last board meeting on 31 July, discussions are continuing at executive level about the future of the contract. The Trust is currently looking at all options in terms of soft provision for facilities management, including insourcing.

“We have a relatively new composition of our board, including a new director of legacies and financial director, and a relatively new general manager.

“They take the time to consider and evaluate their options.”

They added that the decision not to award the bonus to employees working at ISS ultimately rests with the contract manager.

An ISS UK & Ireland spokesperson said: “We have agreed an unconsolidated payment to eligible employees at Homerton University Hospital as part of the 2023 NHS Pay Deal.

“We value the contributions of every ISS team member and will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with Unison to reach a resolution.”

A 2022 report on NHS outsourcing of the British Medical Association criticised the then Conservative government’s policy proposals to remain reliant on the independent sector to address the NHS’s backlog.

“Outsourcing NHS services to the independent sector is not a new phenomenon, but the government’s response to the pandemic and recently published recovery plan largely reflect its commitment to further embedding the independent sector into the fabric of health service delivery,” the report said.

The report’s recommendations include that the government Health and Care Act 2022 to enshrine the NHS as ‘the default option for NHS contracts’, to ban independent providers from sitting on Integrated Care Boards or their key committees, and to make the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ultimately responsible for providing adequate staff.

Given the recent change in the national government, campaigners can’t wait for the change announced by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves.

As shadow finance minister, Reeves promised the NHS would face a “wave of insourcing” if the party formed the next government.

“That government has now arrived. The current ISS contract at Homerton Hospital expires next year and the workers have filed a challenge,” Binette said.