GMB union in Sodexo bacon and eggs protest

14 February 2017 by Neil Gerrard

The GMB union is set to protest outside the King George Hospital in Ilford, Essex, after a Sodexo employee was sacked, supposedly for not paying for his breakfast of bacon and eggs.

The GMB said it was supporting hospital porter Aldren Tomlinson, who had worked at the hospital for 15 years, after he was dismissed for failing to pay for his £4 breakfast.

Sodexo holds a total facilities management services contract at the hospital which includes catering, estates and energy management, grounds and gardens, security, traffic management, cleaning services, pest control and portering.

The GMB said it would protest outside the hospital on 16 February between 2pm and 4.30pm.

GMB local representative Michael Dooley said: "The workforce are extremely angry as what they see is an injustice and GMB are in full agreement. The protest will take place and we are preparing for an industrial action ballot with the full backing of our Sodexo members at the King George Hospital.

"We want to ensure that common sense prevails and Aldren is reinstated with a lesser punishment, rather than cause inconvenience to the hospital, but it is out of our hands."

A spokesperson for Sodexo said: "Any misconduct by an employee is addressed through our internal disciplinary procedure, and if an individual is not satisfied with the outcome they have the right to appeal the decision. We can confirm an employee has been dismissed and that individual still has the opportunity to appeal the decision. We are unable to comment any further."

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Photo Credit: Hopkinsii Flickr via Compfight cc

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