Outsourced workers at two east London hospitals get £5,000 pay rise
Outsourced key workers on minimum wage at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust will get a pay rise of nearly £5,000 following intervention from trade union GMB London.
It represents nearly 600 outsourced caterers, porters and cleaners employed by Sodexo and Interserve who work in the NHS hospitals at King George Hospital and Queen's Hospital, both in east London.
It campaigned for salaries that match in-house staff and secured the London living wage of £10.75 per hour. For full-time staff on a minimum wage of £8.21 this equates to a yearly pay rise of £4,953 per year.
GMB's regional officer for health Lola McEvoy said: "GMB London welcome this decision after a long running campaign by the union to secure the end of the two tier workforce in the NHS.
"GMB welcome that the decision was rushed through by Trust in recognition of the scale of the Covid19 challenge faced by direct and outsourced staff. All those who provide vital NHS services should be brought back in-house so they are paid the same and receive the same terms and conditions as the directly employed staff."
Despite the government lockdown of most hospitality businesses hospital cafes and canteens are permitted to stay open.
