Strike off after hospitals abandon outsource plans

Staff staged protests in Bournemouth, Poole and Dorchester

Hundreds of health workers will no longer go on strike this autumn after employers announced they would abandon plans to transfer their jobs to an independent company.

Trusts at Dorset HealthCare University, Dorset County Hospital and University Dorset announced in April that 1,700 mainly low-paid support staff would be effectively transferred out of the NHS to a subsidiary company.

But on Monday, Unison confirmed hundreds of members who had voted to strike would no longer be taking action as the trusts announced they would halt plans.

A joint statement from the trusts said they remain "committed to protecting NHS pay, terms, conditions and access to the pension scheme" for all staff.

Workers including caterers, cleaners and porters had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in September but NHS England issued new guidance that "new subsidiaries involving the transfer of NHS staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances".

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: "The decision by the trusts to halt these plans will bring welcome relief to staff who feared their pay and conditions were going to be worsened.

"All NHS trusts need to follow this example and immediately halt plans to outsource staff. Those that don't should expect to be met with a wave of opposition and industrial action."

Staff had mounted protests throughout the summer and 97% had voted in favour of the most recent industrial action.

Siobhan Harrington, chief executive of University Hospitals Dorset, and Matthew Bryant, chief executive of Dorset County Hospital and Dorset HealthCare, said in their statement: "We know our unions do not support the proposal.

"We put huge value on the work of our staff in these services, and we will continue our discussions with colleagues and unions to find a way forward to provide the most effective and efficient services for our patients."

Minister of State for Health and Social Care Karin Smyth, when questioned earlier this year about the proposal to use subsidiaries, said: "The government expects that any outsourced services are delivered by trusts in a way that improves quality, ensures greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce."