Nottinghamshire hospital trust support staff strike for 24 hours

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust runs King's Mill Hospital, Mansfield Community Hospital and Newark Hospital

Strike action by support staff at three Nottinghamshire hospitals may cause disruption, patients have been warned.

More than 200 workers at King's Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark Hospitals were due to walk out for 24 hours from 06:00 BST on Friday.

The group, which includes cleaners and security workers, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the action in March in a dispute over Covid bonus payments.

Bosses said they were working to minimise problems.

The staff are employed by private contractor Medirest.

The GMB union said the issue was the less favourable terms and conditions they receive compared to directly-employed NHS staff.

It added the breaking point came after NHS employees received a Covid recovery bonus payment, which was not applied to staff in the hospitals employed by Medirest.

Union organiser Cameron Mitchell said: "Strike day will no doubt see huge disruption to the services at these three hospitals.

"Medirest workers are being treated like second class staff compared to workers employed directly by the NHS.

"Just like their colleagues on NHS contracts, they worked through Covid delivering key services to patents; yet they are yet to be paid the Covid recovery bonus they were promised.

"These workers are demanding the dignity and recognition they deserve; it's a disgrace that Medirest bosses have pushed them to this."

'Vital roles'

Chris Dann, deputy chief operating officer at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: "We continue to work with Medirest on contingency plans to minimise disruption during this period of industrial action and to ensure there is no compromise to patient safety.

"We recognise and value the vital roles our Medirest colleagues undertake on behalf of our patients and people, and we acknowledge their right to take industrial action.

"We hope a resolution can be speedily found."

A spokesperson for Medirest said: "We are disappointed with GMB's decision to proceed with industrial action.

"The eligibility criteria for this bonus payment is in the hands of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

"While we are pleased that some of our employees have been identified as eligible and are due to receive the bonus payment imminently, we recognise it is disappointing for those who do not meet the government's eligibility criteria.

"All our employees received a separate pay uplift last year and have access to a range of employee benefits. We continue to maintain a regular dialogue with our people, the unions, and NHS trusts.

"In partnership with the trust, we have put in place contingency measures to limit any disruption to services for patients."