Hammersmith Hospital Workers Hold Protest Picnic
Latest action by Sodexo employees who 'may have to strike' for increased wages
Porters and cleaners working at Hammersmith Hospital became the latest to hold a protest picnic on Friday 19 July outside the main gate in Du Cane Road.
Colleagues at two other Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust hospitals, Paddington St Mary's and Charing Cross have already held similar protest, with the support of local Save Our Hospitals campaigners.
The Porters, cleaners and domestic staff, who work for French Multi National facilities giant Sodexo were letting the public know about how they are treated.
The picnic protest is a novel way to highlight what their trade union GMB call Poverty Pay at Hammersmith Hospital.
Many of Sodexo workers are paid the minimum wage and the company refuse to pay any additional wages. GMB have been told that there may be a pay increase next year, but the workers say they cannot spend a promise and have been living on the minimum wage for too long and need their wages increased this year.
Picnic protests include soft drinks, low music, pizza and cakes for the workers and their supporters and are intended as a way of drawing attention to the workers’ demands without the need to go on strike in a hospital.
Tahir Bhatti, GMB Regional Organiser said: "The general public will be surprised to hear that the staff in Hammersmith Hospital are paid only the minimum wage. Porters who care for patients and the deceased, cleaners who clean the blood, sick and other waste and the staff who keep the hospital moving 24 hours a day deserve more than the minimum wage.
"The picnic protest seems to be taking off with many workers attending and joining in demonstrate how they feel while having some fun as well. Many staff are new to Britain and will appreciate the efforts by the union to get them involved in this after work protest.
"These protests are to draw attention to the poor wages and obtain increases in pay rather than to go on strike at the hospitals, but the workers understand they may have to go on strike if their wages are not increased."
Ella Clayton, a Hammersmith resident said: "The hospital is near where live and I enjoy my job but people should not just get the minimum wage for the work they do in the NHS."
Over 1100 cleaners and porters working for French multinational Sodexo at St Mary's, Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals are angry over the two-tier system of wages payments which see most of the staff paid the National Living Wage of £8.21, whilst a small minority of staff who do the same work are paid £11.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has admitted that around a half of the staff employed in these roles receive only the statutory minimum hourly rate, set by the government and determined by their age. However, it says it has started the re-tendering process for its facilities management contract and is to specify the London Living Wage (LLW) as a minimum pay rate for this and all new support service contracts.
The successful provider is expected to be in place by April 2020 and the Trust's decision on the London Living Wage will have its first impact on the facilities management contract, covering cleaning, patient dining, portering and helpdesk functions.
All employers in the UK must legally apply either the National Living Wage (NLW) for staff 25 and over, or the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for those under 25.
The London Living Wage is the hourly minimum wage set annually by the Living Wage Foundation and calculated by the Resolution Foundation based on the best available evidence about living standards in the UK.
It is optional for employers but is intended to raise the pay of those on the lowest incomes to ensure it covers the basic cost of living and working in London. The Trust says all staff directly employed are already paid above the LLW.
April 26, 2019