As reported by the BBC, staff working at hospitals across Bradford are in the process of voting on strike action against the privatisation of facilities
Staff at hospitals in Bradford are to vote on strike action against privatisation.
They are protesting against plans to set up a private company to run all facilities including porters and cleaners.
The trade union, Unison, called the move ‘backdoor privatisation’ and stated that staff would lose their NHS employee protection.
However, Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust has insisted that the private company would be owned and operated by the NHS.
Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said that the move is to avoid paying VAT.
“Tax savings are not a good enough reason for the trust to force people out of the NHS family and give up their cherished status as health service staff,” she said.
The trust responded: “The trust’s board has a strong commitment to ensure all our staff are treated well, in line with our values, and this means an assurance that their terms and conditions will remain protected for the lifetime of the agreed contract, expected to be 25 years.
“We have also taken steps to ensure that they can continue to be part of the NHS pension scheme.”
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