HUNDREDS of workers at Colchester Hospital are set to stage a week-long strike against plans to "sell" their jobs out of the NHS, a workers’ union has revealed.

Cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other support staff are taking part in industrial action later this month.

The walkout – confirmed now to be taking place from Monday, August 19 to Friday, August 23 – will also hit several community sites run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), where senior managers are planning to sell off soft facilities management services such as cleaning, catering, portering, housekeeping and security.

Stephen Childs, a housekeeper at Colchester’s Primary Care Centre, said: “I am striking because the trust is trying to take away our job security by selling us off to a private company.

“I’ve been down this road before. When I started here it was for OCS before the trust decided to bring us back in-house.

“I know how it feels to be outsourced and I’m striking so none of us have to go back to that.”

Staff fear the sell-off will “threaten their pay and conditions and pose a serious risk to patient safety”.

Unison also claims there is growing evidence that outsourcing and privatisation can have a negative impact on patients.

Health workers belonging to Unison voted 99 per cent in favour of strikes last month and plan to walk out again in September if trust leaders refuse to listen, the union added.

Unison Eastern regional organiser Sam Older said: “The trust told staff they were being sold out of the NHS months ago, but they are still waiting to be told why.

“These workers are proud to work for the NHS and support patients. They don’t want to strike but feel they’ve been left with no choice.

“Their bosses simply won’t listen to their concerns.

“It’s very easy for ESNEFT to prevent these strikes.

“Trust managers just need to abandon their nonsensical plan to sell staff out of the NHS.

“The workforce is proud to work for the NHS and doesn’t want to be sold off to a contractor.”

Chief executive of ESNEFT Nick Hulme said: “Our top priority is patient care and safety and we will be working hard to plan for the period of industrial action to make sure everyone who uses our hospitals continues to receive the service they expect. 

“We are disappointed to learn that Unison has gone down this route while we are still actively involved in ongoing conversations with them and their members. We are listening to our staff about the issues that are important to them.

“A full business case has not yet been submitted to the Trust Board and we remain keen to engage with our staff, and our staff side colleagues including Unison, so we get the best possible service for our patients.”