A WEEK-LONG strike by NHS workers has kicked off over fears that their jobs could be privatised, with staff vowing they “won’t go down without a fight”.
Scores of facilities management workers joined protests outside Colchester Hospital yesterday after the walk-out.
It comes after East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) bosses previously announced plans to outsource their jobs.
A main picket line was organised by the Unison union outside the hospital on Turner Road, and there were also picket lines at Aldeburgh and Ipswich hospitals.
Roles including cleaners, porters and caterers would all be affected if jobs are outsourced.
Unison has slammed the proposals, and claims NHS bosses are "selling" workers' jobs.
Many ESNEFT workers on the picket line spoken to the Colchester Gazette.
John Franklin, 52, has been a porter at Colchester Hospital for four and a half years.
He said: “For me, we have to show the trust's board we are serious about working for the NHS as employees in house - we don’t want to be outsourced.
“We don’t want to work for a private company that’s only after profits and doesn’t care about the whole of the NHS in house.
“The extras we get, the pension we get, all of that will be at risk if we are outsourced.”
Natalia Janusz, 36, a housekeeper employed by ESNEFT, has been in her role for six years.
She said: “We were assigned our contracts with the NHS, as NHS workers.
“We are so proud to work for the NHS.
“We are so afraid and anxious over how our terms and contract conditions would be impacted by being outsourced.”
Carmel Newell is a porter and has outlined how she and her colleagues feel.
She said: “We are totally demoralised by what they are trying to do, to push us out of the NHS.”
“We want to be part of the NHS. We don’t want to be part of a private company.”
Fellow hospital porter Martyn Delivett turned up alongside fellow staff to show the workers “are not going to go down without a fight”.
He said: “We were good enough through Covid, we are definitely good enough now.”
Porter Chris Wright said: “They are trying to screw us over again. What we do have is a good pension, good annual leave, good sick pay, and they’re going to take it all away.”
Kevin Whale has been a porter for 32 years and said he was thrilled to see everyone at the strike “united together”.
He is worried about how pensions could be affected.
He said: “We were private before for a 15-year period in the past.
"The company went bust and a lot of people lost their pensions. If we go private, is that going to happen again?”
Sam Older, 48, is a regional organiser with Unison, which staged the industrial action.
“I’m really pleased," he said.
"We knew the members were angry. It was about April time when the trust was clear that they were going to be outsourcing the staff.
“They think working together as one team within the NHS is best.”
ESNEFT chief exec Nick Hulme said: “Our top priority is patient care and safety, and we are working hard for the period of industrial action to make sure everyone who uses our hospitals continues to receive the service they expect.
“We are disappointed that Unison has gone down this route while we are still 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.”
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