Hundreds of employees of the British company Serco, which offers catering, cleaning, transportation and other services in British hospitals, went on a two-week strike today, complaining about wage inequality.
Some 600 employees of the British National Health Service (NHS) have gone on a two-week strike in three London hospitals (St Barts, Royal London and Whipps Cross), said a spokesman for the Unite union, which represents the workers.
Unite explained in a statement on Friday that Serco employees receive up to 15% lower wages than other employees who do the same work and are hired directly by the NHS.
Serco recently proposed a 3% pay rise with retroactive effect from April 2021.
These workers “face the same risks” of covid-19 infection as workers who have been hired directly by the NHS. “Why are they being paid so much less and being treated so badly?”
Taddy McOlley, Serco’s contracting director at St Barts Hospital, said the company was “extremely disappointed with the Unite strike” despite the proposed pay rise. “We hope that more extensive talks with Unite (…) will help find a solution,” he added.
But Shite Naidu, a spokesman for Unite, said there were no talks between the union and Serco at the moment.
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