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August 2006
Britain: South Tyneside health workers on strike
Major sites included are South Tyneside Hospital, Palmers Hospital, Primrose Hospital and other smaller health service units such as clinics and GP surgeries.The workers are employed by South Tyneside Foundation NHS Trust and are members of the GMB trade union. The union states that the strike is recieving solid support.
The GMB believes the staff are fully trained and able to fulfil any domestic role within the Trust and therefore a single job description is needed.
Management say there is not the flexibility to warrant one job description. The GMB union states that the domestic workers are totally flexible and believes that the Trust are discriminating against the domestics as they have already agreed a generic job description for porters; a mainly male workforce where there is less interchangeability than the domestics who are mainly female.
The potential difference between a job graded on the top of band one and top of band two is £2,200 per annum.
Steve Gibbons, GMB Regional Organiser said, "Our members staged a one day strike on the 20th July, followed by a further day one week later on the 27th. The management have not listened to the grievances of our members. Our members are determined to get justice, that is why they are staging a further seven days of strike action which is solid. It would seem that the Trust is discriminating against the domestics by treating them less favourably than the porters. The GMB members are only asking for their actual role to be recognised. The idea that our members will walk away from a disputed pay differential in excess of £2000 per annum is nonsense"
Two one day strikes have already taken place.
More information can be obtained from: Steve Gibbons, GMB Regional Organiser 078701 76737, Julie Elliott, GMB Press Officer on 0191 233 3930 or GMB National Press Office: 020 8 971 4209