Outsourced NHS workers employed by ISS at Calderdale Royal Hospital are protesting next week to demand better pay, terms and conditions and a are calling for alignment with the NHS.

Security officers who have been subjected to scratching, spitting, biting and assaults are on minimum wage. Domestics responsible for cleaning covid wards are on minimum wage. Switchboard staff who receive on average over 3,000 calls per day are on minimum wage. Porters who move patients around the hospital; Receptionists who are the first point of contact for many patients and Caterers who ensure patients and staff are kept fed are all on minimum wage. 

GMB Local Organiser, Joe Wheatley, said:  “These workers deserve so much more than the minimum pay, terms and conditions they’re being subjected to. Throughout the pandemic they’ve gone above and beyond to keep the hospital going, and to emerge from the shadows of lockdown only to find they’re paid less than what they would be stacking shelves at Lidl is a disgrace.

“It’s time for ISS, a global company that made a net profit of around £28million in the first 6 months of 2021, to wake up to the reality that these are NHS workers and should be paid NHS wages” 

The protest is being held outside the main entrance to Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax on Saturday, 5 March from 2pm - 3pm.  Please join us if you can.