Homerton Hospital caterers to protest again over ‘second-class’ treatment in Covid payment row

Protesters outside the hospital last week. Photograph: George Binette

Facilities staff at Homerton Hospital are to protest again tomorrow after complaining of “second-class” treatment in a dispute over their so-called ‘Covid bonus’.

The one-off payment of at least £1,655 was given to more than a million NHS employees in 2022/23 as recognition for their extraordinary efforts during the pandemic.

Twenty-seven thousand health workers employed by ‘non-NHS’ organisations also saw bonuses underwritten by the previous Conservative government. 

In a column in the Hackney Gazette, George Binette, the former trade union liaison for Hackney North Labour, said: “The vast majority of Homerton’s cleaners and catering workers have not been among the beneficiaries [of the bonus], with just a quarter of ISS staff, who had worked for a previous private contractor, receiving the payment.”

Campaigners now say that none of the estimated 400 staff employed by ISS have actually received the bonus. 

Tomorrow’s planned demonstration is the latest clash between the workers, their direct employers at Denmark-based management firm ISS, and the Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

It follows a protest last week that saw the campaigners flanked by supporters from the Homerton Unison branch and Hackney North Labour.

ISS-employed staff also have their sights turned on the next meeting of the Trust’s court of governors on 5 September, where they plan to push their demands further.

One of the governors has already tabled a motion calling for the current contract for soft facility management, currently held by ISS, to come “in-house” when it expires next year.

Binette added: “The current situation highlights that the privatisation of ancillary NHS jobs has always been about slashing labour costs, with no benefit to patient care.”

He also highlighted at least three Homerton staff members who lost their lives to Covid-19, alongside others left with “life-changing” conditions.

A spokesperson for the hospital’s Trust said: “As discussed at the last board meeting on 31 July, there continue to be discussions at an executive level about the future of the contract, and the Trust is currently reviewing all options in terms of soft facilities management provisions—which includes insourcing.

“We have a comparatively new makeup of our Trust board, including a new director of estates and chief finance officer, and a relatively new chief executive.

“They are taking their time to review and consider their options.”

They added that the decision not to award ISS-contracted workers the bonus ultimately lies with the management contractor.

A spokesperson for ISS UK & Ireland said: “We have agreed a non-consolidated payment to eligible employees at Homerton University Hospital as part of the 2023 NHS pay deal. 

“We value the contribution of every ISS team member and will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with Unison towards a resolution.”

A 2022 report on NHS outsourcing by the British Medical Association criticised the then-Conservative government’s policy proposals to continue its reliance on the independent sector in order to clear the NHS backlog.

“Outsourcing of NHS services to the independent sector is not a new phenomenon, yet the government’s pandemic response and newly published elective recovery plan heavily reflect its commitment to further embedding the independent sector into the fabric of health services delivery,” the report said.

The report’s recommendations included the government amending the Health and Care Act 2022 to enshrine the NHS ‘as the default option for NHS contracts’, stopping independent service providers from sitting on Integrated Care Boards or their key committees, and making the Secretary for Health and Social Care ultimately responsible for the delivery of adequate staffing levels.

In light of the recent change of national government, campaigners are impatient for the change heralded by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

As Shadow Chancellor, Reeves pledged that the NHS would see a ‘wave of insourcing’ should the party form the next government.

“That government has now arrived. The current ISS contract at Homerton Hospital expires next year and the workers have issued a challenge,” Binette said.

Binette has launched a petition calling for the hospital’s soft facilities services to be brought in-house.

Update: this article was amended at 9pm 27 August 2024. The original article stated that the workers would be on strike, but this this is not the case. We apologise for any confusion.

Update: this article was amended at 8am on 28 August 2024. George Binette is the former trade union liaison for Hackney North Labour. It is not his current role, as previously stated.