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WORKERS in the Rapid Response Team at Guy’s & St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust are going on strike from Monday, 24th February over concerns about how the staff are treated.
Unite the Union claim that management’s responses do not meet the needs of staff: see “Covid ‘heroes’ strike over callous treatment”. However, the Trust’s management deny that their responses have been inadequate.
A spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’s said, “We want all our staff to feel supported at work which is why we have been working hard for many weeks to bring an end to this dispute with our rapid response cleaners. We have listened to their concerns and made several changes to address them. It is regrettable that Unite are determined to press ahead with this industrial action despite the progress we have made together.
“We have robust contingency plans in place to mitigate the action and ensure services remain unaffected. We remain committed to working with our staff to resolve this dispute as soon as possible.”
A management representative confirmed that all cleaning shifts will be covered for the duration of the industrial action – which would allow patients to be admitted and operations to be performed as usual.
The representative also indicated that rest rooms at both Trust hospitals are open to Rapid Response workers to use: signage has been improved to help facilitate this, and a communication has gone out to staff. Management are also investing in upgrading other staff facilities at Guy’s Hospital, with a new kitchen and furniture.
We can only hope that management and Unite can find a way to end this dispute so the NHS can get on with the business of supporting staff to deliver services to patients.
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Covid “heroes” strike over callous treatment
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