Domestic staff stage strike at London Hospitals

Domestic workers and cleaners across four mental health facilities in London have staged a one day strike over pay conditions.

The strike, taking place on 21 March, involves the Maudsley hospital in Camberwell, the Bethlem Royal hospital in Beckenham, the Lambeth hospital, and the Ladywell Unit at Lewisham hospital, all of which are run by the South London and Maudsley Trust.

The workers are employed by Aramark, a multinational company based in the USA. The strike was organised by the GMB union to highlight the difficulty workers are facing in the capital and demand a higher hourly rate to match the London living wage.

The workers currently earn £7.38 an hour, with restricted entitlements to sick pay and overtime, which is more than £2 below the London living wage as set by the Greater London Authority.

GMB is calling for changes to contract conditions, along with a minimum hourly rate of £10 an hour. The strike will last for a full 24 hours, ending at 6am on Tuesday 22 March.

GMB’s strike ballot achieved a 51 per cent turnout, with 97 per cent voting in favour of strike action.

A statement from Aramark, obtained by The Guardian, read: “Aramark is committed to treating all of its employees with respect and dignity. That includes offering competitive wages. It is disappointing that the GMB rejected our fair and comprehensive offer and that some members plan to exercise their right to action in the form of a strike. We remain intent on reaching a mutually agreed resolution… We regret in advance any inconvenience that may arise as a result of this action by the GMB.”

GMB’s Nadine Houghton told The Guardian: “If the company don’t come back with an improved offer than our members can accept, we’ll obviously look at escalating the action. And that’ll perhaps mean looking at a two or three-day strike in the near future. But a lot of that will rest on how much money we can raise for a strike fund.”