North Devon hospital workers vote for strike action

Low-paid contract staff at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple have voted in favour of industrial action.

Public sector trade union Unison is at loggerheads with Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) over improvements demanded on behalf of 300 workers, including cleaners, porters and cooks, employed by Sodexo.

Unison failed to disclose how many members took part in the ballot, but said that 97% of those who did voted in favour of industrial action.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

Helen Eccles, the union’s regional organiser, said: “We have been forced to take this step by the failure of the trust and Sodexo to implement a national agreement, which should have been applied in October 2006.”

According to the North Devon Journal, NDHT deputy chief executive Jo Gibbs said the trust was determined to avoid industrial action.