Public sector union Unison has dropped its application for a judicial review of the government’s decision to outsource the NHS’s supply and delivery work to parcel firm DHL.
Workers at NHS Logistics have already staged a 24-hour strike over the move, with another planned to coincide with the Labour Party conference on Tuesday.
The Financial Times reports that Unison was told its application was unlikely to succeed as the union was not party to the negotiations that led to the 10-year deal.
Unison has pledged to continue to fight the decision through industrial action.
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A decision on a separate judicial review into the government’s plans to change the pension scheme of 1.5 million local government workers is still to come.
The government wants to abolish the so-called ‘rule of 85’, which allows workers to retire early on a full pension if their age and years of service add up to 85. It claims the rule breaches forthcoming age discrimination regulations – a point disputed by the union.
