NHS healthcare workers at Barts Health NHS Trust delivered an open letter to Dame Alwen Williams DBE, head of Barts Trust, demanding equal treatment for the striking outsourced cleaners, porters, security, catering and reception staff across St Barts, Royal London Hospital, and Whipps Cross.

The signatories are urging the trust to bring these workers back in-house as NHS employees on equal terms and conditions to other staff, rather than continuing to leave them battling against exploitation by outsourcing giant Serco. The open letter is part of “Barts Health NHS Workers Against Outsourcing”, a new campaign by NHS healthcare workers supported by Medact demanding an immediate end to outsourcing.

The signatories say in the letter: “We all work for Barts Health and we all deserve equal treatment. We are all one team supporting the NHS, and we should all be employed by the NHS.”

Hundreds of workers at the trust employed by Serco went on strike for two weeks at the start of February in “a battle against low pay and exploitation”. Serco workers are paid as much as 15% less than their NHS-employed equivalents.

Staff in the trust employed by Serco report increasing work demands, bullying by management, and racism at work. Many face job insecurity and financial instability because of part-time contracts and agency staffing, exacerbated by uncertain sick pay and irregular rotas that make it difficult to plan other work and caring responsibilities. Pay rates far below NHS wages means many Serco workers have to work second jobs to support themselves and their families.

Len Hockey, Unite Barts Health Branch Secretary and Porter at Whipps Cross Hospital, said:

“Discrimination, injustice and inequality need to be ended now. The vital contribution that these workers have made through the pandemic and continue to make has to be acknowledged. Without their services there cannot be and is no NHS. This is why bringing them in-house on full National Health Service pay and conditions from day one is imperative for them, their families and the patients that they care for.”