Ex-porter's alarm at Wigan hospital trust plans

Coun George Davies, who worked as a porter for 36 years and now represents Wigan Central ward in the chamber, has expressed his alarm at the creation of subsidiary firm WWL Solutions.

Around 900 staff at the borough’s three hospitals will be moved to the new employer in May, with porters, cleaners, caterers and switchboard operators all in the long list of people affected.

Coun Davies has entered into urgent correspondence with ex-councillor and MP Neil Turner, who will serve as WWL Solutions chairman, to ensure workers’ rights and terms are fully protected.

He also spoke of his own time as a union steward at the hospital and previous battles to prevent privatisation, saying it was vital backstage roles remain part of the NHS.

Coun Davies even promised to join staff on the picket line if the dispute ends in a strike. He said: "I am very concerned at what is going on here. I am speaking to Mr Turner and I want clarification from the Trust that the staff will not lose anything they receive now.

"We also need to know that the staff still belong to the NHS. I’m calling on the Trust to be open and honest with the workforce and to arrange fair deals for them, although I think they should put this idea on the backburner.

"They need the ancillary staff, they are at the forefront of patient care. Without that the hospital will struggle. If there is to be strike action I will follow suit and join them on the picket line."

Concerned employees have overwhelmingly backed action against Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust’s plan, with 93 per cent approval for some form of protest when asked by Unison.

The union will discuss the matter with staff at The Bellingham Hotel on February 14, with Coun Davies also promising to attend.

The Labour elected members has retained close links with Wigan Infirmary since retiring and spoke of how staff have been affected by the uncertainty.

He said: "There are employees going home crying because they are worried for their jobs. That’s not fair and it’s not right.

"What they are scared of is moving to a private company.

"I think the Trust is being forced to do this because of Tory cuts. Everybody knows what is going on in the NHS and what has happened over the winter period. We all know we need more money across Britain, more money for social care. It’s all about money.

"We don’t want to go on strike but we want fairness for the workforce."

Coun Davies remembers vividly what happened when non-medical staff were forced to the picket line in the early 1990s, with disputes over the threat of privatisation and then pay.

He said: "It was a horrible feeling. We asked for a normal pay rise and the Government wouldn’t give us anything.

"We made sure we had the emergency staff inside the hospital so patients got their care but then a surgeon criticised the domestic staff and our union called an all-out strike for three days.

"The one before that was about privatisation and we won that. We had to fight our case.

"The porters at Wrightington Hospital were private employees under the Ormskirk hospital trust but they came back in house when WWL took over."

Meanwhile the stalwart former politician now chairing the controversial new health body has reassured protestors their fears are groundless.

Ex-MP and councillor Neil Turner has said the law fully protected all the rights and working conditions of staff transferring to WWL Solutions and expressed bemusement at the widespread belief terms will be eroded.

He compared the creation of WWL Solutions to Wigan and Leigh Homes, which enjoyed considerable political support, and said it actually protected employees from the threat of privatisation.

Mr Turner also responded to claims that zero-hours contracts could be imposed on staff, saying firmly that this would not happen.

He said: "I’m a little bit disappointed at the misunderstanding of the TUPE regulations. I really don’t know why the trade unions don’t understand it given that they forced the EU, quite rightly, to put it forward.

"The regulations prevent the terms and conditions, including pensions, of all staff that would be transferred being reduced.

"The 2014 amendment then ensures any negotiations after 12 months must give them terms and condition no less favourable than they are on at the moment.

"In other words, existing staff are covered in perpetuity. On pensions, WWL Solutions will pay the same amount as WWL and they would still pay into their own pensions in the same way as now.

"WWL Solutions will be 100 per cent owned by the hospital trust. It will own all the shares. Although it is registered at Companies House it is in effect public and any surplus it makes goes straight back to the trust to reinvest in services and facilities.

"I don’t see the difference between this and Wigan and Leigh Homes, and I don’t know why one was supported and the other isn’t being.

"This actually defends staff in the hospital against enforced privatisation in the future. Nobody can say Jeremy Hunt isn’t at some point going to order hospitals to put these roles out to tender but if we already have a contract in place that can’t happen.

"There have also been rumours about zero-hours contracts. I think they are an absolute disaster in such an important service as health. They don’t engender the kind of spirit you need to make sure a hospital is safe and we will not be having them."

Mr Turner hopes that in the future WWL Solutions will be able to employ other care workers to drive up standards in the borough.