Staff at a South London hospital are set to go on strike for a full week in a row over pay, according to union bosses.
Cleaners and hostesses employed by outsourcing giant Mitie at St George’s Hospital in Tooting will walk out from June 20 to 26 if no resolution is reached.
There has already been three days of strike action from the workers, who are all members of the GMB union – on May 30 and June 6 and 7.
GMB has now told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the hospital faces a further seven days of strikes starting on June 20 after members on the picket line voted for the escalated action earlier this week.
The dispute kicked off over pay-cycle changes this year, which saw workers paid in mid-May rather than at the end of April.
The switch from four-weekly to monthly paydays meant they were paid on May 11 rather than April 29.
GMB wants staff contracts to be taken back in-house by St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
It has warned that hospital cleaning services will be disrupted unless the trust gets “around the table with GMB to help resolve this dispute”.
Mitie has previously said the restructuring means workers are paid on the same date each month and receive a regular base salary each payday.
The company claimed staff called the move a “significant improvement” and that it offered workers an interim payment while the changes were made.
Helen O’Connor, regional organiser at GMB, said members “want the trust to intervene to take the contract back in house so that they can enjoy stability and the same pay, terms and conditions as all other NHS workers”.
She added: “GMB members are very disappointed that the trust is not engaging in talks to resolve this dispute, which shows us that there is no urgency on the part of management to resolve the dispute which we already know had a serious impact on the hospital.”
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’re open to talking to them and resolving this dispute.”
A St George’s spokesperson said: “Mitie colleagues are hugely valued members of our team, and we hope Mitie finds a resolution soon.”
Mitie says it has had no issues with delivering “services or high standards of hygiene” at the hospital during the strike action.
A Mitie spokesperson said: “We are disappointed with the decision to take industrial action.
"Our people are what make our business exceptional and we are proud to offer industry leading benefits.
"Having already managed industrial action with no impact to our services or high standards of hygiene, our priority maintains ensuring a clean and safe environment for patients and staff.
"We always welcome constructive conversations with GMB to ensure the best interests of our colleagues.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here