Calderdale hospital workers to protest over pay levels

The protest will be staged outside the main entrance at Calderdale Royal Hospital on Saturday between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

Dozens of security officers, domestics, call handlers, caterers, porters and receptionists will gather outside the hospital.

The workers are employed by ISS and say they are angry at receiving worse pay, terms and conditions than their colleagues directly employed by the NHS.

At other nearby hospitals, such as Bradford and Leeds, workers in identical roles are paid higher rates, they say.

Across other local hospitals, such as Leeds, workers are paid higher NHS rates, the protestors say.

Joe Wheatley, GMB Organiser, said: “The position of both ISS and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust is a disgrace.

”Together they have set the lower standard in their sector and subjected a group of dedicated hospital workers to the degradation of poor pay.

“These are NHS workers on the frontline – they suffer scratching, spitting, biting and assaults, they clean Covid wards, move patients and field up to 3,000 calls per day. They should be paid NHS wages - anything less is a slap in the face."