Petition over plans for trust staff

Unions are planning to lobby the board of Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust after launching a strike ballot over the plans.

The cost saving move would see around 900 staff, including cleaners IT specialists and maintenance workers, transferred into the employment of an outside firm set up by the trust.

Staff who move to the new company would have their pay and conditions protected under employment rules. But fears have been raised that new staff joining the “wholly-owned subsidiary” could be employed on worse terms than current workers.

Unions and health campaigners will hold a lobby outside the next trust board meeting at Pinderfields Hospital on Thursday. The strike ballot result is expected on Tuesday.

Mid Yorkshire Chairman Jules Preston said a formal request had been sent to health secretary Jeremy Hunt for permission to proceed with the plans. He added: “In the meantime we have invited the unions to work with us, with the first meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, to explore the various options available to us from a staffing model point of view.”