07 June 2019

Agency staff working for the NHS are calling on their private employers to provide them with pay equal to their publically employed colleagues.

Tens of thousands of workers at contractors such as Compass Medirest, Serco, Mitie and ISS lost out on the £2,000 pay rise that peers directly employed by the NHS received in a three-year deal struck between unions and the government last year.

UNISON Head of Health, Sara Gorton, said: "In every area of the country there are staff working for private contractors doing the same jobs as colleagues directly employed by the NHS. They experience the same pressures and provide the same level of exceptional service.

"It makes no sense for many of these workers to be on the minimum wage while colleagues still working for the NHS take home much more. Outsourced staff struggling to make ends meet are understandably considering other jobs that won’t leave them so strapped for cash. This is already having an impact on patient care and the smooth running of the NHS."