< News

25.06.2025 / News / Justice for Cleaners / St Helier and Epsom

Hundreds of NHS facilities’ workers at St Helier and Epsom Hospitals launch historic strike ballot in major push for equality

“We are the pillars of this hospital — if we don’t clean, transport people around or serve food, patients and their families suffer. The board knows this. It’s time they gave us the respect we deserve. Change our contracts. Give us equality, dignity, and the recognition every NHS worker should have.”

Dennis Gyamfi, a cleaner at Epsom Hospital and UVW member

The ballot, which opens on 1 July, marks the first ever strike vote by facilities staff – cleaners, porters and catering staff – at either Surrey hospital. The workers, almost 300, the vast majority of whom are Black, brown and migrant, are employed directly by the NHS but denied the terms and conditions guaranteed to other NHS staff under Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts.

They are demanding an end to this two-tier system. Brought in-house in 2021, they had expected equal treatment — but instead remain on inferior pay and conditions. Their wages have been frozen since then at £13.85 per hour, below the standard NHS Band 2 rate of £14.92. Unlike their colleagues, they receive no enhanced pay for nights or weekends, missing out on rates as high as £27 per hour.

Their pension contributions remain at just 3%, compared to the 23% rate available to other NHS staff. They are entitled to just 24 days of annual leave — with no progression for length of service — while their NHS colleagues can earn up to 33 days plus Bank Holidays. Crucially, they are also denied full sick pay from day one.

Dennis Gyamfi, a cleaner at Epsom Hospital and UVW member, described the frustration: “I’ve cleaned this hospital for seven years. My fellow cleaners, porters and caterers do essential work — yet we’ve never been treated with the same dignity as other NHS staff. We’re told we’re part of the NHS, but we’re not on Agenda for Change. We don’t get proper sick pay, fair pensions, or equal wages — even for weekend work. When we ask why, we’re brushed aside. On National Facilities Day, the management took pictures to thank us — but we don’t want photos, we want equality and we want respect.”

The call for justice has been building for years. Staff say they have been left in limbo while continuing to carry out essential frontline work during and after the pandemic.

Farrokh, a porter at St Helier Hospital, added: “It is deeply troubling that a publicly-run organisation — whose duty should be to uphold fairness — appears to be taking steps that deprive its lowest-paid workers of long-established rights and benefits. This is not just disappointing — it’s outrageous.”

The nearly 300 workers, united through UVW, are prepared to strike if their demands for full equality are not met. If the hospital bosses continue to refuse negotiations, strike dates will be announced in mid-August.

Support these brave workers. 

Write to hospital bosses, using this easy template >>

Donate to their strike fund >>

And get ready to join them on the  picket line.  Join the Action group >> 

SHARE