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09.09.2025 / News /

Historic Strike Vote Pushes GESH Board to Consider NHS equality for Facilities Workers

“The lowest paid staff have been ignored for many years, and only now that hundreds of us are all ready to strike, they are finally starting to listen. We deserve equal treatment just like any other NHS worker, and we will not stop until we get equal rights which the Trust Board has deliberately taken away from us. If we have to strike, we all are ready.” Farrokh Hormoz, a UVW member and porter at St Helier Hospital.

A groundbreaking strike ballot by hospital cleaners, porters and caterers has forced St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (GESH) to take an unprecedented step: the Board has now committed to voting on whether to grant these workers full NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts.

More than 300 facilities workers, all members of United Voices of the World (UVW), voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action last week. These staff are directly employed by the NHS but, for the past four years, have been denied the same pay, pensions and conditions as their NHS colleagues. The powerful mandate from workers has now pushed GESH to put AfC contracts – which set the national standard for NHS terms and conditions – on the agenda for the first time.

Strike action, which was due to begin this September, has been temporarily postponed in light of the Board’s commitment. But workers have made clear: unless equal treatment is secured, they are prepared to take action.

Four Years of Inequality

Although they work side by side with NHS colleagues, facilities workers remain on worse contracts that strip them of basic rights. They currently earn £13.85 an hour compared to £14.92 for Band 2 NHS staff – a gap that leaves them thousands of pounds worse off each year. They are excluded from enhanced pay rates for nights, weekends and bank holidays, which can boost wages to £27 per hour, and they receive just 24 days of annual leave, compared to up to 33 days plus bank holidays for colleagues.

The injustice extends to pensions too. For years, GESH denied facilities workers access to the standard NHS pension, which contributes 23% from employers, instead forcing them into a far inferior scheme with only 3% contributions. Last month, after pressure from workers, the Board admitted this denial was unlawful. Staff will now be enrolled into the NHS pension scheme and receive back payments, marking a first major victory in the campaign.

A First in NHS History

This is the first time NHS workers have voted to strike for the basic terms and conditions set out in AfC contracts while already being directly employed by the NHS. Until now, such disputes were typically fought by outsourced workers demanding insourcing. The facilities workers at GESH are breaking new ground, setting an example for NHS workers across the country.

Farrokh Hormoz, a UVW member and porter at St Helier, explained:

“The lowest paid staff have been ignored for many years, and only now that hundreds of us are all ready to strike, they are finally starting to listen. We deserve equal treatment just like any other NHS worker, and we will not stop until we get equal rights which the Trust Board has deliberately taken away from us. If we have to strike, we all are ready.”

The message from UVW members is clear: dignity, respect, and equality cannot be delayed any longer.

Support the brave NHS facilities workers fight for equality, donate to their strike fund >>

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