24.06.2025 / Press releases / Justice for Cleaners / St George's

NHS Inequality Sparks Revolt: Hundreds of St Helier & Epsom Hospital Workers Launch Strike Ballot

• Some nearly 300 essential  workers – cleaners, porters, caterers – are set to vote to strike for NHS equality in a historic dispute at St Heliers & Epsom Hospitals
• The workers, most of whom are from migrant and minority ethnic backgrounds, are NHS employees but denied NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions.  
• The workers’ frustration has been building for four years since being brought in-house, as they continue to face second-class conditions, including up to two weeks less annual leave, lower pay, no full pay sick pay and inferior pensions — amid unsafe, degrading conditions and failing infrastructure at St Helier Hospital.
• The ballot will open on Tuesday 1 July and close on 12 August, with strike dates to be announced mid August.

Almost 300 vital NHS facilities workers at St Helier and Epsom hospitals are set to ballot for strike action, demanding full equality with their hospital colleagues. Although they were brought in-house in 2021, the workers were not given full AfC contracts and remain on inferior terms, with their pay frozen ever since. They are now formally moving toward strike action after the CEO and Board of Trustees refused to enter negotiations.

The facilities workers are predominantly migrants, coming from all over the world, including countries as distant as India, Nepal and Ghana. 

Despite doing essential frontline work, these staff earn less than NHS Band 2 staff – £13.85 per hour versus £14.92 – losing out on thousands annually. They also miss out on key benefits such as paid sick leave from day 1, and enhanced nights and weekend pay, which can boost NHS wages to £20 and £27 per hour for Band 2. Their pension contributions are just 3%, far below the standard NHS rate of 23%, and they are stuck on 24 days’ holiday, with no increase for length of service, unlike colleagues who receive up to 33 days plus Bank Holidays.

Frustration has also deepened at St Helier Hospital, where staff reportedly contend with unsafe, degrading conditions, said to be impacting the wellbeing of both patients and hospital staff.  

Farrokh, porter at St Helier hospital and UVW member:

“It is deeply troubling that a publicly-run organisation – whose duty should be to uphold fairness and protect its employees – appears to be taking steps that deprive its lowest-paid workers of rights and benefits long established by the NHS, government and unions. This is not just disappointing—it’s outrageous. Public bodies should be held to the highest standards, following laws, agreements and regulations to the letter.

Instead, what we’re seeing suggests either neglect or wilful disregard for those obligations. And yet, those in charge often seem protected from accountability.

That this can happen in the UK in the 21st century is hard to believe. I’m a migrant—my parents brought us here because they believed in this country’s commitment to fairness and the rule of law. My father was a lawyer. He believed the UK symbolised those values more than anywhere else. If he were alive today, I don’t think he’d believe what’s happening to us.

It’s difficult to accept that a public institution and its custodians – the board of trustees – could act in this way.”

Dennis Gyamfi, cleaner at Epsom Hospital and UVW member said:

“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. Since joining UVW, we’ve found strength together. Now, we’re united, we’re ready, and we’re prepared to strike. 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.”

Petros Elia, UVW General Secretary said: 

“These workers are as much a part of the NHS as any doctor, nurse, or administrator. They kept our hospitals running during the pandemic, yet in 2025 they’re still treated as second-class NHS employees. That’s not an accident;  it’s a choice. A choice to save money off the backs of the lowest-paid, most marginalised staff in our hospitals.

They’re excluded from Agenda for Change contracts, denied decent sick pay, fair pensions and enhancements, all while doing the same essential work. This two-tier system is degrading, demoralising and discriminatory. It sends a message that their labour matters less, and their lives matter less. And it must end.

It’s no surprise these workers are now balloting to strike. They are not demanding more than others, just the same. No more, no less. Their fight is not just about pay — it’s about equality, dignity and justice within our NHS. And they will not be ignored.”

For more information contact the UVW comms team.

Isabel: 07706 987443

Cristina: 07548 759340

E-mail: comms@uvwunion.org.uk   

Notes for editors

United Voices of the World is an anti-racist, member-led, direct action, campaigning trade union and we exist to support and empower the most vulnerable groups of precarious, low-paid and predominantly BAME and migrant workers in the UK. We fight the bosses through direct action on the streets and through the courts and demand that all members receive at least the London Living Wage, full pay, sick pay, dignity, equality and respect.

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