Formal Strike Ballot At Carillion
Friday 13th January 2012
GMB TRIGGERS FORMAL STRIKE BALLOT OVER
BULLYING AND HARASSMENT OF STAFF BY HOSPITAL CONTRACTOR CARILLION
MEMBERS IN GREAT WESTERN HOSPITAL IN SWINDON AFTER 150 MEMBERS VOTE
FOR STRIKE ACTION IN A CONSULTATIVE BALLOT
GMB members are very eager for the
opportunity to vote for strike action says GMB
At a meeting last night 150 GMB members
employed by Carillion at the 400 bed Great Western NHS Hospital in
Swindon run by the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust, have voted in
a consultative ballot for strike action over bullying, harassment
and discrimination by their management. GMB has triggered the
process of a formal ballot as required by law. The timetable for
the formal ballot will be available shortly.
These members work as porters, theatre
technicians, in catering and cleaning and other support roles in
the hospital.
The hospital was one of the first to be built
under the Private Finance Initiative at a cost of £148 m with
Carillion as the lead contractor. The hospital opened in 2002 to
replace the services previously provided at the Princess Margaret
Hospital, which had served the town since 1959.
The facilities at the hospital include an
accident and emergency department which sees approximately 50,000
patients per year, an Acute Assessment Unit, an eight bedded
Intensive Care Unit, an intermediate care Centre on site, a health
and social care education Centre called the academy, and a wide
range of wards and clinics, including 400 in-patient beds, serving
approximately 300,000 people.
Carole Vallelly GMB Regional officer said,
“GMB members are very eager for the
opportunity to vote for strike action so I think they will return a
huge yes vote. GMB that all employee
to be treated with respect at work, and Carillion are not
treating GMB members with respect. Carillion is not even treating
GMB with respect as it has failed to deal properly with a
collective grievance with 109 signatures submitted to the company
by the Union.”
End
Contact: Carole Vallelly, GMB
officer 07810 553393 or GMB Swindon office 01793 818005 GMB Press
Office Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974
251823