Strike Vote at London Ambulance
Wednesday 25th August
2010
GMB MEMBERS VOTE FOR STRIKE ACTION AT
SOUTH LONDON HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST OVER
HANDLING OF PATIENT TRANSPORT CONTRACT
If there is no satisfactory response from the Trust at
talks with Chief Executive tomorrow on breaches in rules on
procurement and staff transfers strikes will go ahead says
GMB
GMB members employed by London Ambulance Service have voted
almost unanimously for strike action over the way South London
Healthcare NHS Trust has designated a company called Savoy Ventures
Ltd as the preferred bidder for the patient transport contract in
South East London. The official ballot closed yesterday and the
Trust has now been notified of the result.
There are talks at 10am tomorrow 26 August at the Trust offices
in Woolwich between Chief Executive Chris Streather and senior
officers of GMB to discuss the matter. Unless there is a
satisfactory outcome to these talks on the breaches in rules on
procurement and staff transfers strikes will go ahead.
The patient transport contact covers staff working out of
Greenwich, Barnhurst and Bromley Ambulance stations. They transport
patient attending Guys & St Thomas, Kings College, Lewisham and
Royal Marsden Hospitals. They cover most of South East London,
including Woolwich, Barnhurst, Erith, Sidcup, Welling, Lewisham,
Farnborough, and Biggin Hill.
Directors of Savoy Ventures Ltd have a long record involving
serial insolvency which has been not taken into account by the
Trust in breach of procurement rules. The company are also refusing
to adhere to legal obligation to protect terms and condition of
staff who may be transferred to them
GMB has complained to senior managers at the Trust that
designating Savoy as preferred bidders is in breach of public
procurement rules. GMB also informed the Trust that Savoy
Ventures told the GMB members, who would be transferred from London
Ambulance Service who currently run the contact, that they have no
intention of being bound by TUPE Rules re transfer and that the
members face huge cuts in terms and conditions of employment.
Savoy Ventures Ltd is run by Robert Lawrence Adams who has been
involved with four previous companies that were wound up owning
large sums of money to HM Revenue and Customs. Robert
Lawrence Adams is a director who has been involved in two companies
that were subject to a creditor's voluntary winding up and two
companies were wound up under the 1986 Insolvency Act. See Note 1
below for details of the 4 companies and the dates that they were
wound up.
On 9th March 2007 Savoy Ventures Ltd acquired the business and
assets of one of these companies Select Hospital Services Ltd which
was subject to a creditor's voluntary winding up on 7 March 2007.
Robert Lawrence Adams is one of 3 directors of Savoy Ventures Ltd
(the other possibly his brother, Jonathan Clive Adams and the other
living in Malaga). At the Creditors Meeting of Select Hospital
Services those voting in person or by proxy were HM Revenue &
Customs owed £400,000.
South London Healthcare NHS trust put the contract out to tender
and Savoy Ventures Ltd are now designated as the preferred bidder.
It is planned that the new contract commences on 1st September
2010. The GMB invited Savoy to a mass consultation meeting at
Welling Football Club on Wednesday 4th August which was attended by
members due to be transferred.
At the meeting Savoy Ventures Ltd stated that:
- All of the staff would lose their outer London weighting (worth
up to £4,100) as the contract location would be moved from London
to Stone Castle in Kent.
- They did not recognise trade unions, and would not be deducting
check off subscriptions from payroll;
- That employees would be moved from a final salary pension to a
6% matched stakeholder pension;
- That shift patterns would be changed;
- That they would not rule out downward harmonisation to match
salaries with their existing lower paid employees in the
future.
- That they were refusing to accept responsibility for some
employees (managers / possibly coordinators), as was LAS leaving
the employees in no mans land from date of transfer.
Rob Macey, GMB Regional Officer who represents members at London
Ambulance Service, said "GMB members have now voted in an
official GMB ballot for strike action to prevent
SavoyVentures being awarded this contract
and to get cast iron assurances that the rules on procurement and
staff transfers will be adhered to. The talks tomorrow are now
crucial to avert strike action. If there is no satisfactory outcome
from the talks the strikes will go ahead.
GMB told South London Healthcare NHS Trust that public
procurement rules have not been followed on awarding contacts to
firms whose directors have a long track record of companies they
have been involved with being wound up. Neither have the rules been
adhered to regarding awarding of contracts to companies who have
been directors of insolvent companies owing money to the tax
authorities. GMB also advised the NHS Trust that Savoy Ventures Ltd
has told our members that the company has no intention of adhering
to the law of the land regarding the transfer of
employees.
That the public procurement rules were not followed in
the first place is bad enough. What is far worse is that senior
officers of the NHS Trust seek to ignore representations that the
rules were broken and dismiss evidence that the company plan to
ignore the law after the transfer.
GMB will also seek to reopen the awarding of contracts
at
KingsCollegeHospitaland
LewishamHospitalto this
same company and union is looking into links this company has with
overseas tax havens."
Ken Livingstone, Labour Candidate for Mayor of London
said:"This transfer of
LondonAmbulance staff to a
SavoyVentures would be a complete disaster
for staff, patients and the taxpayer.
I am deeply concerned by the track record of
SavoyVentures and their attitude towards
the public and their employees and I am worried about potential
impact on patient safety and cost to the taxpayer if this company
is allowed to run the ambulance service.
I am calling on the Chief Executive of the
South LondonNHS trust to urgently review
the plans to transfer ambulance staff to
SavoyVentures and put patients before
profits."
End
Contact: Rob Macey, GMB Regional Officer on
07710 618 908 or Justin Bowden, National Organiser on 07710
631 351 or GMB Press Office Steve Pryle on 07921 289880, Rose
Conroy 07974 251 823
Notes to Editors
Information on Robert Lawrence Adams
|
DIRECTOR
|
Appointed: 13/04/1993
|
|
Occupation:
|
COMPANY DIRECTOR
|
|
Company Number:
|
02754967
|
|
Company Name:
|
SELECT HOSPITALS SERVICES LIMITED
|
|
|
Liquidation
|
Creditors voluntary winding up
At the Creditors Meeting, those voting in person or by proxy
were:
HM Revenue & Customs owed £400,000
Compstat Supplies Ltd owed £5,968.93
Administrators appointed 7 March 2007
Sale of business and assets to Savoy Ventures Ltd on 9 March
2007
|
DIRECTOR
|
Appointed: 24/08/1995
Dissolved: 11/11/2009
|
|
Occupation:
|
COMPANY DIRECTOR
|
|
Company Number:
|
03095063
|
|
Company Name:
|
SELECT EXECUTIVE LIMITED
|
|
|
Dissolved
|
Wound up under the Insolvency Act 1986 on 16 December 1997 upon
the petition of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise
|
DIRECTOR
|
Appointed: 25/02/1993
Dissolved: 11/11/1999
|
|
Occupation:
|
COMPANY DIRECTOR
|
|
Company Number:
|
02754971
|
|
Company Name:
|
SELECT CARS AND COURIERS LIMITED
|
|
|
Dissolved
|
Creditors voluntary winding up
Preferential Creditor:
Customs & Excise
(VAT)
£15,000
Non-preferential claims:
Trade & Expense Creditors £7,350
Corporation
Tax
£344.75
Directors
£20,549
Natwest Bank
plc
£43,000
Customs & Excise
(VAT)
£60,810.80
|
DIRECTOR
|
Appointed: 18/10/1995
Dissolved: 27/07/2001
|
|
Occupation:
|
COMPANY DIRECTOR
|
|
Company Number:
|
03089202
|
|
Company Name:
|
SOUTHERN COUNTIES AMBULANCE SERVICE LIMITED
|
|
|
Dissolved
|
Wound up under the Insolvency Act 1986 on 12 July 1999 upon the
petition of the Commissioners of the Inland Revenue