We want to stay ‘100% NHS’! That’s the message from workers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust who are currently balloting for strike action alongside 3 other West Yorkshire Trusts over plans to transfer them into a ‘Wholly-owned Subsidiary’ (WOS).
Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party
Around 40 hospital staff and supporters took part in a protest outside the Leeds General Infirmary on Wednesday 6th June, to raise the profile of the campaign of opposition to these proposals and garner publicity for the strike ballot. With local and national media coverage it certainly succeeded in doing that.
With Mid Yorkshire trust having written to the Secretary of State for permission to form a WOS (which they need to do due to not being a Foundation Trust), and staff in Calderdale and Kirklees NHS Trust being given a summer date for transfer to such a company, the campaign is intensifying, although Leeds are still officially ‘consulting’ on the proposals.
Hardworking staff don’t want to be transferred out of the NHS. And details are already emerging at other Trusts that staff transferred in to a WOS may not get the NHS national pay rise which unions have recently being balloting over.
All the more reason to win the strike ballot and organise to defeat these plans. The next campaign action will be lobbying the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust board meeting on Thursday 14th June at 9am and of course building a massive turnout for the national demonstration in defence of the NHS on June 30th called by Health Campaigns Together.
Leeds TUC is organising transport to the 30th June national demonstration in defence of the NHS – for more info see their website – https://leedstuc.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/march-in-defence-of-the-nhs-on-its-70th-birthday/