Local MP Joins Hammersmith Hospital Protest Against Poverty Pay
Andy Slaughter says staff paid minimum wage for 'difficult and demanding job'
Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter joined a protest at Hammersmith Hospital over poverty pay held by members of the GMB Union on Friday 1 March.
This was the second protest held at the Du Cane Road hospital over the wages being paid to porters, cleaners and hostesses. Staff at the hospital claim they are paid slave wages for the work they do.
After the protest, the MP tweeted@hammersmithandy: "Sodexo are paying porters, cleaning and catering staff at Hammersmith Hospital minimum wage to do difficult and demanding jobs. Joined staff and @GMBLondonRegion to protest on Friday and will raise when I see @ImperialNHS this week."
The GMB union says that earlier this year it met with workers employed by French Multi National Contractor Sodexo over what many of them claim is their company’s reluctance to pay them the NHS pay increase and the insistence on paying minimum wage to many of the staff at the hospital.
Michael Dooley, GMB Regional Organiser said: "Sodexo are aware of the issue, they know what they pay the workers and will continue to drag their heels until it is brought home to them that the staff are unwilling to continue accepting poverty wages.
" Porters caring for the dead, cleaners dealing with blood, excrement, and vomit and the hard work they do every day on behalf of the patients and the NHS all for minimum wage, they deserve a fair wage and we want this protest to be the first step towards ending poverty pay at Hammersmith Hospital."
March 4, 2019