Mitie, the private contractor for hotel services in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, has given 14 supervisors a pay award while continuing to ignore the lowest paid staff.
Since transferring to Mitie four years ago there has been no cost of living pay increase for porters, cleaners and catering staff working at the hospitals in Cornwall.
In March Mitie said that there was no money available for a pay increase and pointed fingers at Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust while the Trust said the issue lay with Mitie as the employer.
On Monday Mitie announced a 21p increase per hour for supervisors, at a cost of over £5,000 per year, which has left the lowest paid workers feeling undervalued and frustrated.
UNISON area organiser, Michael Auguste said:
“We believe that all Mitie staff deserve a pay rise. UNISON has been campaigning for a pay increase for the past two years. Giving a pay rise to supervisors who enjoy a higher rate of pay is insensitive at this time.
“A pay rise for a small number of staff implies that some employees are less important than others, and is an indication of a two-tier workforce.
“The three-year pay deal UNISON has achieved in the NHS is a pay rise for all – a number of private contractors have recognised this and paid their staff accordingly. We urge Mitie to respect its employees and implement the three-year pay deal with immediate effect.”
