The Gloucestershire SubCo transfer date for around 700 NHS staff was confirmed as 1 April 2018 at a meeting of the Trust board last night.
Commenting on the Board’s decision, UNISON organiser Michael Sweetman said:
“Rushing the decision through on such short notice shows the Trust bosses are panicking. Staff were given just a few hours notice of the only meetings where they would have a chance to hear about this, on a day when everyone knows the weather conditions are difficult.
“We’ve put the arguments to Trust bosses all the way through, and this is not a done deal yet. This plan was dreamt up in head offices far removed from the knowledge and experience of frontline NHS staff. The roughly 700 staff are all part of one NHS team. Splitting them into a private company for tax avoidance reasons is wrong.
“Staff in other subsidiary companies are recruited on worse conditions like holidays, sick leave and pensions. NHS staff should get the rate for the job, but the Trust board’s plan could mean second-class status for health workers in Gloucestershire.”
More information
- Read the joint union statement on the Board decision
- Watch Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth raise the Gloucestershire subco in Parliament
