Soft-facilities workers at the ESNEFT Hospital Trust continued their long-running action against threats to pay and conditions, and patient safety, with huge public support, reports Lucy Nichols

This Friday, 20 September, marked the thirteenth day of strike action by Unison members at the East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust. Hundreds of soft-facilities workers (i.e. porters, housekeepers or caterers) have walked out against their Trust’s plans to outsource their jobs to a private company. Today is the final day of the strike, but they will decide next week whether to take more days of action in October.

Over the last three weeks, workers have formed lively picket lines at Colchester, Aldeburgh and Ipswich hospitals. This Wednesday they were joined by the Unison General Secretary, Christina McAnea as well as the local MP, Keep Our NHS Public and NHS Workers Say No.

Unison members at the trust have said that they are proud to work in the NHS and fear what would happen to their pay and conditions, and patient safety if they were outsourced. Soft-facilities contracts at Colchester and Aldeburgh hospitals and the surrounding area have previously been outsourced to ISS and Carillion, and workers fear being employed by a private company again. One worker raised fears about access to NHS mental-health support if his contract changed, and another about colleagues from abroad still being allowed access to their NHS-owned housing.

In a letter published by Unison, workers said ‘private contractors’ main aim is to make a profit. They’ll come after staff wages, sick pay and holidays, and also cut corners on cleaning, food standards and anything else they’re responsible for.’

The trust has responded to the strike by bringing in untrained strike breakers from as far as Newcastle and pressuring workers from other departments (such as admin staff) to take on the work of striking workers. Workers have also said that on return to work after the August round of strikes, they found rubbish left for days in corridors, toilet cubicles that had not been cleaned, and theatres not properly sanitised.

The strike has been met with phenomenal levels of support. Local Unite and Unite community branches have joined the picket line, as well as Colchester Trade’s Council. The local community has also been very supportive of the workers: on the picket line at Colchester beeps from cars, buses, lorries and ambulances were almost constant.

According to one member, union membership at the Trust has almost doubled since the strike began, and more members are becoming union reps and shop stewards, many of whom have never been involved in industrial action before. The ESNEFT strike is a true test case for the government, which has pledged a huge wave of insourcing in the NHS over the next five years.