Ninewells porters to be balloted on strike action

PORTERS at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee could be set for strike action again.

NHS Tayside porters are “on their knees” due to being understaffed by almost a third, according to senior Unite rep Graham Nelson.

Now, the workers at Ninewells Hospital (pictured below) are set to hold a ballot over potential strike action in a bid to force the health board to increase the workforce.

Mr Nelson told the Tele that porters had even tried to solve the recruitment issue themselves — but are now set to hold a consultative ballot for industrial action.

He said: “We are running 30 men down just now and it’s going to be 35.

“We have been in discussions with NHS Tayside for four weeks now about a resolution but we are getting nowhere — the porters are on their knees.

“It’s ridiculous — they’re having to do the job with a third fewer people. A manager came down and he was shocked — he said it was the worst he had seen it.

“They are running them into the ground. There are nurses complaining about the service and patients will be impacted by the lack of numbers.

“Something needs to be done and we have tried everything at this point.”

Mr Nelson said the ballot will be held in the coming weeks and he believes members will vote for strike action.

NHS Tayside porters went on strike for three months in 2015 following a dispute over pay grades stretching back 10 years.

They claimed they were being paid less than those doing the same job elsewhere in Tayside and were owed about £6 million in back pay. But Unite rep Graham Nelson said porters at Ninewells Hospital “are on their knees”. Ourvoice the industrial action came to an end after union members accepted a “compromise” offer of increased wages.

The industrial action began with a series of one-day strikes in March, before more than 100 staff stopped working in April.

Contingency plans were put in place to make sure patients were not affected, with staff from other parts of the hospitals drafted in to cover the duties of the porters.

NHS Tayside was contacted for comment, but had not responded at the time of going to press. PAGE 16