Union calls for car park fees to be reversed for NHS workers

Health Secretary will be urged to step in

STAFF at Glasgow Royal Infirmary are expected to back a campaign to prevent car parking charges from being reinstated in September. Fees, which average at £100 a month, were dropped at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but NHS workers have raised concerns about proposals to bring them back.

Trade union Unison has been calling for employee parking charges to be dropped for several years.

Now it plans to write a letter to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman asking her to overrule the decision to re-establish them.

Cathy Miller, branch secretary of Unison, said: “When coronavirus infected Scotland it was decided that parking at the Royal Infirmary would be free for staff.

“This was wonderful and a step in the right direction. However, this is to come to an end in September.

“We are the only hospital in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area which has to pay for parking which is because of a private finance initiative on the site.

“We are still dealing with Covid-19 which is not going away anytime soon so it seems ludicrous to me that they would reinstate these charges.

“It certainly doesn’t send a great message to staff. This affects all employees – not just nurses as we have all worked through the height of the pandemic which is still ongoing.

“We are hoping to write a letter

LENDER NatWest has said it plans to slash its headcount by around 550 at Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest branches, and its premier banking unit.

The company said it had already had sufficient applications so it will not need to make any compulsory redundancies.

Around 550 full-time equivalent roles will be lost across the branches and its premier banking arm, with branch managers, premier banking managers and personal bankers among those affected.

“We have to respond to changing customer behaviour and the rising

customer demand for digital banking services,” the bank said in a statement.

“We have taken the decision to invite applications for voluntary redundancy.

“There will be no compulsory redundancy as a result of this announcement.”

Unite national officer Rob MacGregor said: “Tens of thousands of people working for banks have risen to the challenge that the pandemic created.

“The banks’ response should not be a repeat of the austerity measures that we saw after the financial crisis.”