(Alliance News) - Workers at an NHS trust have voted in favour of strikes in a dispute over pay and staffing.
Members of Unite at Barts Health NHS Trust backed industrial action by 95%.
The workers and their representatives will meet over the coming days to decide on strike dates.
Unite said that in a landmark agreement last year, 1,800 workers including cleaners, security guards, porters and domestic staff were transferred to NHS employment from a private contractor.
The union claimed more than 1,000 workers have not received a GBP1,655 lump sum which is part of the recent deal to end the NHS pay dispute.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "The workers at Barts are up in arms over the trust's failure to pay them a lump sum which was agreed as part of the NHS pay deal.
"They're rightly refusing to be short-changed.
"The workforce won its rights to be NHS workers, now they're planning a campaign of strike action to combat low pay and understaffing at the trust."
A spokesperson for Barts Health NHS Trust said: "A number of our staff were still employed by Serco on March 31 2023 and do not qualify for the lump sum under the terms of the national NHS pay deal. We are committed to working with our staff and unions to find a resolution and avoid industrial action."
Barts Health NHS Trust operates from four major hospital sites – The Royal London, St Bartholomew's, Whipps Cross and Newham – and a number of community locations, including Mile End Hospital.
source: PA
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