MPs back early motion for equal pay of hospital outsourced staff.

A parliamentary motion created by Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas in response to the protests of poor wages and heavy workload for Medirest staff at Northwick Park Hospital, has received support from 32 Members of Parliament.

The motion (EDM#13) which was tabled on October 15, draws attention to the 400 outsourced cleaners, porters, ward hostesses and kitchen staff at Northwick Park Hospital who are employed by Medirest and paid by minimum wage.

Concerns about the payment of the staff are based around Medirest’s annual pre-tax operating profits being more than £1.6billion and the staff only being paid the national minimum wage of just £8.21, which is well below the National Living Wage Foundation’s rate for London which is £10.55.

Mr Thomas said: “It is striking that so many MPs from so many parts of the country think that the situation concerning hardworking staff from Northwick Park Hospital needs resolving.

“I hope the Compass Group CEO who receives a very nice salary will recognise his responsibility to ensure the porters, cleaners and others are given a generous and fair offer.”

The protests which took place on September 19 and September 5 also had over half of the 400 employees calling for a root and branch investigation into reports of a ‘bullying culture’ against Medirest staff.

Some other MPs who have backed the motion include Rupa Huq, Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton to support as far as Chris Stephens, Scottish National Part (SNP) MP for Glasgow South West.

It is hoped that the strong early motion support in the House of Commons will help address and resolve the employee’s concerns.