Join today’s virtual rally for Cumberland Infirmary Strikers

Colleagues, don’t forget, the Cumberland Infirmary 48-hour Strike started this morning and members will be out on the picket lines again tomorrow.

Porters, cleaners, switchboard and catering staff employed by Mitie are standing in the pouring rain in their fight to find missing payments for working unsocial hours. (This follows 24-hour strikes on Friday 26 February and Monday 1 March).

These 150 frontline workers are paid less than their NHS counterparts for doing the same jobs. This is despite the North Cumbria Integrated NHS Foundation Trust saying it handed over a “substantial sum” for the outsourced workers to receive NHS Agenda for Change rates when the contract was negotiated in 2010.

The workers haven’t seen a penny of the money despite all parties agreeing that there was an agreement for the payments to be made.

Please show your support by clicking on this link to register for a virtual rally taking place at 3pm today: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvcuqgqD4sHtT7vogPwtwJ0fBUdkJmmKR3

Sign the petition herehttps://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/onenhs-where-is-our-money-interserve

Post messages of support on social media: please tag @mitie and @NorthWestUNISON. Use hashtags #ONENHS #MitieUnfair and #PayUpMitie.

Print this message of support and take a picture of yourself holding it to show your support for the strikers, then share it on social media. If you don’t have a printer, you can load the picture onto your phone like this.

Write to Mitie CEO Phil Bentleyhttps://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/write-to-mitie-pay-us-what-you-owe

Encourage your branches to donate to the hardship fund– they can donate via bank transfer to Unity Bank, 60-83-01, 20330637 or send a cheque payable to UNISON Cumbria and North Lancashire Health Hardship Fund and post to UNISON Resource Centre, 6 Spencer Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 1BG.

Thanks for your support. We look forward to seeing you at the virtual rally this afternoon.