In a big gain for devolution, Northern Ireland region of UNISON is celebrating the return to public provision of the last support services contract to remain in private hands.
http://www.unison.org.uk/northernireland/pages_view.asp?did=11090
Over 200 employees providing cleaning, catering, portering, transport, security and telephone services in Belfast’s Musgrave Park Hospital had endured 19 years of privatisation. In 1991, the staff at Musgrave Park became the first NI health service casualties of the Thatcherite privatisation programme – despite massive trade union and public opposition. More than 300 workers, 85% of them low-paid women, were handed over to the private sector – first to Compass, then Mediguard, then to Mediclean. Only 20 of the original workers are still employed in the hospital.
UNISON regional secretary Patricia McKeown said "this was the longest and last privatised contract in our health service. It is the final in-house return of workers who were put through hell to serve political dogma”.
