STRIKING hospital staff marched through Colchester in Essex on Saturday against plans to outsource their jobs to the private sector.

The plans by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) target NHS porters, cleaners, housekeepers and other hospital support staff. 

The workers are members of public-sector union Unison, which says leaked documents show the trust believes it is “too compassionate” an employer and that NHS sick pay provisions “encourage poor behaviours.”

Workers have taken 13 days of strike action against the plans. They walked out again on Saturday when more than 200 marched in Colchester.

They will strike again today and tomorrow. 

Unison Eastern head of health Caroline Hennessy said: “Staff have been overwhelmed by the support from patients and the public on the picket lines.

“Patients value cleaners, porters and other facilities staff and know that the services they provide will suffer if they’re sold off to a private company with its shareholders’ interests at heart.”