UNISON slammed East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) for its “reckless” decision to outsource facilities maintenance staff today.

Hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other facilities staff are set to be affected.

Staff at the trust have already staged 30 days of industrial action in protest.

More than 350 workers are currently in the midst of a three-week walkout after voting 99 per cent in favour of industrial action.

They have vowed to keep battling against the decision, which will see a new contract implemented from April next year.

ESNEFT will not reveal the identity of the successful bidder until at least December 17, Unison says.

The new contract will impact staff at Colchester Hospital, several ESNEFT community sites which are currently in house, workers at Ipswich and the remaining community sites currently employed by contractor OCS.

Staff fear the sell-off will threaten their pay and conditions.

The trust maintains that existing pay and conditions will be protected under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Tupe) regulations. 

But Unison highlighted that these protections are not permanent, and will not apply to new staff who will have contracts with worse pay, holiday and sick leave entitlement.

The union argues that staff already outsourced at Ipswich get less annual leave and sick pay than colleagues on NHS contracts.

They also did not get a one-off payment of £1,655 given to NHS staff in the last financial year.

Concerns have also been raised over serious risks to patient safety. 

A study published in The Lancet health journal in March found that outsourcing “can reduce costs, but seems to do so at the expense of quality of care.”

Unison Eastern head of health Caroline Hennessy said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see ESNEFT make this reckless decision to sell essential cleaners, porters, caterers and other staff out of the NHS.

“Public, political and academic opinion is all turning against outsourcing because it’s worse for patients and worse for workers.

“ESNEFT still has time to do the right thing and decide to deliver all facilities services — at Colchester, Ipswich and across its community sites — in house.”