A WEEK-LONG walkout across hospitals in south London is set to go ahead from on Saturday after talks with bosses broke down, GMB has confirmed.

The health union said outsourced domestic and catering staff at four sites run by South London & Maudsley NHS Trust (Slam) will down tools after contractor ISS failed to offer an improved hourly rate of pay.

The action, which follows six days of strikes earlier this year, will also include a march on Downing Street next Wednesday, the union said.

GMB regional organiser Helen O’Connor stressed that union reps had engaged in this week’s talks, facilitated by conciliation service Acas, in “good faith and are disappointed they are only being offered pay rises they should have had years ago.”

“Our members are widely supported by local MPs and their communities and we are now calling on ISS and Slam management to stop burying their heads in the sand,” she said.

She warned that next week’s rally in Westminster will take the union’s call for services to be brought back in-house to the centre of political power.

A trust spokesperson told the Morning Star: "ISS colleagues are an essential part of our team and we support their need to be fairly compensated for their hard work.

"We have communicated to ISS that from April 1 2023, ISS staff at all levels are to receive a 10 per cent increase, bringing the lowest salary from £11.05 to £12.15 per hour - 20p higher than the London living wage.

"ISS have told us that this will be paid to all staff in their June pay packets and backdated."