WORKERS at Bart’s hospital in London will have an extra reason to celebrate May Day as they transfer from privateer Serco into direct NHS employment.

The 1,387 Unite members working as cleaners, caterers, porters, security guards, ward hosts and domestic staff at the Barts Health group of hospitals are employed by the service on NHS pay, terms and conditions as of today.

But the transfer away from Serco did not come with a fight, including two weeks of strike action in February last year.

Along with hundreds of thousands of other NHS support workers, the jobs were dumped into the private sector as part of the Tories’ continuing efforts to privatise the NHS.

Unions and campaigners have fought against the profit-driven private contractors across the NHS, reporting attacks on workers’ pay and conditions and the “two-tier” workforce at Barts and other NHS trusts.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is appropriate that May Day marks a new beginning for these workers at Barts.

“Of course NHS workers are in the midst of a historic battle for fair pay.

“But now, thanks to Unite’s unyielding campaign, these workers who were treated as second class before now can stand side by side with paramedics, nurses and doctors as equals within the NHS.”

Most of the workers are women and are black, Asian and ethnic minority migrants.

Unite regional officer Tabusam Ahmed said: “Unite members and their representatives have shown impressive determination and resilience to win their deal.

“This landmark victory should inspire outsourced workers across Britain.

“Unite will support any members being treated unfairly to ensure they receive the pay they deserve.

“Our union will ensure the drive for equality is not only talked about but acted on.”

Privateers have taken over roughly 20 per cent of the NHS.

In 2019, Serco, one of the world’s biggest “outsourcers,” was fined £19.2 million for fraud committed under a contract with the Ministry of Justice.

It held a contract for electronically “tagging” paroled prisoners and criminals serving probation.

Serco was found by the Serious Fraud Office to have claimed payments for tagging people who were dead, back in prison or who had moved abroad.