OUTSOURCED cleaners at Great Ormond Street Hospital are to be employed directly by the NHS in a “historic” victory for workers, their union announced today. 

The decision marks the end of decades of outsourcing at the children’s hospital in Bloomsbury, London, and a £10 million contract with outsource giant OCS. 

The hospital’s 100 cleaners, who are members of United Voices of the World, had been set to vote in a ballot for strike action in their bid to be brought back in-house by the NHS. 

The cleaners, predominantly migrants and from black and ethnic minorities, had argued that their contracts under OCS were discriminatory as they are on lower pay and worse terms and conditions than those enjoyed by in-house staff, most of whom are white.

The cleaners receive statutory sick pay of just £95.85 a week, for example, while staff employed directly by the NHS receive full sick pay.  

UVW had also accused OCS managers of bullying and harassing cleaning staff: in one incident, a cleaner reported being locked in a room and “shouted at aggressively” by their supervisor. 

UVW founder and organiser Petros Elia described the decision as a “historic” victory.

“The cleaners at GOSH are heroes, and not because they were clapped for their work during the pandemic, but because they fought and won what they knew those claps could never deliver,” he said. 

One of the cleaners at the hospital, Genevieve, said: “We can now get all the fringe benefits that the NHS offers and we will no longer have to come to work when we are sick. There’s a possibility of excelling with the NHS.”

The decision also followed the submission of a 45-page legal claim by UVW to the hospital which highlighted evidence that outsourcing of cleaning services contributes to higher rates of infections of superbug MRSA. 

Announcing the decision, Greater Ormond Street Hospital said today that bringing cleaners in-house was the “best way to secure a high-quality service for the future in line with the trust’s values.”

The hospital’s executive director, Zoe Asensio-Sanchez, said: “We remain committed to ensuring that all of our staff, including those who are not directly employed by the trust, feel fully valued and respected.”

OCS said staff who took Covid-related leave were paid full sick pay.

A spokesperson from the firm said the hospital trust’s decision to move cleaners in-house was “in no way related to the quality of the service that OCS employees have provided, with the move following similar decisions by GOSH in the last 18 months to bring works and catering services in house.”

“We care deeply about the frontline workers we employ. For every single OCS employee, we put their safety first and are completely committed to ensuring their access to equal opportunities and an inclusive working environment,” they said.