A union has criticized the decision to outsource the cleaning department in the district's NHS hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow, according to an article on the Guardian website.
Bosses at the Princess Alexandra are now inviting private companies to bid on running the services and is expected to appoint a private contractor by July.
The move has been strongly criticized by UNISON which argued outsourcing services will drive down pay and conditions and create a two-tier workforce.
“Private contractors have shown they can’t be relied on to run our public services, but bosses at the hospital are either not paying attention or they think it’s OK to gamble with patients’ safety to save a few quid,” according to a union representative.
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