Hospital laundry staff threaten action against privatisation plans

LAUNDRY workers from the Nicosia General Hospital and Psychiatric Services in Athalassa staged an impromptu two-hour strike yesterday against plans to privatise the laundry service in state hospitals.

Around 80 workers from the two hospitals gathered outside the House of Representatives to demonstrate against government plans to pass laundry services on to the private sector. The strike was prompted by the government launching a tender process for three private firms to take over laundry services in public hospitals.
Unions SEK and PEO argued that the move did not make economic sense since the cost to the state was only £800,000 a year for hiring laundry workers. Private firms interested in taking over the running of the laundries are asking for at least £2 million, they said. The figure was drawn from tenders made a few years ago when the decision to privatise the service was first mooted.

Now, the government is calling for new tenders, further angering the workers. Laundry workers argue they have been living in uncertainty for four years since the decision was taken and called on the government to overturn it.

The workers also claimed to be working in terrible conditions, and expressed their disappointment at the prospect of losing their jobs now that the new General Hospital was being built in Latsia.

The two unions warned they would take further action if plans to privatise the service went through.