Health Secretary and Dundee East MSP Shona Robison has been criticised for failing to bring an end to strike action that has seen 117 porters refuse to work for more than three weeks.
The office of Ms Robison has repeatedly failed to address questions put to them by The Courier, issuing identical statements weeks apart.
As the strike enters its fourth week, pressure is building on the Cabinet Secretary for Health to step in in her Scottish Government capacity as well as for her Dundee East constituents.
Unite, representing the porters, has been asking the health secretary to act since the beginning of the strike action almost two months ago, and questions asked by The Courier to Ms Robison’s office have not been answered.
Dougie Maguire, senior officer for Unite, said: “We have been asking for her to step in from the start.
“Given her position locally and in government, I would assume she would be the ideal person to assist in the resolution of this action.
“We have written to her again recently to try to arrange a meeting and find some way to get this debate resolved. The only reason for not resolving this must be because of the looming election.
“Why else would someone with the authority to resolve the issue just sit back and allow this terrible situation to continue?”
When asked what Ms Robison had done in relation to the strike, a spokesman for NHS Tayside said: “The Scottish Government is being kept updated about the industrial action on a daily basis.”
Ms Robison’s latest response was, again, almost identical to the comment given on the previous occasions she was contacted by The Courier.
She said: “I am clear that both parties need to explore every avenue available to find a resolution to this dispute.”Questions asked by The Courier on Tuesday: At what point will the Health Secretary be willing to intervene in the porters’ strike? What has she been doing to help resolve the strike up to this point? Has the Health Secretary seen the banding agreement signed by unions and NHS Tayside which Unite claims does not exist and NHS Tayside claims proves the banding was correctly agreed?Ms Robison responded: “The Scottish Government is closely monitoring the porters’ industrial action in Tayside. Scottish Government officials are also working to encourage both parties to explore every avenue available to find a resolution to this.”