Striking Dundee hospital porters have demanded the Scottish Government intervene to help resolve the pay dispute which resulted in them downing tools more than two months ago.
Shadow health secretary, Dundee-based MSP Jenny Marra, raised the issue with Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister’s Questions.
A number of politicians including Ms Marra, her Labour colleagues, and SNP Dundee West MSP Joe Fitzpatrick then took part in a meeting with porters who descended on the Scottish Parliament yesterday to make their voices heard.
Colin Coupar, regional organiser for the Unite union, said: “We have now had eight weeks where we’ve all been out on strike. Nowhere in NHS Scotland is there a process to resolve this kind of issue.”
Ms Marra urged the First Minister to bring in workplace relations body Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to mediate.
She said: “Porters at Ninewells Hospital are in a long-running pay dispute, because they are being paid less than other porters in NHS Tayside hospitals. This is a matter of fairness.”
Ms Sturgeon praised the porters as “a fantastic bunch of people”.
She added: “I think that it is right and proper for the process to run its due course, but I am hopeful that it will lead to that successful resolution.”
Talks are due to begin next week after Unite and NHS Tayside agreed to terms of the review by the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “We are committed to reaching a resolution to this dispute and we will abide by any findings made by STAC following the review.”
Mr Fitzpatrick told the porters: “Clearly this dispute needs to be resolved and hopefully that will come out of this process. For a dispute like this to go on for so long, clearly something is not right.”
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “This is positive progress, and I would encourage both parties to engage fully in this process.”