Crippling strike action at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee has become the centre of a political storm.
Labour health spokeswoman Jenny Marra has thrown down the gauntlet to Shona Robison, saying the Cabinet minister should be doing more to help end industrial action by porters at the hospital.
Dundee-based MSP Ms Marra, who recently met the Unite union behind the porters’ strike at the hospital, said Health Secretary Ms Robison “should be taking a keen interest” in resolving the dispute.
With the general election taking place next month, Ms Marra’s comments could turn the strike into a high-stakes political battleground between Ms Robison’s SNP and Labour.
Ms Marra said: “I met with the porters’ representatives and feel strongly that the time has come settle this dispute and for the porters to be back at work full-time fulfilling their duties.
“It is not in the interests of patients or NHS staff for this dispute to continue.
“I have written to NHS Tayside’s chief executive today, urging her to get back round the table with an open mind to resolving this and settling fairly with the Ninewells porters.
“Shona Robison, as Health Secretary, should be taking a keen interest in resolving this dispute as soon as possible.”
Ms Robison told The Courier that the Scottish Government is closely monitoring the porters’ industrial action in Tayside.
She added: “I am receiving daily updates from the health board on the impact of the dispute, to ensure disruption to patient care is kept to an absolute minimum.
“Scottish Government officials are also working to encourage both parties to explore every avenue available to find a resolution to this.
“I am clear that resolving this dispute will require compromise on both sides, and I’d call on both parties to get back around the table and try to reach some form of agreement.
“My priority is to see this dispute resolved as quickly as possible.
“This is ultimately in the best interests of the patients of NHS Tayside, and I’d like to reassure them that everything possible is being done to bring about a resolution to this dispute.”
On Tuesday porters at Ninewells, as well as the Royal Victoria Hospital, downed tools indefinitely in a major escalation in the industrial dispute.
The Unite union believes that the porters have been underpaid for 10 years, although NHS Tayside disputes this.