New meetings arranged in bid to break hospital porters strike deadlock

The first in a series of meetings aimed at ending strike action at Tayside hospitals will take place on Tuesday.

NHS Tayside and Unite union, which represents striking porters at Ninewells and Royal Victoria, will meet separately with Scottish Government officials in Perth to begin the process.

There is unlikely to be any dialogue between the two factions who will simply present representatives of the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC) with their thoughts on how the mediation should work.

STAC exists to negotiate NHS terms and conditions issues specific to Scotland such as the pay dispute in Tayside and it is hoped the talks will end nine weeks of strikes by 117 porters at the two hospitals.

They believe they have been underpaid for a decade and have been engaged in a full walkout for weeks.

While porters have been absent, more than 200 colleagues have volunteered to pick up their duties in addition to their day-to-day roles.

Public facing parts of the hospitals have seen little change, but behind the scenes there have been allegations that non-clinical areas have suffered from pile-up rubbish and declining hygiene.