On 3 July 2021, trade unionists, political activists and unaffiliated sympathisers came together in Reading to celebrate the National Health Service's 73rd birthday. Organised by Unite South East Region, the event also bore the spirit of condemnation as the Reading labour movement - strongly supported by comrades from Oxford and elsewhere - rallied support for the longstanding dispute between the Royal Berkshire Hospital's security guards and their outsourced employer, Kingdom Services Group.
While the event saw representation from such trade unions as the Communication Workers Union, the National Education Union, the National Union of Journalists, the Royal College of Nursing, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, Unison and Unite, the Reading Trades Union Council was joined by the Oxford & District Trades Union Council.
Similarly, the Reading & District Labour Party and the local Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Britain were joined by a strong contingent from the Oxford & District Labour Party.
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| Jim Parker and John Partington parade the RTUC banner |
Indeed, the ODTUC and ODLP forewent local NHS festivities in order to show solidarity with the Kingdom security guards and the industrial dispute organised by Unite the Union.
Support from the Socialist Health Association and Reading Socialist Club also helped to swell the numbers. Together these groups represented the collective voice of the Reading and Oxford labour movements.
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| Neil Adams and Ray Parkes of RTUC |
RTUC was represented by Neil Adams (Unite), John Gillman (Unite), Keith Jerrome (Unite), James Parker (Unite), Ray Parkes (Unite) and John Partington (TSSA), the latter addressing the closing rally on behalf of RTUC.
Gathering at the Royal Berkshire Hospital at 11:30, the assemblage then marched for the NHS and for the Kingdom security staff. From 12:00 the marchers proceeded down London Road, Eldon Road, Kings Road, Forbury Road and into the Forbury Gardens, gathering by the bandstand to hear the range of speakers.
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| Matt Rodda MP (Labour, Reading East) |
The Unite marquee gathered signatures of solidarity with the Kingdom security staff dispute, with an online version also publicised, while the Socialist Party ran petitions for a 15% pay rise for NHS staff and in opposition to the illiberal Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which is currently struggling through the parliamentary process in the face of significant opposition.
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| Jessika Parmar (Unite Regional Organiser) |
The Kingdom security staff dispute emerged in December 2020 with a call for improved pay and conditions by Unite to the tune of £12 an hour for security guards and £13 an hour for supervisors. This was greeted by the employer with an offer of £9.30 per hour and £10.30 per hour, respectively - a derisory reward above which the employer has refused to budge, despite their website boasting that they turnover more than £100 million per annum.
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| Sarah Carpenter, Unite Regional Secretary |
Unite are calling for an end to the outsourced security contract and the insourcing of the staff into the publicly owned NHS family once the Kingdom contract ends on 31 December this year. The latest round of strike action is due to run from 07.00 on Monday, 12 July, until 24.00 on Saturday, 31 July, following 84% support from the 20 balloted security staff.
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| Adam from Youth Fight for Jobs |
The Unite Regional Officer, Jessika Parmar, has stated: "Now is the time for the trust to jettison the flawed privatisation model of Kingdom Services Group and bring back the security guards ‘in house’ – and from the great support we have received from the Reading community, this is what the public wants as well."  |
| Cllr Jabu Nala-Hartley (Labour: Barton & Sandhills, Oxford) |
In addition to their measly pay offer, the industrial dispute responds to Kingdom's failure to take health and safety concerns seriously, their refusal to discuss sick pay relating to health and safety and to address the disparity in sick pay between colleagues.
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| Cllr Nadine Bely-Summers (Labour: Littlemore Oxford) |
The dispute has garnered publicity in the national press, with the Morning Star reporting the industrial action and the solidarity march in Reading to support it.
John Partington (TSSA) delivered the solidarity address on behalf of Reading trades Union Council, calling for a 15% pay rise for NHS staff, a decent settlement for Kingdom security workers and Labour Party support for the undoing of Tory anti-trade union laws: "how can we fight for Kingdom workers with one hand tied behind our backs?"
