Hospital cleaners and security workers have reacted in anger over a decision to outsource their contracts for another year.

Multinational ISS is currently contracted to provide “soft services” such as porters, cleaners, security and catering staff, at Homerton University Hospital.

But hundreds of its employees have been campaigning for the  hospital to bring the service in-house, claiming that their pay and conditions are substantially worse than those of directly employed NHS staff.

At the hospital’s board of directors meeting on September 25, it was announced that this contract, due to expire next year, had been extended for another 12 months.

The decision has sparked anger among workers.

Keep Our NHS Public said the extension of ISS’s contract was “disappointing” for Unison union members.

Many have claimed they have experienced "unequal treatment" by not receiving the Covid bonus, which was paid to all directly employed NHS staff after the pandemic.

This bonus only applied to NHS employees and not to partner organisations or bank staff.

Union members have been staging a weekly protest outside the hospital for months, calling for an end to what they describe as a “two-tier workforce”.

They have urged the hospital trust to bring its “soft services” in-house – and had hoped that this might take place next year, when the ISS contract was previously due to expire.

Hackney Gazette understands that this contract was extended for another year so that a full appraisal of what should happen to these services can take place.

Options include total insourcing, total outsourcing, or “collaborative outsourcing within the public sector”.

A spokesperson for ISS said: “Typically ISS employees are outside the scope of government NHS benefits, however eligible employees at Homerton University Hospital have received a non-consolidated payment in line with additional funding and criteria from the government.

“We value the contribution of every ISS team member and remain in discussions with relevant parties to extend this to all ISS employees working alongside the NHS.”

Homerton Hospital Trust have been approached for comment.