Date: Friday 19 December 2008

Glasgow NHS ‘twists the knife’ over car parking charges - UNISON

NHS union UNISON today accused Glasgow’s health chiefs, and NHSGGC of ‘twisting the knife’ after they announced that car parking on Board NHS sites would be limited to 4 hours, with fines of up to £40 for drivers who go over the 4 hour period.

This will impact primarily on staff, who are the main group who need to park vehicles for longer periods of time.

UNISON Branch Secretary Cathy Miller said, “UNISON appreciates that we can’t go back to the free-for-all parking systems that applied historically on some sites, but this latest dictate from Dalian House shows just how out of touch with staff these people really are.”

The proposal, announced yesterday, comes into force on 1 January and is supposed to comply with previous Scottish Government decisions that car parking charges should be abolished in the NHS.

UNISON Regional Organiser Matt McLaughlin said, “Glasgow and Clyde’s track record on this issue is not very impressive. Consistently they have taken an over-aggressive approach and punished the workforce and genuine users of car parking facilities on NHS sites, because there is a limited problem on a limited number of sites.

“It’s clear that they simply do not care or comprehend that staff - many of whom are specialists - live some distance from their place of work. They need to travel to work, but will now be fined if they can’t find a designated parking space. It’s no wonder that morale across this board is at an all time low.”

ENDS

For Further Information Please Contact: Matt McLaughlin (Regional Organiser) 07904 341 979(m) Cathy Miller (Branch Secretary) 07738 803 825 (m) Chris Bartter (Communications Officer) 0771 558 3729(m)

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