York Teaching Hospital say that staff moving to their new “company” will keep their terms and conditions (The Press, September 13).

But what about any new staff? Will they be employed on lower wages and will they have access to the same NHS pension fund?

The answer is most likely not, hence the reason for carving up the workforce into different tiers doing the same job. A two-tier workforce leads to lower productivity and lower morale. Why would a hospital take such a risk with the delivery of our healthcare?

The answer to this question is based on a tax issue. Labour demands an end to the tax loophole that allows NHS Trusts to reduce their VAT bill by taking hundreds of support staff off the NHS payroll. The continuing cuts to public funding are leading to decisions like these being made in our public services. It is the first step towards privatisation and the outsourcing of York Hospital staff.

I urge York Hospital Trust to take a leaf out of the book of Wigan Hospital who also proposed this type of outsourcing but reversed their decision when it was clear that staff and public opposed such a move.

Cllr Danny Myers (Labour),

Clifton Ward, York