LAST minute talks were being held today (August 26) in a bid to avert a strike by London Ambulance Service workers.

The workers are due to transfer to a private contractor and are threatening to go on strike next week.

Those who are members of the GMB union are protesting about alleged threats by their new employer to reduce their pay and conditions.

South London Healthcare Trust is poised to sign a contract with Savoy Ventures Ltd to take over the transport of non-urgent hospital patients to and from hospital appointments.

This work is currently done by more than 60 ambulance staff, who will transfer to Savoy Ventures when the contract begins on September 1.

The majority of them are union members.

But the GMB claims at a meeting between the company and the affected LAS staff, Savoy Ventures told the workers it would not be keeping to the TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) regulations.

Instead it told them they would lose their final salary pension scheme and their London weighting allowance, salaries may be lowered to those of the company’s existing employees and they would have to work different shift patterns.

The union also claims the man who runs Savoy Ventures has been involved with four other failed companies.

In an 85 per cent turnout for a strike ballot, 95.8 per cent voted for strike action starting next week.

There may also be a mass protest.

Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has also written to trust chief executive Dr Chris Streather, warning him: “This transfer of London Ambulance staff to a Savoy Ventures would be a complete disaster for staff, patients and the taxpayer.

“And I am worried about potential impact on patient safety and cost to the taxpayer if this company is allowed to run the ambulance service.”

A spokesman for the trust said: "The Trust has not yet finalised a contract with a new supplier.

"We have received representations from the GMB union and we are currently looking into some of the issues it has raised.

" He added: "However, as a hospital trust, we are not the provider of non emergency patient transport, and so are not the employers nor potential employers in this case.

"Our intention is to get the best possible service for our patients and at the best value so that we can invest more on front line hospital patient care"

Savoy Ventures Ltd have denied the claims being made by the GMB.

A spokesman for the company, which operates similar services for other London HNS trusts, said the union’s allegations were “potentially damaging for the business and hugely unhelpful”.

He said the company had always and would continue to comply with TUPE regulations and said the company had no plans to harmonise wages downwards.

He added: “The basic wage of the transferred staff will remain as it was with the LAS.”

The company says it has no short term plans to change shifts, but it may be considered at a later date.

The spokesman admitted staff may lose some of their London weighting because Savoy Ventures is based in Stone, near Dartford, but said the loss would be nothing like the £4,000 claimed by the union.

He also agreed the transfered staff would lose their final salary pension scheme because as ex-NHS staff, they would no longer be eligible.

But he claimed they would get a replacement as near to the NHS scheme as possible, provided by Prudential.

He said the company was taking legal advice on claims made by the GMB about Mr Adams.