Dundee West MP Jim McGovern has backed NHS Tayside staff in their determination to strike over alleged pay inequality.
The senior Labour politician said porters play a “vital” role at hospitals and added that it appeared they were being neither treated nor paid “fairly”.
Mr McGovern has urged NHS Tayside bosses to “reconsider their position” and avert industrial action.
Porters at the Ninewells and Royal Victoria hospitals will walk out next week, with Unite union officials having called for two weeks of action.
They believe that porters at the two hospitals have been underpaid by as much as £6 million over the past decade.
That claim has been denied by the health board which believes there has been no error on its part. It has promised to take steps to ensure that the strike has no impact on patient services, with the finer details being put to a contingency plan.
Around 120 staff will be involved and they will begin by offering reduced services from Wednesday.
They will then stage the first in a series of half-day walk-outs on Friday March 6.
Mr McGovern still hopes to see that averted, but believes it is NHS Tayside that must reassess its position.
He told The Courier: “There will always be concerns about the impact of industrial action on patient care and it is the job of hospital administrators to ensure that patients are properly protected.
“I would encourage all parties to continue negotiating up until the last possible moment but would also reiterate my strong support for the workers at the centre of this dispute,” he said.
“The work that porters do is vital and they, along with all other staff, should be treated and paid fairly.
“It would appear that this is not currently happening and I would encourage NHS Tayside’s management to reconsider their position.”
The health board is adamant that staff have been paid correctly and said that the pay grade of staff at the two hospitals correctly reflected their responsibilities which it said were less than those at other Tayside hospitals.
Reassurances have been given to patients and their families that all critical support services will be maintained in the event the strike goes ahead.
Porters at Ninewells have disputed the health board’s claim that their duties are less than those of colleagues elsewhere.
One, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “The job description of porters at other hospitals in Tayside don’t comprise half the duties that ours does and yet we get paid less.”