Catering staff at Airedale Hospital near Keighley will not know until the summer who their future employer will be.
Three companies are competing for control of the hospital canteen, which Airedale managers controversially put out to tender after they could not meet the cost of bringing the kitchen up to environmental health standards. The 92 canteen staff now have to wait until July to hear the outcome of the bidding.
Airedale NHS Trust chief executive Adam Cairns said: "The trust board has updated staff on the continuation of the procurement process to work with three shortlisted companies on the proposals put forward to provide modern catering facilities for Airedale NHS Trust. Our dedicated staff already provide an excellent service, one continually rated well by our patients.
"We have listened to their concerns and will ensure the proposals include agreement to continue to work in partnership with them."
More than 650 people have signed a petition rejecting the privatisation plan.
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