Senior industrial relations officer Roslyn Smith said when they meet them today at 2 p.m. in the QEH auditorium, they will also discuss an offending sentence in the option letter distributed to staff by the board as well as the legal implications.

The sentence tells employees that their "employment will be subject to the terms and conditions as set out in the attached document which may be amended from time to time and to such administrative directives issued by the board".

Deputy general secretary Dennis Clarke pointed out last week that the sentence was "offensive", adding that the union needed to know who, exactly, would make the amendments. It therefore could not agree to anything which "excludes the workers' bargaining body", he added.

"Until we get them cleared up, it would make no sense signing. We are hoping to sign off on or before July 30 and we indicated this at the meeting," said Clarke last Tuesday.

Smith said general secretary Joseph Goddard was also expected to attend the meeting.

The union, which represented about 1 000 workers at the QEH, would also give an update of the meeting it had with the QEH board on July 6 as well as discuss issues related to the laboratory at the Sir Winston Scott Polyclinic.