- Conference
- 2007 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 14 December 2006
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes and supports the important historical role the community and voluntary sector has provided in shaping public services – not as an alternative for directly-employed public sector workers, but as an innovator, working with the NHS and campaigning for new ideas and ways of working. Examples include the maternity and midwifery services built up by pressure groups like Maternity Alliance, and Marie Curie Hospices.
Conference also notes the extension in 2005 of the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters to the NHS, intended to prevent two-tier workforces where services have been transferred from the public sector.
Conference believes that the proposed increase in provision of primary care services by the voluntary sector will present a real danger to members’ terms and conditions. There are serious concerns about the implementation of the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in health services already being provided by the community and voluntary sector. If more statutory health services are transferred to the voluntary sector, the result will be the loss of the voluntary sector’s traditional qualities, the creation of a sector which is a cheap option, and possibly poorer terms and conditions for health workers.
Conference calls on the SGE:
1.To work closely with the National Community & Voluntary Sector Forum as the SGE continues its campaign against the privatisation and marketisation of the NHS.
2.To campaign for a full and proper implementation of the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters, so as to prevent any possibility of a two-tier workforce in health services provided by the community and voluntary sector.
3.To work closely with the National Community & Voluntary Sector Forum and regions to plan effective organising campaigns in community and voluntary sector workplaces to which health services have been transferred. Strategic organising targets should be selected, making the most of areas of existing UNISON strength and our campaigns for better pay and conditions in the sector.