- Conference
- 2008 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 13 December 2007
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that under the banner of Keep the NHS Working, UNISON continues to campaign at every level against the marketisation and privatisation of the NHS. By maintaining a high profile in the press and media, among ministers, politicians, employers and key influencers, UNISON has been effective in drawing attention to its concerns at the government’s drive to encourage the increasing involvement of the private sector as providers of NHS services.
Conference pays tribute to UNISON’s Service Group Executive, Regions and Branches for their continued vigorous campaigning against policies of NHS marketisation, outsourcing and all forms of privatisation. UNISON has led the historic campaign alliance of TUC affiliated and non-affiliated unions under the banner of ‘NHS Together’ attracting widespread support from the user movement and the general public. Activities over the last two years have included two Parliamentary lobbies (in May and November 2006); a national day of regional campaign action involving thousands of protestors across the UK (3 March 2007); and a national NHS march and rally on 3 November 2007, where thousands of campaigners marched through London to defend the NHS and celebrate its founding principles.
UNISON’s Keep the NHS Working campaign has fostered close working between a range of UNISON departments and committees, including the NEC, Labour Link, Positively Public Unit, General Political Fund, the Communications and Press Departments and the regions. This has made the best use of all available resources thereby helping to maximise the campaign’s impact. Conference recognises that the campaign has had significant impact, helping to influence changes in political policy and bringing a number of positive changes including:
·the appointment of a new Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, who has given a pledge to end top-down NHS reform, a commitment to meaningful staff engagement and a promise that all disputed service changes will go to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel;
·the strengthening of the partnership working arrangements between the government and the NHS unions, both at a national and a strategic health authority level, through the Social Partnership Forum structures;
·an end to the punitive measures in the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) system for trust overspends;
·the abandonment of a number of proposed Independent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) schemes and a government announcement that there will be no further wave of schemes imposed centrally;
·the withdrawal of the government’s proposal to outsource the Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS.
However, the government is still pursuing policies in Primary Care which open both provider and commissioning functions to privatisation. Conference recognises the importance of maintaining a high profile campaign against marketisation, privatisation and outsourcing and of developing a broad coalition of community groups in order to maximise support for the campaign. Conference, therefore, calls upon the Health Service Group Executive to:
1)continue campaigning to highlight the damaging impact of NHS marketisation and the growing role of the private sector for both patients and NHS staff;
2)continue to campaign to ensure that any staff that transfer out of NHS employment retain the right to Agenda for Change pay, terms and conditions of service and an NHS pension.
3)continue supporting branches to resist privatisation initiatives, and fight to retain in-house services across the widest range of NHS functions, thus protecting staff rights to trade union recognition and facilities, national pay and conditions, and access to education, training and development;
4)continue its efforts to broaden the campaign to involve as many user groups and stakeholders as possible;
5)continue to press the Government to enter in meaningful dialogue with the trade unions to enable genuine debate and consultation about future policy direction on the provision of NHS services;
6)continue to monitor and gather evidence on the employment and business practices of private companies involved in the provision of NHS services and to expose corruption and poor practices.