- Conference
- 2016 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 11 December 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is committed to working in partnership to make our NHS the best it can be, whatever the circumstances.
However Conference notes that many of the changes coming to the NHS are more about driving down costs than driving up service quality.
Initiatives are happening in different guises across the UK including integration with social care, seven day services, NHS vanguards, devolution of health services, and reconfiguration of primary, acute and community healthcare.
What they all have in common is the potential for major changes to our members’ working conditions, working hours, employment patterns, job design, skill mix, and employers’ identity.
Conference asserts that positive changes to how services are delivered can only be achieved if:
i)Staff and their union representatives are involved in designing, planning and implementing the changes
ii)Staff have guarantees and reassurances about their job security
iii)Services are publicly provided ensuring accountability and quality
iv)Training and development needs are identified early and properly resourced
v)Agenda for Change terms and conditions are the bedrock of service delivery with levelling up where necessary for any incoming staff
vi)Changes of employer including public to public transfers involve full TUPE Plus protection so staff do not lose out as a result of the limitations or non-applicability of the TUPE regulations
Conference calls on the SGE to:
1)Develop a policy, bargaining and organising agenda that ensures members have a voice and a say in how services are developed and changes implemented
2)Work at every level of the union to support and protect members through service delivery changes
3)Provide advice and guidance to UNISON branches to assist them in dealing with these changes
4)Continue to embed AfC as the standard contract in health and social care provision across the UK