- Conference
- 2022 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 9 December 2021
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the OneTeam2k pay campaign shone a spotlight on the many issues and complications with the Pay Review Body as a way of determining the annual pay increase in the NHS.
By the time we debate this motion at health conference 2022, UNISON’s Pay Determination discussion document will be launched, setting out the facts and considerations for us in reaching a position of principle about whether we want to support the current system or adopt a position where we advocate for collective bargaining to be the default pay-setting process. This motion fires the official starting pistol on conversations on this topic in all our regional committees and encourages participation of all health branches in reaching the decision that is best for the union.
The establishment of the Pay Review Bodies pre-dated devolution legislation, so we will need to make sure that the implications of the current and any future pay mechanisms are explored and set out in the context of UNISON’s devolution protocol.
Of course, a UNISON decision alone will not cause governments to shift their approach, and we should be in no doubt that – if we opt to push for collective bargaining – this will not be immediately deliverable across the four parts of the UK. As matters stand, only Scotland has secured a government commitment to establish bargaining structures, and many of the 17 NHS Trade Unions covered by Pay Review Bodies retain a strong policy commitment to this route. But the experience and frustrations of the recent pay round, together with the experience of bargaining structures being set up in Scotland, may make this the right time to coalesce support around an alternative to the Westminster approach.
We will also want to ensure that – whatever the route used to determine the pay uplift – UNISON retains a clear One Team approach to our pay work, so that we have a distinct voice within the health sector and use whatever routes are in place to make arguments common to all members across the whole UK. This motion calls on the union to ensure that all future claims or evidence embed the principle of a flat rate, to make sure that the annual pay uplift rewards everyone equally without widening the gap between the highest and lowest paid in the NHS. It is also a matter of shame that there are parts of the UK where rates at the bottom of the structure lag behind the Foundation Living Wage (and in some cases the legal minimum wage) or require a top-up from government in order to stay above it. So, along with the flat rate principle, this motion calls on the union to ensure that fixing low pay is a core priority of any future pay processes.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to adopt the following measures:
1. Note a discussion document and agree a timetable for consultation on future mechanisms for determination of annual NHS pay uplifts (PRB v collective bargaining)
2. Embed UNISON’s devolution protocol in this consultation, noting that the Health Committees in Scotland, Cymru/Wales and Northern Ireland will determine the positions adopted by UNISON in those administrations
3. Embed the flat rate principle as a long term pay policy objective to be pursued in all evidence/claims
4. Ensure all evidence/claims put forward include practical and specific proposals to drive out low pay in the NHS