- Conference
- 2025 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 5 December 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the NHS differs from other public services in both the large number of recognised trade unions and its approach to joint ‘staff side’ working. Staff side partnership is effectively codified in NHS employees’ contracts through the Agenda for Change terms and conditions, and local employers are compelled to work in partnership with local staff sides.
At a national level, negotiations and priority setting take place through the NHS Staff Council, where NHS unions work collaboratively as a staff side structure. Conference notes that UNISON, the largest NHS union, currently holds the Chair position of the NHS Staff Council.
Conference further notes that staff sides’ work at a local Trust level has achieved significant benefits by working together with other unions in solidarity. However, although UNISON is often the largest trade union locally, staff sides can create local structures where UNISON’s influence is not as large as the proportionate size of its membership and activists. This can result in outcomes where UNISON does not hold key leadership positions, which can lead to a local democratic deficit.
Conference notes that local employers can, at times, solely engage and communicate with the staff side leadership on workplace issues which impact UNISON members disproportionately and therefore risks UNISON branches being marginalised if they don’t hold leadership positions locally.
Conference further notes that staff sides vary in their model and ways of working, there is no ‘one size fits all’. Elections for leadership positions and voting constitutions can vary significantly and at times disadvantage UNISON, for example if there is a ‘one union, one vote’ structure, then there is risk of a democratic deficit for the larger trade unions.
Staff side lead roles can attract facilitated release time, irrespective of the membership size of the union the postholder. This situation can lead to greater difficulty in securing UNISON facility time for branch leaders.
Conference further notes that local collective agreements and policies can be problematic if the constitution is such where a voting constitution disadvantages UNISON considering its membership size.
For UNISON to be able to work as effectively as possible by building better staff sides locally, conference calls on the Health Service Group Executive to:
1. Conduct a survey of health branches to analyse local staff side structures, best practice working arrangements and map which unions are in leadership roles within staff sides.
2. Provide guidance on tools available to branches to build relationships with other unions.
3. Develop support and bargaining advice for branches in negotiating within staff sides, preparing for elections, voting constitutions and include best practice model staff side agreements.