UNISON’s health conference opened in Liverpool this morning with a minute’s silence in memory of health members and colleagues lost during the pandemic – and a reminder of the lasting effects of the pandemic on health staff.
Taking to the podium exactly 1,113 days after her last address to conference, in Bournemouth in 2019, Roz Norman, chair of the executive welcomed delegates and spoke of the lasting effect of COVID over the intervening three years, warning that the full impact on society may not be understood for years more.
She emphasised that conference offers delegates the chance to reconnect, to share their experiences, to talk about the practical realities for members and to give the wider world an insight into what it’s like for healthcare staff.
Praising the hard work of branches and regions, she said: “Ours is a union that is equally adept at campaigning on the more localised, more targeted issues of the day,” before drawing attention to the ongoing campaigns fighting car-parking charges, demanding employers treat the Platinum Jubilee as an extra bank holiday and pursuing re-banding campaigns across the UK.
“The problems in our NHS are not primarily a COVID crisis,” she said, “they are a Tory crisis. We’ve now had 12 years of under-funding,” which, she said, had caused staff shortages, “virtually everywhere you look,” and, “as a result, the pressure on many staff has become intolerable”.
On this pressure faced by staff she concluded: “No wonder that survey after survey shows staff dissatisfaction continuing to grow. The survey also found that less than a third of staff were satisfied with their pay.”
And on the Put NHS Pay Right campaign she highlighted the first day of action, on 1 April, and the upcoming day of action on 25 May, saying: “This is just the start, please do try to get involved – it’s important that we all do our bit.
“No one is under any illusion that this will be easy. But ours is a union that continues to deliver success – across all four nations of the UK.”
Finishing her speech on the successes being achieved across the service group, Roz said: “The common thread is UNISON being at the forefront of standing up for health workers, being their voice in the workplace, and a source of hope for those seeking to resist rogue employers or bad legislation.”
