“I’ve been speaking to our NHS workers – nurses, ambulance workers, hospital cleaners, who say the service is already on its knees, that’s it’s so bad, going on strike won’t actually make it worse, but will draw attention to it.”
General secretary Christina McAnea was speaking at UNISON’s annual disabled members’ conference in Brighton this morning, and was addressing the fears of health members over the damage that industrial action could do to the NHS.
But as she stressed the challenge facing the union in getting the vote out, she urged members working in health to ‘vote, vote, VOTE’ and to persuade their fellow members to do so. This is particularly vital given the high bar the Tories’ anti-union laws have set on turnout in industrial action ballots.
Getting the vote out was vital, she said, given the continuing cost of living crisis – and the prospect of “austerity part two” from new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as he deals with the fallout from the catastrophic ‘mini-budget’ of his predecessor Liz Truss and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng.
She told delegates that, in Scotland, where the devolved government has made a different offer to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, “we are waiting to see the outcome of the consultation on the latest offer”.
She said that she was “confident the Labour leader in Wales and his cabinet members will talk to us.
“Do I think the Tories will? Well, Truss, Kwarteng and Thérèse Coffey [health secretary under Truss] certainly wouldn’t have – let’s see what this week’s Tory leaders will do. Let’s just say – I’m not holding my breath.”
It is against this background that the union “will be doing all we can to win every single ballot.”
The cost of living crisis was not the only theme for Ms McAnea, who also wanted to celebrate 2022 as being UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers, and pledged to ensure that, when it is over, she will write to all regions and service groups “explaining their role in continuing its legacy.
“Because we don’t just campaign and fight for your rights in the Year of Disabled Workers, we commit to doing this all year round, every year.”
Praising the group for its continuing work to help support disabled members, the general secretary concluded by telling conference: “No matter how big and daunting the challenges ahead of us may seem, nothing is insurmountable when we are united and deliver the same compassion, dedication and tenacity that you show to your members every day. Thank you”.
