The decision by George Osbourne in the comprehensive spending review to scrap the NHS Bursary is short sighted and will have serious implications for the future of our NHS workforce. The shortage we currently have of nurses and midwives is as a direct result of the previous Government’s decision to slash pre registration training in […]
Conference motions
Conference is appalled at the ongoing under-funding of our NHS. Conference refutes the claims of the Westminster government to have protected the NHS from spending cuts. Conference asserts that since 2010 NHS spending has failed miserably to keep pace with the spiralling costs of healthcare caused by increased demand, an ageing population and expensive new […]
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 […]
Conference welcomes the report of the Health Service Group Executive’s Devolution Working Group on pay determination across the four countries in the UK. Conference acknowledges that whilst responsibility for determining pay in the UK is a devolved function, UNISON remains committed to maintaining and improving pay for NHS workers across the UK. Conference believes the […]
Conference condemns the comments made by Home Secretary Theresa May at the 2015 Conservative conference where she stated “at best the net economic and fiscal effect of high immigration is zero”. Conference believes this is not only inflammatory but is also not backed by evidence. The NHS is dependent on migrant workers to maintain and […]
Conference notes that employers have a duty of care to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of their staff. Pledge 3 of the NHS Constitution (England) – a document whose principles are supported by all UK health departments – also makes a commitment to staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety. However, Conference is […]
Conference congratulates UNISON on its safe staffing campaign, which has done much to keep this important issue in the news in recent years. Given the findings of the Francis inquiry and media coverage of the issue, Conference believes it is entirely appropriate that the campaign has so far focused largely on staffing levels in the […]
Conference believes that the way NHS services are commissioned in England has to change. Conference reiterates its opposition to NHS privatisation and notes that since the Health and Social Care Act 2012 came into force it is far easier for clinical and support services to be sold off, and increasingly even the actual commissioning itself. […]
Consistent underfunding of the NHS since 2010, the refusal of the Westminster Government to support Agenda for Change and local pressure from irresponsible employers has meant we have spent the last five years defending rather than improving our national agreement. As a result, we have an agreement which we are committed to fight for, but […]
Conference welcomes the report of the Health Service Group Executive’s Devolution Working Group on pay determination across the four countries in the UK. Conference acknowledges that whilst responsibility for determining pay in the UK is a devolved function, UNISON remains committed to maintaining and improving pay for NHS workers across the UK. Conference believes the […]
Conference is concerned that the complex tariff system in operation in the NHS may disadvantage some services, and consequently our members that provide those services. The tariffs result in lower levels of funding for those services, leading to difficulty in recruiting; staff shortages; increased workload and less flexibility, thus impacting on the health and wellbeing […]
Conference notes with concern that there is inadequate planning to mitigate the impact of an ageing workforce in the NHS. It is predicted that by 2020 one third of the workforce will be aged over 50, whilst the abolition of the default retirement age and the impact of low wages on future pension income mean […]
Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust became the first Trust in the UK to buy out a P.F.I. contract, releasing £3.5 million a year to go towards patient care. In total the savings over length of contract was approx. £48 million. If Northumbria can do it why not all Trusts? Releasing millions of pounds to go on […]
NICE recently recommended that home visits should be a minimum of 30 minutes. Conference calls on the HSGE to work with Government and NHS Employers to ensure this recommendation becomes the norm, and also to ensure staffing levels in the NHS are adequate so that Employers can implement such visits.
As organisations defending and promoting the interests of workers, pay is central to the function of Trade Unions. The achievement of the national NHS pay and conditions system, still known as Agenda for Change, represents a major development for UNISON, and for other NHS Trade Unions. The defence of this system and the lodging and […]