This Community Conference notes the ongoing crisis in pension provision affecting our members in Community and also that community and voluntary sector employees are among the lowest paid in society. The minimum level of auto-enrolment pensions is grossly inadequate; and employers continue to dumb down pension schemes to limit any possible financial risk to themselves. […]
Conference motions
Conference reaffirms its support for the One Team Caring campaign passed at last year’s conference and acknowledges the difficulty the SGE has faced in taking this campaign forward with the Industrial action being carried out in England taking priority. However this was to be a national campaign aimed at recruitment and organising within the Operational […]
Conference welcomes the ongoing campaign against the rising cost of Nursing and Midwifery Council registration but notes with dismay that the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) has similarly raised the costs of registration over a short period of time. Given that Allied Health Professions along with other NHS staff have suffered a real terms pay […]
Conference notes with concern the establishment of the NHS Mutuals Pathfinder Project and the selection of ten hospitals to take part in the project. A principal stated rationale offered for exploring mutual status is the prospect that mutual status might improve services by increasing staff engagement. By contrast, prospective pathfinder organisations were given a mere […]
Conference notes that as Trusts throughout the country come under more financial pressure they have turned to downbanding as a way of saving money at our members’ expense. These downbandings happen as Trusts undertake service reviews, cost improvements or reorganisations and abuse the Job Evaluation Scheme as set out in Agenda for Change. The Agenda […]
Conferences recognises that dismissal or early retirement due to capability as a result of disability, is something that affects members across all service sectors, but it is noted that many members are able to remain in employment due to the obligation on employers to redeploy staff into suitable roles. However, most employers within the NHS […]
Conference notes that across the four countries there continues to be a profit driven agenda in terms of including PFI and outsourcing within the NHS. Whilst services in England are in immediate danger of privatisation we must not forget the services which have already been privatised and the staff that have transferred to the private […]
Conference notes that discrimination is bad for your health – both physical and mental. Research published by Manchester Business School in 2014 found significantly higher levels of poor mental health amongst lesbian, gay and bisexual workers than non-LGB workers. The highest levels were amongst lesbian and bisexual workers. Studies of the experiences of transgender workers […]
Conference notes the pilot schemes for revalidation of registered nurses being run by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) within each of the four countries. Conference believes that the main aim of revalidation should be to protect the public from failures in nursing practice. It should not be a money making exercise by the professional […]
Conference recognises the NHS is facing threats more serious than ever before. Services and jobs are threatened, with some employers using the economy as an excuse to privatise services and attack staff pay, terms and conditions. Conference acknowledges that members working in operational services – administration, clerical, ancillary and maintenance jobs – are at a […]
Conference notes the major problems that the current Tory-led coalition government has caused for our NHS. Conference believes that funding has fallen well short of the level needed to sustain the type of NHS we all want to see, both directly in England and indirectly – through cuts to the Barnett formula – in the […]
Conference notes that there has been considerable progress in the recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity as relevant workplace issues and that much is being done to tackle discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers in the health services across the UK. However, there is still an unacceptable level of discrimination […]
Conference welcomes incentives to improve the health and wellbeing of staff, conference is concerned that initiatives proposed by the four NHS systems are aimed at changing the behaviour of the worker rather than removing or reducing hazards in the workplace that can result in poor health. For example, in the ‘Five Year Forward View’ report, […]
Conference notes that since the election of the Con/Dem government there has been continuous and sustained underfunding of the NHS. Furthermore, conference notes that there is increased pressure on the NHS from the ever increasing numbers that are accessing the service. As a result of increased attendance at emergency departments and as a result of […]
Conference condemns the restructuring of Health Education England (HEE) announced in 2014, just over one after its establishment and linked to a £17million (20%) reduction in running costs. Conference opposes the 20% reduction in running costs which through its implementation means less jobs, a reduction of bandings for some posts and is unnecessary as £17 […]