Protecting and Promoting Equality in NHS Pay and Conditions

Both the UK government and all devolved governments in the UK have a statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity. Most recently the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) concluded that the UK Government had failed to take steps to ensure that there was even application of equality requirements. Agenda for […]

Privatisation, Franchising and Procurement

Conference notes the alarming expansion of privatisation within the English NHS. For example, the NHS Support Federation found that the private sector had won 21 of the first 25 NHS contracts awarded since April 2013, and it has been estimated that £5bn of NHS work is now up for grabs. Since the abolition of the […]

How We Want To Work – A Charter for the NHS Workforce

Conference recognises that in the run-up to the general election, all political parties will be setting out their policies on the NHS including the structures in the four countries and the ideological differences behind them; the different approaches to integration with social care, and outcomes for patients and the way that serious complaints are handled. […]

Be Safe Training

We congratulate UNISON for the work it has done after the publication of the Francis Public Inquiry into care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust. It is essential that we continue to prioritise the Be Safe training. We are encouraged that a small number of branches have volunteered to act as early implementer sites to […]

Supporting Outsourced Members

Conference notes the continuing trend for NHS Trusts to outsource services such as Learning Disability Services, to companies such as Thera, Creative Support, and others. Increasingly members who are transferred to such organisations under TUPE, have seen serious attacks on terms and conditions. In some cases, the transferred staff, on protected NHS terms and conditions, […]

Influencing the New NHS

Conference notes that a recent Freedom of Information request showed that 50 out of 251 GP board members (20%) held a financial stake in a provider – other than their practice – which is currently contracted by the CCG. Some 31 CCGs declined to say whether providers, in which board members had interests, were currently […]

Science, Technical and Therapy Staff in the NHS

Conference notes the significant contribution that staff working in Science, Technical and Therapy roles provide to the whole person care of patients in the NHS. UNISON organises staff within Science, Technical and Therapy roles into an occupational group which has the role of informing Service Group Executive policy and speaking on behalf of all members […]

Safe and Achievable Staffing Levels

In light of the Francis, Keogh and Berwick reports, this Conference calls upon the Health Service Group Executive to work with regions, utilising ‘The Safety in Numbers Campaign’, to campaign for mandatory safe staffing levels. The campaign should involve actively lobbying of UK and devolved Governments to instruct Health Boards to ensure that safe-achievable staffing […]

At Least a Living Bursary for Student Healthcare Professionals

Students in the healthcare professions put a lot of time and effort into working with patients and directly contribute to the NHS during their studies, which is why UNISON is rightly proud of our Pay not Poverty Campaign for Student Nurses. UNISON has also led the calls for a Living Wage for all workers, making […]

Defending Agenda for Change

Conference notes that the coalition government has increased the financial pressure on health organisations. Cuts that were earmarked for 2015/2016 have been brought forward so that the health economy now has to make a further £500 million in saving in 2014/15 on top of the savings already demanded. It is likely that Trusts and other […]

Prepare Members for Collective Action

Conference notes that the Kings Fund and Audit Commission have reported that the majority of Health trusts face extremely difficult financial circumstances to meet the £20 billion in efficiency savings demanded by past and present governments. It also appears likely that any future government will continue with these so called efficiency saving or cuts. Conference […]

Wages Councils in the Community and Voluntary Sector

This conference notes the devastating impact that marketisation, public sector funding cuts, and welfare reform, have had on workers in the community and voluntary sector. Market mechanisms have led to a race to the bottom in terms and conditions in many parts of the sector, as employers undercut each other to win contracts. The Government […]

Disability in the Community Sector

Conference is aware that disabled people make up approximately of 45% of the workforce in the UK and that a number of disabled people work in the Community Sector. Whilst there are examples of good employment practice, this is inconsistent across Community due to the absence of a national negotiating body and the number of […]

Barriers to Women’s Participation in the Community Sector

Conference notes that women remain under-represented in the activist base within the community service group despite its workforce being predominantly female. Despite the very positive measures within UNISON to promote women’s participation, there remain legacies and cultures which exclude women, including women from non-traditional union backgrounds, and particularly those working in the Community Sector where […]

Representation of Members in the Community Sector

Conference notes that there are a multitude of problems in organising with the Community Service Group, particularly in small employer organisations. Conference notes that: a) Whilst there are areas of good practice and supportive branches, the existing UNISON branch structure does not always easily facilitate engagement of Community members who are placed in Local Government […]