Put NHS pay right – Union Newswire

UNISON launches next stage of One Team Us2 pay campaign

UNISON has launched a new stage in its One Team Us2 campaign to ensure that members working for private contractors in the NHS get the same pay as their colleagues who are directly employed.

The union’s health team and private contractors unit have identified key employers across England and have written to them, seeking full implementation of the NHS pay award and the unconsolidated one-off payment.

UNISON has asked for meetings with the “appropriate senior managers” at 18 employers to discuss the issue.

In the letter, Donna Rowe-Merriman, national secretary for business, community and environment, says: “UNISON’s policy is that staff working across functions in providing services to the NHS are all ‘One Team and should receive the same pay as those employed directly.

“The differing rates of pay currently in place are unfair and leave many feeling undervalued and experiencing financial hardship. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, putting pay right for contractor staff is crucial – to stop them leaving and to keep NHS services running.”

The letter says that the union wants to “engage with contractors providing NHS services to understand the pay and reward schemes” that they apply and how these compare to directly employed NHS staff.

It also calls on the companies to “publicly commit to ensure that pay rates of staff delivering services to the NHS are no lower than Agenda for Change pay rates” across all contracts that they deliver within the NHS.

The companies involved include BUPA, Circle Health, Mitie, Serco and Sodexo.

Find out more about the Us2 campaign

The article UNISON launches next stage of One Team Us2 pay campaign first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON launches next stage of One Team Us2 pay campaign

UNISON has launched a new stage in its One Team Us2 campaign to ensure that members working for private contractors in the NHS get the same pay as their colleagues who are directly employed.

UNISON has asked for meetings with the “appropriate senior managers” at 18 employers to discuss the issue.

The companies involved include BUPA, Circle Health, Mitie, Serco and Sodexo.

Find out more about the Us2 campaign

The article UNISON launches next stage of One Team Us2 pay campaign first appeared on the UNISON National site.

NHS workers must now get their money as soon as possible, says UNISON

Following the majority union vote in favour of accepting the government’s pay offer at the NHS staff council today (Tuesday), ministers and employers must ensure health workers get their money as soon as possible, says UNISON.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton, who chairs the union group on the NHS staff council, said: “NHS workers will now want the pay rise they’ve voted to accept. The hope is that the one-off payment and salary increase will be in June’s pay packets.

“But health staff shouldn’t have needed to take action in the first place. Unions made clear to ministers last summer that £1,400 wasn’t enough to stop staff leaving the NHS, nor prevent strikes. But the government wouldn’t listen.

“Proper pay talks last autumn could have stopped health workers missing out on money they could ill afford to lose. The NHS and patients would also have been spared months of disruption.

“This pay deal must be the start of something new in the NHS. There cannot be a repeat of the past few months. Everyone who cares about the NHS deserves better. That means improving the process that sets health worker wages.

“The NHS remains desperately short of staff too. Services can only cope with growing demand if there’s a properly resourced and well-supported workforce. Government must now work with unions to achieve just that.”

Notes to editors:
– The non-consolidated payment for 2022/23 is worth between £1,655 and £3,789 to health workers in England. This is equal to 8.2% for the lowest paid and around 6% for nurses, midwives and other colleagues on band 5 of Agenda for Change. It is in addition to the £1,400 NHS staff received for 2022/23 last September. The 2023/24 wage rise of 5% is worth at least £1,065 and would raise the lowest hourly rate in the NHS in England to £11.45 an hour, or £22,383 a year.
– In Scotland, UNISON members have voted to accept the Holyrood government’s latest pay offer. A revised offer covering 2022-24 is now out for consultation with union members in Wales. NHS staff in Northern Ireland have only just received the £1,400 paid to their English colleagues last September. The hope is that developments in England will prove enough to unlock the ongoing dispute there.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Sophie Goodchild M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk

The article NHS workers must now get their money as soon as possible, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Health conference debates pay

Images: Jess Hurd

Pay talk dominated conference business this morning (Tuesday) at UNISON’s annual health conference in Bournemouth.

The morning started with general secretary Christina McAnea taking the opportunity to invite representatives from all health branches who secured a strike mandate in their pay disputes over the last year, to take to the stage, where they received an impassioned standing ovation from delegates (pictured above).

Striking health branches receive a standing ovation from delegates at annual health conference Bournemouth

Conference business then started with an emergency motion on the recent NHS pay offer and the response of the health unions to it.

Moving the motion, Wilma Brown, chair of the health service group executive (SGE), said the motion was “about the months of hard work and sacrifice it takes to run successful action.

“It’s about the members willing to lose a day’s pay to go on strike. I want to pay tribute to everyone involved in building to strike action.”

She spoke of the decisive results in UNISON’s consultation on the new offer, which returned a 74% accept vote on a turnout of over 50%.

She said that this year, at conference, it was “essential to be honest. First of all about the offer, because you wont be able to find anyone here who says that this is all health workers deserve.” But also highlighting that “we wont know for certain what will happen next year until all unions have declared their results. But this motion lays out our plan.”

She also called on conference to “build on what we’ve learned in getting mandates for strike action.” And highlighted the increased levels of participation in the recent pay consultation saying: “This stands us in great stead for the future.”

The motion noted the ‘particular significance of the talks to NHS staff Northern Ireland’ due to the fact that there are no sitting ministers in place in NI to make NHS funding decisions.

Stephanie Green from UNISON Northern health branch noted that: “UNISON Northern Ireland were the first members of the union to begin strike action.

“But conference will be aware that NI has no functioning executive. The Tory government wants to use us as pawns in their political game. Well, no more. Watch this space, we ask for you solidarity as we take a strong stance on this in the days and weeks ahead. We will not be fourth class citizens.”

Speaking for the motion Sam Kimberly said: “At the end of the day, we are not just here to represent us, we are here to represent those with no voice, the lowest paid, the members who don’t have time to attend meetings, who can’t afford to attend meetings.

“This is a democracy, the members have accepted the offer, we now need to get on and get the money in members pockets as soon as possible.”

The motion carried, calling upon the service group to declare UNISON’s accept mandate to the NHS staff council and explore the potential to achieve a joint position with the other health unions and seek confirmation from the government that the offer will be implemented at the earliest opportunity.

Flat rate pay uplifts: our approach to pay justice

Tanya Pretswell speaking at health conference Bournemouth

Conference then turned its attention to a motion re-affirming the union’s commitment to seeking flat rate pay increases in the health sector.

The motion noted that percentage pay awards, applied equally, increase the pay gap between the lowest and highest paid in any pay structure, that gender and race pay gaps are fuelled by this fact and that the consequences of inflation are deeply regressive, and have a disproportionate impact on lower paid workers.

Speaking of the union’s prior commitment to flat rate pay increases Tanya Pretswell (pictured above), moving the motion for the health SGE, said: “Now is the time to go further, we need a set of tools to help us put this into practice.

“This motion sets out a clear work programme to ensure we can set claims on credible flat rate sums and gives negotiators the tools to do so.” The motion was passed, unamended.

Calling time on the pay review body

Heather Kelly speaking to conference

The next motion which noted that, following a consultation spawned from a motion at last year’s conference, the general appetite for ‘calling time’ on the Pay Review Body (PRB) has been confirmed.

One delegate said: “You told us the PRB was discredited in the eyes of our members and ultimately this motion is about trust, who do you trust? Who do the members trust? Is it our union, or is it those members of the PRB? They’ve never cared for a person or looked after a person in need in their lives.

“No-one is pretending direct negotiations are going to be easy, but we take ownership and we rely on, and trust, ourselves. We get our best settlements when we lead, when we take our members and negotiate directly. Our future decisions on pay should be decided by us.”

He highlighted the failures of the PRB recently including: in 2022 recommending a £1400 pay rise with inflation at 13%; and in 2021 the PRB report saying “Agenda For Change terms do not reflect the realities of nursing, preparing the ground for a nursing only pay spine.”

Speaking of Scotland’s experience building a collective bargaining position and direct negotiation relationship with the government in Holyrood, Heather Kelly (pictured above) told delegates: “There is nothing to fear from calling time on the PRB – if we are truly serious about collective bargaining – we need to get serious and get serious now.”

The motion endorsed UNISON’s ten-point plan as set out in the report ‘Our pay, Our say’ with an end goal of collective bargaining on annual pay awards within each of the UK administrations.

The NHS is One Team – no separate pay spine for nurses

Gamu Nyasoro speaking at UNISON's annual health conference in bournemouth

The debate on pay finished with a rousing debate on the motion – The NHS is One Team – no separate pay spine for nurses. The motion referenced the government commitment to the Royal College of Nursing to consider a separate pay spine in England for nursing staff exclusively and “opposes the creating of a separate pay spine.”

Gamu Nyasoro (pictured above) moved the motion saying: “The media has managed to portray the NHS as only doctors and nurses – but we know better.”

She told conference a personal story of taking her son to the hospital when he was 18 months old, and the huge variety of workers she met on that trip. Doctors, nurses, porters, security staff, radiologists, cleaners, health care assistants and many more. This, for her, embodied UNISON’s One Team belief.

Ms Nyasoro continued, moving onto the recent pay dispute, “After weeks of pay negotiations, imagine our surprise when the government announced they were pursuing further negotiations with just one of the unions.

“It’s simply a tactic to divide and conquer and break up collective bargaining. Conference lets put a stop to this Brexit for nurses. Lets show the government they will not break us, we are one team.”

Anne Cherry Northern health and community branch

Anne Cherry (pictured above) of the Northern health and community branch told conference “I’ve been a nurse for 40 years, always in unions that stand for all health staff.”

She continued: “Across the cover of the old, little blue COHSE rulebook I remember it said. ‘All for one, one for all’.

“We certainly weren’t The Three Musketeers, but we meant it. Delegates have spoken elegantly about one team in this conference and we must stand together in support of that.”

Trudie Martin, chair of the nursing and midwifery occupational group, told delegates: “We understand that our strength comes from our unity and we will not stand by and be divided from our colleagues.”

She called the proposals “completely unworkable” and a distraction and said: “ We cannot tolerate this proposal to divide and rule. Let’s defeat this proposal, grow our nursing family work to strengthen agenda for change as One Team.”

The motion called on the SGE to work collectively with other unions to reject proposals for a nurses only pay spine and to highlight the danger of dismantling the harmonised pay spine.

The article Health conference debates pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.

‘This deal puts money in members pay packets – and they voted decisively to accept it’

Photos: Jess Hurd

UNISON’s general secretary Christina McAnea, gave the keynote address to UNISON’s annual health conference this afternoon (Monday) in Bournemouth and thanked the lay leadership, staff and each and every health activist for their work during a “tough year” for the NHS.

Throughout that year, the health service has faced “the longest waiting times on record, highest levels of dissatisfaction, highest levels of staff vacancies.”

But Ms McAnea argued it was a testament to the work of UNISON’s members, activists and staff, that when public and media attention turned to the NHS strikes in England, “they laid the blame squarely where it needed to be – with the government in Westminster.”

NHS pay disputes

She went on to praise the work done in Scotland in their dispute: “The threats of industrial action and weeks of pay negotiations – led by our very own Wilma Brown – resulting in a deal that delivered pay increases of between £3,700 and £6,500.”

She also highlighted the work of UNISON Northern Ireland, saying: “What a campaign! No government to speak to – employers who can’t take decisions – and yet you still managed to get huge support and you forced the secretary of state to meet with you and, now, you have talks on pay.

“You have shown the power of UNISON. The power of a one team approach. The power of solidarity and collective action.”

Moving back to the NHS dispute in England, Ms McAnea said “We warned the government – back in July and August, that £1,400 was not enough, and that a dispute was inevitable.

“But still, the Tories in Westminster refused to talk to us. They refused to get a grip on the crisis in the NHS, and the pay crisis affecting families across the UK.

NHS strikes in England

“And so, the strikes began in December and we started with strike mandates in eight employers. Of course, we would have liked many more to get over the 50% ballot threshold.

“But with so many branches getting over 40%, it was clear how much work had gone in.

“And I say to anyone who can’t bring themselves to be positive about our union’s work – don’t talk down our efforts. Look at what those eight branches achieved. The publicity – the media coverage – the public support.”

She said it was a “huge privilege” to meet amazing activists from “Sheffield to Soundwell and Waterloo to Windy Nook.” Adding that her job “was made easier because I was able to see first-hand both your commitment to your job and your determination to see this fight through.”

She told delegates it was no coincidence that, a few days after UNISON received a strike mandate from a further 10 out of 11 re-balloted employers, the Westminster government “finally said they would talk to us and critically, put significantly more money on offer.

“We were prepared to bring out almost the entire ambulance service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Bringing out blood and transplant and specialist hospitals would have been another serious blow to the government. It showed the strength of feeling.”

The improved NHS pay offer

Speaking of the improved offer which came out of the negotiations, Christina said: “Is it the best deal ever – of course not. Do you deserve more, yes you do. But this deal will put money in people’s pay packets. And members have voted decisively to accept it.”

Responding to the idea that 53% turnout isn’t high enough for a strong mandate Ms McAnea said: “If we’d got that in an industrial action ballot – we wouldn’t hesitate to bring people out on strike.”

To the idea that UNISON members accepted the offer only because they’re predominantly low-paid, she said: “Many of our members may be low paid – but that doesn’t mean they don’t understand, or didn’t know what this offer meant.

“Don’t let anyone patronise our members. We gave them the full information. We didn’t hide anything. We didn’t sugarcoat it. And members made up their own mind.”

She continued: “I appreciate each union will do the best they can for their own members. But we also believe in solidarity. We could have done a side-deal and had separate talks. But we didn’t, because we believe in collective action.

“More than that. The reason we need to do right by every part of the workforce in the NHS is because patients need every part of it to be working. If it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a whole team to care for a patient.”

Other avenues to better pay

Moving on from the NHS pay dispute Ms McAnea noted that strikes are only one way to get better pay. “We’ve also had the brilliant earnings max campaign. You’ve put £150 million into people’s pay packets in back pay. We have over 59 live pay fair campaigns across all regions – and over the next year these campaigns will be expanding.”

She closed her speech by saying: “I love coming to this conference. What you do matters to everyone in this country and what you do matters in our union. You are at the centre of the big political debate in our country right now.

“So, make sure you are at the heart and centre of what our great union does next.”

Wilma Brown, chair of the health SGE, opening health service group conference in Bournemouth

Photo: Jess Hurd

Earlier in the day, conference had been opened by Wilma Brown, chair of the health service group executive.

Ms Brown opened by noting that: “This year our annual get-together feels extremely well-timed.” Adding, “It’s been a long time since delegates were able to debate an actual pay rise at conference.

“Whatever you think of the offer, there is no denying the impressive levels of engagement that have been achieved by the union. And it is testament to the huge amounts of work that branches, regions and the centre put into this.

“This level of participation did not happen by accident; it is the culmination of months of work. Huge thanks to all those who have played a part in this massive effort.”

Referencing reports that the government is considering the possibility of a nurse only pay spine she said: “Conference, I am a nurse – and I’m proud of it. But let me tell you now, I want nothing to do with this divisive nonsense!”

“In UNISON we value the role played by everyone in the NHS team. This is where we as a union derive our strength – and it is what makes the NHS tick. So, I hope we will send out a strong and united message in the coming days that the NHS cannot be picked apart in this way.

“We are ‘One Team’ and that is how it must stay.”

Moving onto issues of devolution, she highlighted that even with different approaches from governments in each of the four nations they remain reliant on Westminster for the size of the spending envelopes they have at their disposal.

She said: “It is essential we maintain our ability to leverage the power of the whole union when we are pursuing campaigns in each of the four nations. This week we must ensure that we make clear to governments across the UK that no UNISON members should ever be left behind – when it comes to pay, or anything else.”

The article ‘This deal puts money in members pay packets – and they voted decisively to accept it’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Decisive outcome as UNISON members vote to accept NHS pay offer in England

In a record turnout for health members in UNISON, over 150,000 members voted in a consultation on the new NHS pay offer, with 74% of these voting to accept.

That means over 112,000 members working in every part of the NHS voted to accept, put cash in their pockets and give certainty about pay for the next year.

Results:

74% voted Yes, to accept the offer
26% voted No, to reject the offer
53% turnout, with 152,329 votes cast

The vote comes after months of strike action across the country by UNISON members, whose courage and determination to repeatedly join picket lines has demonstrated a simple fact – industrial action works.

Their decisive action forced the ministers to the table and allowed negotiators the opportunity to squeeze extra money out of the government. The resulting offer amounts to a doubling of the cash value of the pay award in 2022, as well as permanently increasing pay by 5% for this year.

The dispute has sent a stark warning to the government that it must drastically alter its approach to the recruitment and retention crisis. It has also shown that ignoring NHS staff for months on end, refusing to discuss their pay and failing to address their serious concerns about the impact on patient care won’t make the issues go away.

Many of the other unions that joined UNISON in pay talks with the government are still in the process of consulting their members. UNISON is due to meet with the joint unions on 2 May to declare the union’s position, hear what other union members across the NHS have decided, and deliver an answer to the government.

Until then, it won’t be known whether the offer will be jointly accepted, and so there is no indication about how or when the lump sum and pay rise would be implemented.

The results of the consultation also come just before UNISON’s annual health conference which opens in Bournemouth on Monday. There, delegates will debate the next steps in NHS pay and set the union’s priorities and agenda for the coming year.

The article Decisive outcome as UNISON members vote to accept NHS pay offer in England first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON Northern Ireland pauses health strike after government offer of talks

UNISON Northern Ireland has paused today’s planned strike action by healthcare workers following the decision by the government to come to the negotiating table.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Department of Health representatives have agreed to meet health unions on Wednesday.

UNISON demanded confirmation that such a meeting will be a “genuine engagement” and will result in negotiation to produce a meaningful offer it can take to members.

The move comes after four months of industrial action, including four full-day strikes across the health and social services system. Hundreds of healthcare staff across Northern Ireland went on strike last Friday, 31 March.

UNISON Northern Ireland secretary Patricia McKeown said on Friday: “Our members’ determination to escalate strike action today and again on Monday finally got the message through to those in power. Health workers across Northern Ireland will not be left behind.

“The mood of strikers at Belfast City Hall this morning, outside the Secretary of State’s office, and on picket lines across Northern Ireland is one of utter determination to secure their rights.

“They never take industrial action lightly. They care about our health and social services and the public they serve, but they have been driven to the brink.

“Their message now is equally clear– this must be real, or the strike action will escalate.”

The article UNISON Northern Ireland pauses health strike after government offer of talks first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Government inaction means NI health strikes continue

Health strikes in Northern Ireland continue today and next week, after a meeting on Monday between trade unions and local health leadership provided no progress in the dispute.

UNISON announced that planned 24-hour strikes in Northern Ireland, involving thousands of health workers, will go ahead today, 31 March, and also on 3 April. This came after unions were informed that local health leadership did not have any money with which to make an increased pay offer.

It comes as a direct result of the Department of Health failing to extend the new NHS pay offer made in England and Wales, earlier in March, to Northern Ireland. That offer included an extra lump sum for 2022/23 and a new offer of a 5% increase for 2023/24.

An increased offer would have allowed unions to suspend the strikes and begin consultation with their members. However, neither the secretary of state nor any officials from the Northern Ireland office attended the meeting with unions.

UNISON Northern Ireland head of bargaining Anne Speed said: “We will not be bounced from pillar to post. Last night we were told we must wait until the outcome of the pay consultation in England before we know whether the health budget in Northern Ireland will be drip fed any money.

“Either that or, alternatively, we must wait until the secretary of state makes up his mind on the delivery date for the Northern Ireland budget.”

UNISON’s regional secretary for Northern Ireland, Patricia McKeown added: “UK ministers should know by now that workers in Northern Ireland will not tolerate being left behind. We proved it in the past and we will prove it again.

“The secretary of state holds the responsibility to sort this problem now, he cannot sit on the fence. He cannot blame anyone else. It is his government that has failed to make money available for health workers in Northern Ireland.”

The article Government inaction means NI health strikes continue first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Why this pay offer should be accepted

Thanks to the efforts of UNISON members in our NHS, the government has finally improved its offer on NHS pay.

It was only after UNISON announced our biggest day of strike action yet, with 32,000 members poised to strike, that the government agreed to hold talks.

UNISON members have shown immense courage in taking four days of strike action in England, building momentum in every corner of the country and maintaining incredible public support throughout.

Together with unions from across the NHS, we have spent the last two weeks in talks to secure our NHS members a pay offer that properly protects, recognises and rewards the whole workforce. The NHS is one team, and every role in it is essential in providing excellent patient care.

After intensive talks, the government’s offer to our health members now is a significant improvement on the 72p an hour they were awarded last summer:

An additional one-off lump sum for 2022/23 which rises in value up the NHS pay bands. To provide a range, this is worth £1,655 for staff on Band 2 (over 8%), £2,009 for staff at the top of Band 5 and £3,789 for staff at the top of Band 9.

A permanent 5% pay rise on all pay points for 2023/24.

An increase to Band 2, raising the lowest pay point in the NHS to £11.45 an hour – 55p higher than the real Living Wage.

UNISON is a member-led union, so it will now be up to our NHS members colleagues to decide whether to accept this offer.

The health service group executive, our lead NHS committee, have carefully reviewed this offer and their recommendation is to accept. We are in no doubt that if it is not accepted, the government will take this offer off the table and the pay award NHS staff receive will be much worse.

Very soon our NHS members will be asked to vote on whether they want to accept this offer in a consultation. The strike action that was planned for Monday 20 March will not go ahead, and there will be no further strike action for the duration of the consultation.

We would not be where we are today without the extraordinary determination of all of our members. Our collective action has forced the government to listen and take action to improve the pay of all of our hardworking NHS staff.

The article Blog: Why this pay offer should be accepted first appeared on the UNISON National site.

The numbers behind NHS pay

UNISON is currently leading the union side of the talks with the Westminster government in an effort to resolve the long-running pay dispute.

But even though the government has finally agreed to talk to unions, there’s still a long way to go until the current dispute is resolved.

And while pay is seen as the defining feature of this industrial action, there’s frequently a lack of understanding of how pay affects staffing levels which ultimately affects patient care across the NHS.

Tap through the stats below to find out why we are where we are.

The article The numbers behind NHS pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.