NEWS
Unions considering joint action in the autumn over pay award By Christian Duffin Thousands of NHS nurses, midwives and other staff may walk out of work for four hours in mid-October in a protest over pay. The Royal College of Midwives and Unison are considering bringing their members out at the same time if members vote for industrial action in balloting later this month. Unison is to ballot its 300,000 NHS members in England – including nurses, therapists, porters, paramedics, cooks and cleaners – between August 28 and September 18. A yes vote will lead to ‘stoppages’ in early October, followed by ‘further strikes and action short of a strike over the autumn and winter’, said a Unison spokesperson. In its 133-year history the Royal College of Midwives has never balloted on taking industrial action. Ballots for action are also being held over the coming weeks by the
GMB, while Unite will ballot its members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from August 26 to September 26 on whether they wish to take strike action or industrial action short of a strike. Treasury secretary Danny Alexander confirmed last week that the government in England will not seek advice from the NHS Pay Review Body (RB) for the 2015/16 pay round. In March, health secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected the RB’s recommendation that all Agenda for Change staff should receive a 1 per cent cost of living rise. Instead, he said only those at the top of their pay band who are not due an increment would get the increase. He took the unusual step of deciding a two-year pay deal. Despite growing fury among nurses over the past five months and the looming threat of industrial action, the government is refusing to rethink its decision on the pay award for next year. Neither the Welsh nor the Northern Ireland governments have decided whether to follow suit. NHS staff in Northern Ireland still
do not know what their pay award will be for 2014/15. The Scottish Government has pledged to stick with RB recommendations for 2015/16, saying its role in providing independent advice is ‘vital’.
Too much change
GMB national officer for the NHS Rehana Azam said: ‘Jeremy Hunt has effectively said to NHS workers: “You are having a hard time, now here’s another one.” ‘NHS staff have had to face pension reforms, service redesign, cuts to services and greater demands on their time. The value of what they do in their jobs has been axed.’ Last week RCN general secretary Peter Carter said the college did not have a mandate for a ballot on industrial action. Dr Carter said a survey sent to members about the government refusal to implement the RB recommendations had only generated a response of 12 per cent. Of those who did respond, they said they would not be in favour of anything that would harm patients. ‘This is not a mandate for balloting for a strike.’
NURSES WALK IN SOLIDARITY FOR DEMENTIA CARE
Staff nurses Andre Afonso, Adriana Cunha and Jose Dias (pictured left to right) have organised an eightmile Solidarity Walk to raise money for the Dementia Charitable Fund at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust. The trio, who come from Portugal and met when they took jobs at the hospital, have enlisted the help of a dozen volunteers, some of them colleagues. Mr Afonso said: ‘After four years working in this hospital and living in this welcoming community, I wanted to organise something to get friends and colleagues together in a healthy and fun way that helps the ones who need it most.’ Ms Cunha added: ‘With the increase in patients with dementia, we thought it appropriate to support them and at the same time give our care teams extra resources.’
NURSING :: vol 28without no 51 ::permission. 2014 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 20, 2015. For personal useaugust only. No20 other uses Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Unions considering joint action in the autumn over pay award By Christian Duffin Thousands of NHS nurses, midwives and other staff may walk out of work for four hours in mid-October in a protest over pay. The Royal College of Midwives and Unison are considering bringing their members out at the same time if members vote for industrial action in balloting later this month. Unison is to ballot its 300,000 NHS members in England – including nurses, therapists, porters, paramedics, cooks and cleaners – between August 28 and September 18. A yes vote will lead to ‘stoppages’ in early October, followed by ‘further strikes and action short of a strike over the autumn and winter’, said a Unison spokesperson. In its 133-year history the Royal College of Midwives has never balloted on taking industrial action. Ballots for action are also being held over the coming weeks by the
GMB, while Unite will ballot its members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from August 26 to September 26 on whether they wish to take strike action or industrial action short of a strike. Treasury secretary Danny Alexander confirmed last week that the government in England will not seek advice from the NHS Pay Review Body (RB) for the 2015/16 pay round. In March, health secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected the RB’s recommendation that all Agenda for Change staff should receive a 1 per cent cost of living rise. Instead, he said only those at the top of their pay band who are not due an increment would get the increase. He took the unusual step of deciding a two-year pay deal. Despite growing fury among nurses over the past five months and the looming threat of industrial action, the government is refusing to rethink its decision on the pay award for next year. Neither the Welsh nor the Northern Ireland governments have decided whether to follow suit. NHS staff in Northern Ireland still
do not know what their pay award will be for 2014/15. The Scottish Government has pledged to stick with RB recommendations for 2015/16, saying its role in providing independent advice is ‘vital’.
Too much change
GMB national officer for the NHS Rehana Azam said: ‘Jeremy Hunt has effectively said to NHS workers: “You are having a hard time, now here’s another one.” ‘NHS staff have had to face pension reforms, service redesign, cuts to services and greater demands on their time. The value of what they do in their jobs has been axed.’ Last week RCN general secretary Peter Carter said the college did not have a mandate for a ballot on industrial action. Dr Carter said a survey sent to members about the government refusal to implement the RB recommendations had only generated a response of 12 per cent. Of those who did respond, they said they would not be in favour of anything that would harm patients. ‘This is not a mandate for balloting for a strike.’
NURSES WALK IN SOLIDARITY FOR DEMENTIA CARE
Staff nurses Andre Afonso, Adriana Cunha and Jose Dias (pictured left to right) have organised an eightmile Solidarity Walk to raise money for the Dementia Charitable Fund at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust. The trio, who come from Portugal and met when they took jobs at the hospital, have enlisted the help of a dozen volunteers, some of them colleagues. Mr Afonso said: ‘After four years working in this hospital and living in this welcoming community, I wanted to organise something to get friends and colleagues together in a healthy and fun way that helps the ones who need it most.’ Ms Cunha added: ‘With the increase in patients with dementia, we thought it appropriate to support them and at the same time give our care teams extra resources.’
NURSING :: vol 28without no 51 ::permission. 2014 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 20, 2015. For personal useaugust only. No20 other uses Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
