The LAS UNISON Branch has nominated Dave Prentis for General Secretary.

What does the general secretary do?
The general secretary is the principal officer of our union, the face of UNISON in the wider world and the voice that speaks up for you. That's why it is so important that you have your say in electing our leader.
General secretary election 2010
According to our rulebook and trade union legislation, UNISON has to elect its general secretary every five years.

Everyone who is a member as of 17 February 2010 has the right to vote in this important election - that includes retired members.
Who are the candidates?
The following have been confirmed as candidates in this election. Their names are listed below in the order they will appear on the ballot paper and in the election address booklet. A draw was held to determine the order:

# Roger Bannister, Knowsley Branch: nominated by 31 branches

# Dave Prentis, General Secretary: nominated by 371 branches, 11 regional councils, 7 service groups and the National Executive Council

# Paul Holmes, Kirklees Branch: nominated by 52 branches
How do I vote?
Ballot papers will be sent to members' home or other notified address in writing. Members will be provided with a pre-paid envelope for the return of the ballot paper to the independent scrutineer. All voting is by post.

Members not on the UNISON central membership system on 17 February 2010 will not be eligible to vote in this election.

If you don't receive a ballot paper or have another query, please contact our ballot helpline on 0845 355 0845. Lines are open 6am-midnight Monday to Friday and 9am-4pm on Saturday. The textphone number is 0800 0 967 968.
Key dates
17 May: Despatch of ballot papers
24 May: First point at which a replacement ballot paper can be requested
8 June, 12noon: Last point at which a replacement ballot paper can be requested
11 June, 5pm: Deadline for receipt of ballot papers
18 June, 5pm: Deadline to lodge written complaints and supporting evidence with Electoral Reform Services (contact details on right)
22 June: Results announced

The successful candidate will take office on 1 January 2011.
Ballot papers
The ballot pack consists of:

# A covering letter from the deputy general secretary
# A booklet containing the candidates election addresses and a full list of nominating bodies
# A ballot paper
# A return envelope

Where members have previously requested (via the RMS) materials in a special format (eg large print), they will automatically receive the ballot pack in that format. Any additional requests should be made to the ballot helpline.
Election queries
Contact the Member Liaison Unit at UNISON head office in Mabledon Place on 020 7551 1312 or email elections@unison.co.uk

General secretary ballot notification
(10/05/2010) Notification of ballot and candidates

There is a prominent link to this on the top menu bar as well as a link further down the home page. You can of course also update your details by ringing UNISON Direct on 0845 355 0845.

Many members believe that the service will notify us when you are initially posted from training school, move station or get promoted. They do not, they also do not notify us if you change your home address or get married and change your name.

Why does this matter? Well apart from not being able to contact you with news from the union or the branch, we would also have trouble trying to run a ballot. As highlighted in the recent BA dispute and more recently the RMT Network Rail dispute, employers are increasingly prepared to challenge ballots in the high court.

In the RMT dispute, Network Rail alleged In court that the RMT balloted 11 signal boxes that did not exist, and that in 67 locations the numbers of union members balloted exceeded the total number of employees working.

It also claimed that 26 workplaces were missed out, giving RMT members at these locations no opportunity to vote.

Mr Crow said "There's 1,700 workplaces and over 18,000 workers that work on the Network Rail sites, and we have to at any given moment in time before we ballot, name every single grade and every work location.
By the time you finish the audit it's like the Forth Bridge - you start again because someone else has been promoted, someone else has been sacked, someone dies and so on. It's a moving feast,"

Network Rail said it had challenged up to 300 votes in the ballot, which it claimed could have swayed the vote from a yes to a no.

Meanwhile the Conservative party were busy gloating about their anti-union laws introduced in the 1980's
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said "While Gordon Brown and his weak government were powerless in the face of growing union militancy, the strike laws passed by the last Conservative government have brought the country back from the brink of transport meltdown,"

It is important to learn lessons and be prepared. If we did need to hold a ballot of members, we must ensure that our records are correct and the time to do that is now.

Update your details online right now at http://www.lasunison.com/member%20services/update.htm or phone UNISON Direct on 0845 355 0845 or alternatively speak to your station rep.

A number of members working within the Ambulance and Police sector have raised concerns about the health effects of using the Tetra Airwave system.

We are aware and supportive of the long term health surveillance that is being carried out by Imperial College and we look forward to seeing the results of this in due course.
However, to help us to identify the level and extent of the concerns that have been raised and to help in any discussions we have with employers, we have worked with the Police Federation, PCS, GMB and Unite to develop and carry out a survey of those members who use the equipment.
This survey does not replace the work being carried out by Imperial College, but is simply a way for UNISON to assess the level of concerns that members who use the system may have.

A copy of the survey is available to download below and I would be very grateful if you could complete and return it to k.fairclough@unison.co.uk by 16th April 2010 at the latest.

Alternatively, it can be posted to the following address:
Kerrie Fairclough
Health and Safety Unit
1 Mabledon Place
London
WC1H 9AJ

Yours sincerely

Ms Hope Daley
Head of Health and Safety

Download the Survey as a Word Document
Download the survey in PDF format
Bulletin about Survey

You can view the national results and those of other NHS trusts here http://www.cqc.org.uk/usingcareservices/healthcare/nhsstaffsurveys/2009nhsstaffsurvey.cfm
We have selected the results for the London Ambulance Service and they can be downloaded directly here:
Click here for the Summary
Click here for the Full Version

Eric Roberts was re-elected as Branch Secretary and Sarah Hardy was re-elected as Vice Chair.
There was an unusually high turnout that resulted in the meeting being in quorate for the first time in several years. A lively debate ensued and communications was seen as lacking.
It was pointed out that around 384 users visit the website each day yet just 265 people had subscribed to the e-newsletter. It was also pointed out that a letters page had been created when the website was launched in 2003 for members to write in. It was based on the LAS NEWS format and individual branch officers would reply to grievances and points raised. After 7 years not one single letter was ever received and so the page has now been removed from the site.
It was asked why we do not simply send the newsletter to everybody within the LAS e-mail system. Unfortunately, although we would like to do this, this would actually be illegal and we can only subscribe new members to the union automatically when they provide an e-mail address. Current members must subscribe manually using the sign up box on the home page of the website. If we sent e-mail to people that had not subscribed or given permission then it would be classified as SPAM mail. It was acknowledged that we should try to produce a paper newsletter on an ad-hoc basis for members that are not on the internet. There were other ideas raised at the meeting that will be actively looked at and we hope to report back on these at a later date.
In the meantime, if you have any ideas then you can raise them using the contact form on the contact us page.

This circular has been issued to all NHS organisations in England, with similar circulars issued by the devolved administrations to employers in Cymru/Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The circular contains details of the following main changes:

The circular identifies that the revised rates are payable from 1 April 2010.

Click here to download this as a bulletin for display

2010 could be a difficult year for Patient Transport Services contracts due to a potential change of Government, hospitals forced to cut budgets, the on-going financial crisis and the growth of the private sector.

Within the London Ambulance Service Unison has fought long and hard to protect and save PTS jobs and contracts, and we have a proven track record in achieving this. As well as protecting contracts, we now also need to show the way with our agenda on training and career progression. This will help defeat the private sector ambulance companies.

Unison believes in the future of the Patient Transport Services as part of the London Ambulance Service.

Because of this we have now agreed with senior management to re-establish the PTS Joint Constitution so that staff working on the contracts will have a better say in their future, and are more proactive in the day to day organization of local services.

To make this happen we need members to come forward to be trained as Unison Representatives. Every contract should have a voice and we believe that it should be a Unison voice.

If you are willing to take on this important role or if you require more information please contact Eddie Brand, Unison Branch Chair, at eddie.brand@lond-amb.nhs.uk or 07766524972.

Representatives and staff will be supported fully by LAS Unison as we all stand together to make PTS stronger and successful.

As your Branch Secretary, I hope that you will take this opportunity to work more closely with me, the Union and your branch.

Best wishes

Eric Roberts
Branch Secretary
LAS UNISON

Download this article as a bulletin to display in your workplace

In the Gascoigne Room, Union Jack Club,
Sandell Street, London SE1
(Opposite Waterloo East Station)
All LAS UNISON Members are invited to attend.
Fares paid and buffet provided.

Click here to see the union jack club on a map

The proceeds of the Appeal will be used by the trade union movement in Haiti for emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of victims in collaboration with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Donate online www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-17424-f0.cfm

We fought it nationally as the bill went through parliament and only lost because a handful of non-English MPs voted in favour, even though Foundation Trust Status is England only and does not affect their constituency.

Nevertheless, the Bill became law, and because of that our approach had to change. Every Ambulance Service in England will at some stage apply to be an FT. Our job now is to protect staff’s terms & conditions etc if, and when, the London Ambulance Service is granted Foundation Trust Status. The Service has yet to apply (this will happen in March 2010) and the earliest it could be granted FT Status, if successful, is the latter part of 2010.

As a union we have to look after the interest of all members and we can only do that by being involved internally and not sitting on the outside. We can only change things if we have a strong enough voice inside and not be on the margins.

We are also negotiating to get a dedicated Trade Union voice on the Council of Governors (as well as making sure the right kind of staff take up the designated staff seats) if Foundation Trust Status is granted so that decisions regarding our future are not taken by other people outside the Service. I believe that is the way to change things and to protect Unison members’ interests. Non – participation is a luxury the union can not afford, particularly at this time of uncertainty.

Although every member of staff has the individual right to ‘opt out’ of membership of a Foundation Trust we would advise UNISON members not to do so at this time. There are still a lot of negotiations to be had between the unions and the management regarding what a LAS Foundation Trust will look like and, more specifically, what are the benefits for staff. These are uncharted waters for Ambulance Services and a lot can happen in the next year. Staff ‘opting out’ may very well find themselves still working for a Foundation Trust, but without a say in how it is run, while a member of the public, not working for the LAS, will have a say! That can’t be right, particularly for a trade union member.’

Eric Roberts
Branch Secretary
LAS UNISON

Click here to download a bulletin to display in your workplace

UNISON believes it is right to mark the 20th anniversary and not forget those who were involved and what this Service went through. London Ambulance and staff suffered the worst, but has recovered the best.

This exhibition is not just about the struggle at the time, but also reminds us that the seeds of ideas sown then have grown and blossomed into the modern, 21st Century Service we have now, with Unison members, representatives and staff playing a crucial role jointly and in partnership to make sure our vital public service protects and responds to the people of London.

Twenty years ago ambulance personnel were looked on as the poor relation, both within the NHS and also alongside the other emergency services. Today we are central to the NHS, with all staff playing a key strategic role, while having a pay determination system looked on with envy by others. Positive change has happened and maybe 89/90 was the birth pains for it.

Come and have a look around the exhibition, encourage others to come, and be proud of your union, its history and the role it has played in making this Service what it is today.
With very best wishes

Eric

Eric Roberts
Branch Secretary
LAS UNISON
(Trade Union Secretary)
07881810430

Click here to download a bulletin to display at your workplace

saying:

“I am not going to sign up to this. I know how our members feel – they feel angry and betrayed. It is just not on to make nurses, social workers, dinner ladies, cleaners and hospital porters pay the price for the folly of the bankers.

“The people who earn most should pay the most. Instead we have the disgraceful spectacle of rich bankers threatening to leave the country if they don’t get their massive bonuses. Where is their loyalty? In tough times the rich should show leadership, not run off to the nearest tax haven.

“We have no idea what inflation will be like in 2011 and beyond. Nor do we know what the future price will be of essentials such as food and fuel. We are on the same side of the street as our members and I won’t let them see their living standards eroded.

“Capping pension contributions will reduce the already small public sector pensions even further. The average pension in local government is just £4,000 a year and less than £2,000 for women. This predicted £1bn savings could end up being paid out as benefits to those very same workers to keep them out of poverty in retirement.

“We know that for every £1 a public sector work earns they spend 70p in their local community. Any squeeze on their pay will put a stranglehold on local businesses and services, cutting off much needed income.

“We know that if our public services are cut just when our communities need them most, the manufacturing industry will also go into crisis. Manufacturing is dependent on public procurement to keep going. Attacking public service jobs and pay is misguided. It will make the recession worse. It will undo all the work that has been done towards giving our communities world-class services.”

The court found that the regulator, Monitor, failed to produce accurate guidelines on what NHS Foundation Trust Hospitals need to declare on income derived from providing services to private patients.

UNISON argued in court that the private patient income cap was being incorrectly applied, undermining public service provision by Foundation Trusts.

Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:

“Today’s decision is a victory for NHS patients.

“The Bill introducing Foundation Trusts allowed them to treat private patients, but included a safety net of a cash limit. That limit was designed to ensure that private patients could not buy their way to the front of the queue at the expense of NHS patients.

“UNISON brought this case because it was clear that the independent regulatory body, Monitor, failed to produce accurate guidelines over the private income cap. This allowed Foundation Trusts to look for loopholes to enable them to treat more private and fewer NHS patients. This was clearly against the founding principles of the NHS that treatment is based on need, not ability to pay.”

The Judicial Review was issued on 1 February 2008. On 18 June 2008, Monitor issued a consultation document about modifying its approach to the cap. On 26 November 2008 Monitor published its decision to change its definition of private patient income. UNISON proceeded with the Judicial Review on the grounds that the new definition was still too narrow and remained unlawful.

This includes the support the NHS provides to
ambulance staff and how this can be improved.

We would really like to hear your views on these important issues. If you are interested in
taking part in one of two discussion groups, scheduled to take place in central London, either
morning or evening, between now and the end of January 2010, please get in touch with
Chris Marshall or Victoria Knychala on 0207 347 3935 or by email at ambulance@ipsosmori.
com.

We have not fixed any times or dates yet for these groups, as we realise that ambulance
staff are very busy and work long shifts. Once we have a measure of interest and availability,
we will invite willing participants to attend a group scheduled to suit them.

Each discussion group will last for roughly two hours and refreshments will be provided.
There will also be a £50 ‘thank you’ given to all participants.

Ipsos MORI conforms to the 1998 Data Protection Act, is a member of the Market Research
Society and is the only research agency to be awarded the ISO 9001 certification.

View PDF of this story

The call follows unusually high death rates at the hospital, and Care Quality Commission (CQC) investigators uncovering poor hygiene standards, and out of date equipment still in use.

UNISON Head of Health, Karen Jennings, said:

“These reports are a tragedy for patients, their families, and for staff working at the hospital.

“It is cold comfort to UNISON that we have been raising problems about the hospital’s privatised cleaning contract for the last six years. We know the cleaning contract was badly drawn up, that there are not enough cleaners, and that those working do not get enough training.

“It is a disgrace that Monitor, the foundation trust regulator, has not stepped in before now. Just under two months ago it rated the hospital good on patient care. This is another example of the failure of Monitor, whose time would be spent more effectively if it acted less as a cheerleader for foundation trusts, and focussed more on its proper role of regulating in the interests of patients.

“The Health Act which received royal assent this month, gives the Secretary of State the power to take a failing foundation trust hospital back into direct NHS management. This new power must now be used.

“To help restore public confidence in the hospital, we need a public enquiry, to give staff, patients, and their families the opportunity to help improve standards of care.”

These are the words of a paramedic, who has been awarded £200,000 for becoming permanently disabled after falling while attending an emergency call.

Michael Kirkham, originally from Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, but now living in Brixham, Devon, has had to take early retirement since his bulky work equipment caught on a door handle in March 2003.

The grandfather, who had worked for the ambulance service for 23 years, had complained to his bosses about the safety risks of carrying 60lbs of emergency equipment in huge bags, which were brought in to replace rucksacks.

The injuries that he sustained forced the 58-year-old to use an electric wheelchair when outside the home and to become reliant on his wife for 24-hour care.

He suffered constant pain in his back and neck and was left unable to walk.

Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said:

“We are pleased that Michael Kirkham has received compensation that will make his life easier.

“But the money will never make up for all the stress and suffering.

“He has had to retire from a career he loved and is now permanently disabled – his life has changed forever.

“The ambulance service should have listened to the safety complaints of employees, rather than risk their health.

“They should not have waited until a dedicated worker lost his health, before making changes.”

Michael Kirkham said:

“I am pleased that my case has caused the ambulance service to change the bags and avoid further injury.

“It has been soul destroying to see my health deteriorate.

“I have had to retire, after trying to get back to work for 18 months, and am now disabled.

“For a while I used a mobility scooter, but now I get around with a stick.

“The accident also put a lot of pressure on my marriage, as I couldn’t do anything for a long time.

“If I hadn’t received help from UNISON and Thompsons I would be in a much worse position now.”

Martyn Gwyther, from Thompsons Solicitors, said:

“Mr Kirkham’s life has been turned upside down by this accident.

“A previously fit and healthy member of the community who worked hard saving other people’s lives is now reliant, in part ,on his wife to care for him.

“This is a prime example of an employer failing to listen to its staff’s health and safety concerns, and failing to provide suitable equipment for the job.”

As a community paramedic for West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Mr Kirkham was first on the scene for emergency calls made through local doctors’ surgeries.

On the day of the accident, the bag caught on the door handle of a patients’ front door, causing him to fall heavily.

He was diagnosed with a chronic shoulder injury and needed four weeks off work before struggling to return to normal duties.

A few months later he began to lose feeling in his arm and suffered constant pain in his back and neck.

His condition was initially so bad, he was unable to use his left arm or even walk short distances, and was housebound in the early stages.

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust admitted liability and settled the claim out of court.

Click here to read the briefing in full.

The new ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme launches on 12 October 2009.
The scheme will be fully operational from July 2010.

What will change on 12 October 2009?

1.New barring lists put in place
The three current barring lists, Protection Of Children Act (POCA), Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) and List 99, will be replaced by the creation of two new barred lists administered by the ISA – covering the children’s and vulnerable adults’ sectors.

2.New duties and criminal offences come into force.
New criminal offences will come into force as it will become a crime for an individual who is on a barred list to apply for or undertake a job working with vulnerable groups; and for employers to knowingly take them on.
Employers, social services and professional regulators will have a duty to refer to the ISA any information about individuals who may pose a risk to vulnerable groups.

3.New requirement for Enhanced CRB checks
The eligibility criteria for Enhanced CRB checks (or Enhanced ANI checks for those in Northern Ireland) will be extended to include anyone working in a ‘regulated’ position. Broadly, this includes all those who work regularly, intensively or unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults. Therefore from 12 October 2009, all individuals who are changing jobs or starting a new job where they work directly with vulnerable groups will be subject to an Enhanced CRB check instead of a Standard CRB check.

Standard checks include information held on the Police National Computer (i.e. convictions, cautions) and on the lists held by the ISA. Enhanced checks contain the same information but with the addition of any locally held police force information considered relevant to the job role, by Chief Police Officers.

It is very unlikely that information revealed in an Enhanced CRB check will have an impact on an individual’s post. To affect someone’s ability to work with vulnerable groups, the check would have to reveal information of a serious nature that demonstrates to the ISA that the individual poses a risk of harm to vulnerable adults and children.

What will change in July 2010?

•Individuals will be able to register with the ISA from 26 July 2010. From November 2010 all new entrants to the workforce and those moving jobs will be required to register with the ISA by law. The existing workforce will then be phased into the scheme over a five year period.

•Employers will be legally bound to check and confirm that the person they have engaged in ‘regulated’ activity is ISA registered.

•Employers will be able to ‘subscribe’ to check a person’s ISA-registration status online. (Note: The online check will NOT state if a person is barred, nor any criminal convictions or other information. It will only show whether the individual is ISA-registered or not.)

•Once a person is registered on the scheme, they will be continuously monitored, so that any new, relevant information is passed to the ISA and their status reassessed. The ISA will make its decisions based on information provided by the police and other statutory agencies, regulatory bodies and referrals.

In the lead up to November 2010, UNISON will continue to actively lobby government, MPs, the Home Office and the ISA and campaign strongly to address a number of serious concerns on behalf of members, including the cost to the individual of registering with the ISA, the ‘doubling-up’ of regulation for those already on a professional register and the right to a fair hearing.

UNISON guidance on the ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme is available at:
www.unison.org.uk/professionalservices/isa

Further information is available from the ISA website at: www.isa-gov.org.uk

Accepting the recommendations, Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham has announced priority groups for the swine flu vaccination. A list of the priority groups is included in the DOH letter to Health and Social Care staff which has been published by David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive.
Click to read letter from Department of Health as a PDF
For full details of the priority groups and a range of supporting materials, please visit the Department of Health website swine flu pages www.dh.gov.uk

In addition to the priority groups, the vaccine will be made available to frontline NHS and social care staff. Further information and operational advice about the staff immunisation programme will be sent to the service over the coming weeks. Although accepting the vaccine will be entirely voluntary, UNISON would encourage members to take up the offer of swine flu vaccine, alongside the annual vaccine for winter flu.

The old station had become unfit for purpose over time as new technologies were introduced and as more staff were based there. It was originally a training station and would see the majority of new recruits based there for the supervisory period starting from Waterloo. As it became an established station and started to expand it was soon realised that a larger building was required. With just one toilet, one locker room and one shower (that ran off the messroom) it was clear something needed to be done.

A campaign was started at the turn of the century that was backed by UNISON, to either expand the station or move to more suitable premises.
After many years of wrangling involving different managers and union represenatives, a breakthrough was finally reached with the Corporation of London who agreed to hand over the entire building for use as an ambulance station. A well deserved refit then took place with the station now affording seperate male & female locker rooms incorporating toilets and showers. There is now also a small garage area for storing clinical waste, oxygen, stores and equipment that is well away from the staff areas.

The station was opened by members of the London Ambulance Service Retirement Association (LASRA) and London Ambulance Service UNISON Retired Members Section.

LAS UNISON is pleased to have been involved and supported this campaign from the start, and shows that even though some things do take a long time to achieve, we get the result we want in the end and one that has given staff based at the station a significantly improved working environment.

"People love the NHS in this country because it is always there for them when they need it" said UNISON head of health Karen Jennings

"Even at the most uncertain economic times, like those we’re experiencing now, no matter what your income, people have the peace of mind that they can get health care." she added.

The Twitter campaign was originally sparked in response to right-wing criticism of President Obama’s health plans in the United States of America.

The British backlash - defending the NHS with stories of successful NHS care - was enough to crash the Twitter website yesterday. Today, it is it is the top topic on the social networking site.

UNISON is sending an NHS fact file to its sister unions in the States to counter the lies being peddled by right-wing groups about the NHS.
Press release: UNISON fact file counters US right wing lies over NHS
Tens of thousands of people, including Gordon and Sarah Brown, and Stephen Fry, have also added their support for the NHS on the micro-blogging site.

If you want to keep the NHS public - add your voice to UNISON's million voices campaign

UNISON in health

Renewal forms for all registered Paramedics and
Orthoptists were posted on Thursday 4 June, these must
be filled in correctly, signed and returned to the HPC by 31
August 2009, with a payment (unless a direct debit
instruction is in place).

Final notices were sent out on Thursday 6 August. If you
are a registered Paramedic or Orthoptist and have not
received a renewal form or reminder it may be that the
HPC has incorrect address details. It is a registrant’s
responsibility to ensure that their contact information held
by the HPC is up to date.

Full details of the process and how you can obtain a
renewal form are on the HPC website at
http://www.hpc-uk.org/registrants/renew/.

UNISON Healthcare 11 August 2009

Click here for a PDF version to display in your workplace

During the recession, the NHS will play a vital role in ensuring that when
people lose their jobs or homes they do not lose access to healthcare.
The NHS is a key part of the fairer society envisaged by UNISON’s
Million Voices campaign, but our health service faces an increasing
threat from privatisation.

Did you know that a far greater role is being created for the private
sector, allowing more companies to take over our services?

Click here to download the full story

Increased cases of swine flu will put the NHS under increasing pressure, as is already the case in
some areas. However it is in the autumn and winter months when we anticipate a second and
possible third wave of the illness.

UNISON has developed guidance to highlight the key issues you
should be aware of.

Please feel free to print this guidance and display in your workplace.

As a result, we have had to re-design the page in order to accommodate the new elements.

We have brought back the Web Poll - We had a few difficulties with this originally but we have now changed the software and this will now continue as a regular feature of the home page.

The Newsletter and e-mail login sections have now been 'hidden' and can be 'revealed' with a click of the mouse. This is a useful feature as these features are not used every day by every user and enables us to use the space for other things. We have also been able to expand the number of questions in our newsletter sign up that we were previously unable to do due to space constraints. This will allow us to offer varied and better targeted newsletters and ensure we only send out relevant information.

Journey Planner - We previously had a link to the TfL journey planner site and removed it at the last re-design. We had a lot of requests asking us to bring this back, so we did! Only we have brought it back even better. Instead of a link we now have a search box enabling you to search your journey directly from our site.

News Links - We have added a new news feed direct from the main UNISON site just under our own headlines. We have reduced the size of our ambulance news feed to make it clearer that this is a news feed and not related in any way to whats happening in the LAS as this was causing some confusion with users.
We have also added a twitter feed allowing updates to the web site 'on the fly' as they happen. This is on the site initially as a trial which is why it is near the bottom of the page. If it proves popular, it will move nearer to the top of the page.

The whole page has been given a fresh new colour scheme which we hope you like.

The site has been tested on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome with no untoward problems. The only issue we did find was the newsletter sign up box. This should open downwards which it does in IE while Firefox and Chrome both displayed it to the right which shrinks the other elements. The box still functions though, so this was not seen as a major fault.
If you do discover any problems with the site then please notify webmaster@lasunison.com as soon as possible with a brief description of the problem along with the browser and operating system you are using.

UNISON believes that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect at work. Workplace bullying and harassment prevents this happening and should not be tolerated. Bullying and harassment at work has become a major problem in many workplaces making the daily lives of workers intolerable. It leads to ill health, work related stress and can also be the cause of untold misery to workers. This is not just bad for the workforce but is also bad management practice.

To help us identify the extent of the problem UNISON has commissioned Portsmouth University to carry out an online survey on workplace bullying and harassment.

The results will be used to raise the issue with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and other relevant Government Departments, and will also be used to update our existing guidance for safety representatives’ to help them to negotiate policies and action to eliminate bullying and harassment in the workplace.

I can assure you that all personal details will remain confidential.

We are keen to obtain as wide a response as possible and I would be grateful if you would spare the time to complete this survey even if you haven’t been bullied or harassed using the link below.

Members are asked to complete and submit the survey by 1st July 2009 at the latest. The survey can be found at the web link below.

www.pbs.port.ac.uk/Unison

Best wishes

Eric Roberts
Branch Secretary
LAS UNISON

The UK’s largest health union has fought long and hard to end the agony of sharps and needlestick injuries in the NHS - estimated to be as high as 100,000 a year.

Karen Jennings, UNISON’s Head of Health, led a series of intense negotiations at EU level between the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and HOSPEEM – the European hospital and healthcare employers’ association.

The framework agreement aims to prevent the incidence of injuries with contaminated sharps, protect the workers at risk and establish appropriate response and follow up policies in cases where those injuries occur.

Karen Jennings, said:

“I am very pleased that the hard work and sheer determination of the unions to prevent the agony of sharps and needlestick injuries has paid off at last.

“Subjecting thousands of NHS workers every year to the terror of dirty needles is unnecessary and inhumane, when safer needles are available and cost very little more.

“Instead of losing time while the legislation goes through Europe, the Department of Health should take the initiative and start using safer needles and adopting the new prevention guidelines across the UK now.

“Sadly health workers have died as a result of accidents involving needles. Such injuries cause enormous distress and lead to potentially life threatening diseases such as hepatitis, HIV and AIDS. The cost of providing safer needles is minimal - especially when you add together the cost of treating someone with a needlestick injury - tests, post exposure treatment, time off and compensation - and all this is nothing compared to the human misery caused by this type of injury.”

If the framework agreement is accepted EU legislation will follow the guidelines later this year.

Ends

The heading entitled Member Benefits has been replaced with the Activist Zone.

You will find all the member benefit links under the old MEMBERS heading along with a few others. We have also added a sub-menu showing benefits exclusive to this branch such as our e-newsletter and our text alert service. The links that were originally under that heading still remain with the exception of a couple that were duplicates.

The activist zone is the place for all stewards and H&S reps with quick links to e-mail login pages and other areas that had been requested such as the policies & procedures page and a direct link to the UNISON activist site.

Hopefully this makes the navigation structure a bit clearer for all our users. As always we appreciate your comments and views on how to make the site better.

"The NHS does not become less important for families facing economic uncertainty – it becomes more important."

With the government's investment in the NHS in recent years bringing UK health expenditure "very close" to the EU average, as a proportion of national wealth, further growth will not be as rapid, he admitted, but he assured delegates: "There can be no question of scaling back or cutting services.

"We have heard predictable calls from certain commentators that public services must take their share of the pain in the global recession; that if people in the private sector are losing their jobs, the response must be to throw nurses and teachers on the dole queue," the minister told delegates.

"Those advocating a freeze on public-sector pay believe that we should cut our way out of the recession," he added. "This government, together with every other G20 country, believes we must grow our way out of recession."

Praising the achievements of the NHS and health staff in recent years, Mr Johnson also recognised that many factors affecting people's health are "only tenuously" linked to areas directly within the Department of Health's remit.

Recalling the Black report of the 1970s, which sat on the shelf during the "two lost decades" of Tory rule, he revealed that the government will be setting up "a new national support team to tackle high infant mortality rates in the most deprived parts of the country."

This will "work with local health professionals and others to tackle poor housing, child poverty, maternal obesity, smoking and teenage pregnancy."

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is a new public body which has been created to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults. From October 2009, all individuals working or volunteering with vulnerable adults or children will be required to register with the ISA. This will affect over 11 million people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland an aligned scheme is being set up under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG)(Scotland) Act 2007. Proposals on the implementation of the PVG legislation will be consulted on in late 2008 and it is expected to be very similar to the ISA scheme.
The introduction of the ISA scheme and the aligned scheme in Scotland follow a recommendation of the Bichard Inquiry Report which was undertaken after the tragic Soham murders in 2002. This recommendation called for a registration system for all those who work with children and vulnerable adults.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority scheme will replace existing lists such as the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) list, the Protection of Children Act (PoCA) list and List 99 (a list of people considered unsuitable for work with children, held by the Department for Children, Schools and Families) and its remit will be expanded to include a vast array of previously unregulated employment categories.

Who will be registered on the ISA scheme?

You will be required to be registered on the ISA scheme if you come into regular contact with vulnerable people, including children, older people, sick people and prisoners. If you are a migrant
worker you will also have to be registered on the ISA scheme.
Many UNISON members will need to be ISA-registered, including nurses, healthcare assistants, social workers, ambulance crews, teachers, teaching assistants, youth and community workers, occupational therapists, senior carers, prison warders, caretakers, cleaners and office staff. And it
will also affect volunteers and self employed people who work with vulnerable groups such as childminders, swimming instructors and carers.

What will the ISA do?

ISA registrants will be assessed using data gathered by the Criminal Records Bureau (CR in England and Wales or Access NI (ANI) in Northern Ireland.
The data gathered will include relevant criminal convictions, cautions, police intelligence and information referred to the ISA from other sources such as employers and professional bodies.
Once you are registered you will be given an ISA registration number and will remain on the ISA database even if you change employers.
If the ISA receives information which it decides means that an individual poses a risk, they will be put on an ISA barred list and may not be able to work with vulnerable people. Individuals will have the right to make representations, in writing, and to appeal to the Care Standards tribunal.

What’s the difference between the ISA and my professional registration body?

ISA looks at whether workers pose a risk of harm to children and vulnerable adults. Your professional registration body looks at a much wider range of fitness to practise and conduct issues.

When does it start?

The ISA have announced that the scheme will be introduced on 12 October 2009.
New entrants to the workforce and those moving jobs will be the first to go through the scheme.
Members of the existing workforce will be phased into the scheme over a five year period.

How much will it cost?

The ISA has stated that individuals in paid employment in England and Wales will be required to pay
£64 and in Northern Ireland the fee will be £58. The fee will be a one-off payment and is intended
to cover the applicant for the duration of their career.
Those involved only in unpaid voluntary activity will pay no application fee.
UNISON strongly believes that the cost of the scheme should NOT be borne by individuals and we are campaigning for the fee to be paid for by employers.

To read the rest of this story click here to view the PDF version

We have a range of documents related to this issue:

Policy Paper
Parliamentary Briefing
Staff Side Principles
Branch Briefing

Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health, said:

“Nurses, paramedics, occupational therapists, midwives, hospital cleaners and cooks - the whole family of health workers will be outraged at George Osborne’s suggestion that they have enjoyed an ‘age of excess”’. Health workers do not need to be told by the Tories that “we need an age of restraint and responsibility’ it goes with the job.

“Health workers accepted a three year pay deal in good faith. Even today this years’ increase of 2.54% falls below the CPI of 3.2%. We are all paying more for everyday essentials such as food, fuel, gas and electricity.

“Why don’t the Tories turn their fire power on their friends in the City, the bankers and the greedy speculators who have got the country into the financial difficulties that we are all paying for – including public sector workers. It’s time the Tories told them - the party is over.”

Eric said " This result is not only a powerful endorsement for me and my role within the Union and Service, but it is also a vote of confidence for our Branch Officers and Senior UNISON Representatives who work tirelessly for the members and Union.

In difficult times our members have recognised what the current leadership is faced with and have understood that we are doing the right things on their behalf.

Unfortunately this election was run against a backdrop of major interference from people outside of our Union who had hoped that our members would fall for the constant stream of lies and misinformation, not only about me personally, but, also about our Branch.

I am proud that the majority of our members saw through that and voted for me and our Union. I hope now that everyone works together to get us through a difficult future for us and the Service"

Eric said 'As you know Agenda for Change was introduced in 2004 with the majority of evaluation and matching decisions taken in 2005. This review would also give us the opportunity to revisit Job Descriptions and bring them up to date with any workforce planning structures that are agreed'.

As soon as we have more information on the review, it will be posted on this site.

First, I would be grateful if you could note in your diary that the Branch’s Annual General Meeting will take place:

On: WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH 2009
Time: 6PM (buffet available after the meeting)
Venue: GASCOIGNE ROOM
UNION JACK CLUB
SANDELL STREET, LONDON SE1
(OPPOSITE WATERLOO EAST STATION)

If you do not know the location of the Union Jack Club, please contact me.
All members of the UNISON Branch are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting and it is important that as many members as possible do attend in order to make it a representative meeting.
Prior to the Annual General Meeting, the UNISON Branch Officer elections will take place. As Returning Officer, I am hereby inviting nominations for the following Branch Officer posts.

Branch Secretary
Branch Chair
Branch Vice Chair
Branch Treasurer
Health & Safety Officer
Equalities Officer
Labour Link
Membership & Recruitment Officer
Welfare Officer
Communications Officer
Branch Education Officer
Minute Secretary

Those nominated for the Labour Link Officer must be members of the Labour Party.
Separate arrangements will be made for retired members to elect the Retired
Members Officer.
Nominations must be received in this office by 5p.m. on 9 February 2009.
Members can nominate any individual member of the Branch for any of the above
posts (with the proviso above concerning the Labour Link post). If you do wish to
nominate any branch member to one of these posts, you should do so on the form
enclosed. Please note the Branch Election Rule that applies:
“Any nominations must be made on the form available and will only be
accepted as valid if signed by two (2) full members of the Branch, who are
eligible to vote in the election, neither of whom is a nominee, and signed by the
nominee as an indication of acceptance of nomination. Completed nomination
forms must be returned to the Returning Officer by the date specified in the
timetable”.
A full set of Branch Rules and Branch Election Rules are available from this office,
and can be supplied to all those nominated.
Should an election prove necessary, ballot papers will be distributed during the week
commencing 16 February 2009, and ballot papers will need to be received in this
office by 5pm on 16 March 2009. Anyone who does not receive a ballot paper
should contact this office. If at this stage you are aware of any information we may
hold on you being incorrect, for example whether you have moved either workplace
or home address or have a new telephone number, I would be grateful if you could
let me know.
If you have any other queries please contact me at the Regional Office. I look
forward to seeing you at the Annual General Meeting.

Yours sincerely,

PHIL THOMPSON
Regional Organiser,
Returning Officer

Click here to view this letter as a PDF in its original format
Click here for a nomination form

The decision not to re-open pay talks was “disappointing for nurses, midwives, paramedics and other health workers,” said UNISON head of health Karen Jennings.

UNISON has been working with other health unions to put the case for re-opening the 2009/10 pay talks, in light of the rising cost of inflation.

Members entered into the three-year deal earlier this year "in good faith”, said Ms Jennings, based on government predictions that inflation had peaked at that time and would fall.

“Yet health workers have experienced big increases in food prices and other costs over the past nine months,” she said.

“Having said that, we respect the independence of the Pay Review Body and believe their report is a balanced judgment looking at all factors”.

The union has welcomed the Pay Review Body’s decision to review the position next autumn.

Related Documents

Letter from the chair of the NHS Pay review Body
Annex A – Full text of the three-year pay agreement reached by the
parties
Annex B – Summary of statistical evidence

We are pleased to report that a new navigation menu has been added to the site today. We believe that all previous errors have been corrected and the menu should work with all current browsers. If you still experience problems then please report them to us.

Old story below......................
Unfortunately, despite extensive testing, when the site went live we discovered that some users using the firefox browser were unable to see the menu at the top of the page. This obviously causes a lot of inconvenience and we are working to try and resolve this conflict.

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You can download and read this story in full as a PDF by clicking here

2 The FT process and timescales.
In brief, trusts have to satisfy their Strategic Health Authority (SHA), The Department of Health (DH) and ultimately Monitor, the FT regulator that they are suitable to become a foundation trust. Along the way a number of standards have to be met relating to quality, finances, governance and business planning.
The first stage entails a diagnostic assessment of the Trust by their Strategic Health Authority (SHA) on the likelihood of their application for FT status being successful. This has the effect of producing an action plan that identifies areas that need improvement and an estimated timescale for readiness for an application to progress to the next stage (scrutiny by the DH). This is not likely to be much less than a year in the “best case” scenario.
The DH scrutiny stage is referred to as phase 1 in the Monitor / DH guidance for FT applicants (available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_073630 ). This envisages a further period of 43 weeks elapsing between phase 1 and the Monitor board final decision on the FT application (end of phase 4). In effect the process will take the best part of two years to complete providing all the requirements have been met.

Stage / Phase Time Scale (weeks) Aggregated (weeks)
SHA diagnostic 52 52
Phase 1 – DH Entry 4 56
Phase 2 - DH pre-submission 18 74
Phase 3 - Historical Due Diligenc 7 81
Phase 4 – Monitor Assessment 14 95

3 Maximising UNISON’s influence and involvement.
UNISON opposition to FT’s is well known and well documented (see website link above). However we recognise that branches have to work with FT’s in order to protect the interests of our members. How deeply branches get involved in the governance structures has to be a local decision based on relations with local management sides, and, of course most importantly the views of the members.
In any event UNISON representatives should be as fully informed as possible throughout all stages of the process. Initial requests for information should be formally pursued through the existing local joint industrial relations mechanisms.
Whilst the main determining factor in achieving FT status is current financial stability and future viability a successful FT business plan must also incorporate an acceptable Human Resource strategy and demonstrate meaningful stakeholder involvement. Key references in the DH guide are as follows:

Page No 14, Section 3.4 Phase Two – DH Pre-submission Phase
Bullet point 3 - demonstrate that they have the support and involvement of staff and other local stakeholders for their vision for reform;

Page No 17, Section 4.2 Phase Two – DH Pre-submission Phase
Bullet point 5 - finalise it’s detailed five year integrated strategic business plan, which will incorporate the HR implications, i.e. workforce requirements and plans to effectively involve, engage and develop the workforce, along with wider plans for organisational development whilst continuing to maintain compliance with statutory obligations:

Page No 19 / 20, Section 4.2.2 Phase Two – DH Pre-submission Phase
See whole section but especially final paragraph as follows:
Organisations need to give all their staff opportunity to contribute to the development of proposals as well as engage in discussion with other local NHS organisations and other key stakeholders, for example unions, and relevant education and training establishments and other local HR teams and departments within the health community. Evidence and action taken as a result of the feedback received must be included in the application documentation when submitted.

To quote the introduction to 4.2.2 on page 19 “NHS Foundation Trusts are expected to be model employers” A major impediment to Ambulance trusts meeting this criteria might be a failure to address the issue of having a number of different HR policies and staff related procedures still in place based on those in existence prior to merger. Issues such as this are only likely to be resolved amicably in partnership with the staff trades unions.

4 Ambulance Foundation Trusts
It is a stated aim of all English Ambulance Services to achieve FT status. The employers are co-ordinating their efforts through the Ambulance Service Network (ASN) that is part of the NHS Confederation, the independent membership body that represents over 95% of NHS organisations.
The NHS Confederation also has a Foundation Trust network. This will also be providing assistance to Ambulance Trusts in achieving FT status. There are currently two trusts, North East and London that are working on producing a “diagnostic tool” to assist in the initial SHA assessment that can be used by other Ambulance trusts. On the basis that these are the two most advanced trusts in the process it is unlikely the first Ambulance Foundation trust will be with us until beyond April 2009.
As stated above local trade union representatives should be involved at the outset of the process. In North East Ambulance Joel Byers, the UNISON representative attends FT board meetings as an observer.

You can download and read this story in full as a PDF by clicking here

The union worked closely with the BBC in the making of the programme that found shortcomings in staff vetting and training.

The private transport company failed to check any qualifications or carry out a criminal records check when they employed an undercover BBC researcher at the firm.

"It's a disgrace that private companies are being allowed to go into the homes of sick and vulnerable patients, without being regulated or monitored," said head of health Karen Jennings.

"Patients are not parcels to be picked up and dropped off and patient transport is more than a taxi service," she added.

Anyone responsible for taking sick, elderly or injured people to and from hospital needed to have sound medical knowledge, patient handling training and advanced driving skills, said Ms Jennings.

Until recently, all travel for patients was provided and regularly monitored by NHS ambulance trusts. But private companies now provide around 20% of patient transport services – a figure that is set to rise as commissioning trusts, desperate to cut costs and save money, hand services over to private companies.

"Patients and their relatives need to feel they are in safe hands, but without proper regulation, no one really knows who is knocking on their door," added Ms Jennings.

"It would be better for all concerned if patient transport services remained the responsibility of ambulance trusts."

Birmingham Women's Hospital said it was suspending the contract with the private operator immediately, while it investigated the allegations. But the city's children's hospital, which has a contract with the same company, is continuing to use the firm while it looks into the claims.

If you are a regular user of the site, you will have noticed that we have recently been experiencing problems displaying news stories.

This was due to a fault in the software being used to store and display the stories. We have trialled various different systems and felt that the use of B2 blogging software would offer the best solution to feed and display our news stories. This feature also allows us to offer you the chance to comment on some of the stories we feature.

We have moved over as many of the original stories as possible, but unfortunately some stories have been permanently lost while some have not been preserved in their exact format. In some cases this may simply mean they are displaying the wrong publishing date or the picture is no longer associated with the story.

In addition to this we decided to review our live feed of ambulance news stories from around the UK and latest UK and world news. We have now simplified this to a feed of ambulance related news stories only. We considered Google gadgets but decided against it at this time.

This change has also meant that we had to re-design the home page of the site. While doing this we decided to change the entire navigation by replacing the 2 separate navigation structures with one simplified navigation menu.

You also now have the option of subscribing to our news feed which can be displayed directly on your desktop or add it to your google, yahoo or AOL page.

While we have carried out extensive testing including IE6,IE7, Firefox and Google browsers, there will always be systems or scenarios we are unable to emulate. If you do encounter any problems, then please contact us and let us know.

We hope you like these new formats and would welcome your comments and views on this. The comments section is open on this story.

UNISON is calling for tough action to cut down on violence, following statistics released today (5 November) from the NHS Security Management Services, showing that 55,993 NHS staff were physically assaulted in England in 2007/8 – that’s 284 more than the previous year.

Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health, said:

“The catalogue of assaults is shameful. What sort of injury do we have to wait for before tough action is taken against violent offenders? Health care workers are four times more likely to be the victims of assault than any other workers

“I fear that the all night drinking culture and a lack of respect is fuelling violence against dedicated NHS paramedics, nurses and health staff who need to be given the protection they deserve.

“Zero tolerance should mean zero tolerance. It is terrifying for both patients and staff to be embroiled in the sort of violence and aggression that goes on in city centre A&E departments on an average Saturday night.

“Despite the best efforts of the Security Management Service the level of prosecutions is pitifully low. UNISON would like to see the number of prosecutions doubled and tough penalties meted out to those found guilty of assault.

“Many of these assaults are preventable and the NHS needs to look at a raft of measures and new ways of working to protect staff. In some places that might mean more police and security staff working in A&E, in others staff training, more CCTV, alarms, better co-ordination between police and ambulance staff, flagging up dangerous areas or building safety features into hospitals and wards.”

Flagging of addresses that are associated with previous instances of threatening, abusive or violent behaviour is one of the steps being taken to protect ambulance crews.
We are concerned however that existing approaches taken by Ambulance trusts are inconsistent as the systems in place have been largely developed in isolation. Neither are we convinced that all the potential sources of intelligence in this area are being accessed, such as information held by other NHS trusts and agencies and local authorities as well as the police.

UNISON believes that such an important issue should be governed by transparent national standards and guidelines. We also believe that the potential for flagging up dangerous individuals by name as well as address should be explored.
To this end UNISON is calling for a thorough review of current arrangements with the aim of producing recommendations for a national model based on best practice across Ambulance Trusts and drawing on systems used elsewhere in the NHS and public sector.
UNISON National Ambulance Sector 4 November 2008

Some warn that we could be about to enter an economic downturn of historic severity. Output is now falling and unemployment is expected to rise above two million over the coming months.

Public services and the staff who deliver them are not immune from these developments:

• The economic slow-down is already having a negative impact on tax revenues and the resources available for public spending, squeezing central and local government budgets and adding pressure for further pay cuts, and increasing recruitment freezes and redundancies.

• Due to the government’s excessive reliance on private finance under schemes such as PFI, and on private providers that have been bought up by private equity and laden with debt, the credit crunch is also leading to an abandonment of necessary investment in schools, hospitals, social housing, care homes, and other essential facilities and infrastructure.

• Many public service workers, including 3.5 million local government employees, save into pension funds whose viability is now threatened by the destruction of the value of their asset base. Pension funds are particularly at risk of losing their share of global capital assets in current conditions because speculative funds have a trading advantage.

These are matters of urgent concern, not just for public service workers, but for our entire society and economy. This is because public services have a vital role to play in protecting individuals, families and communities from the worst effects of an economic downturn; and because investment in public services and public infrastructure will be essential to stabilising our economy, maintaining demand and employment, and underpinning future growth.

UNISON therefore calls on the UK government and all relevant regulatory agencies to take bold and principled action to protect the public interest and the living standards of the majority:

• working people, particularly the lower paid, must be protected from the worst effects of the crisis. Relief from rising fuel bills must be financed by a windfall tax on the profits of the energy sector, combined if necessary with price controls.

Measures must be taken to minimise evictions and homelessness, including empowering councils to take on threatened homes. The current public sector pay policy, which imposes real terms pay cuts on millions of public service workers, must be abandoned.

• protective measures to help pension funds deal with the current crisis, and prevent enforced closure of schemes, must be developed. Member-nominated representatives must be given 50% of seats on pension boards as promised, and the Local Government Pension Scheme must be reformed to provide the same representation. Member representatives must be included in discussions of future market regulation and economic policy.

• spending on public services must be increased to meet greater social need and counteract the downturn in the private sector. This will necessitate an increase in public debt, currently low by international and historic standards, and a rebalancing of our system of taxation so that corporations and wealthy individuals are required to pay their fair share.

• to make up for the increased costs, risks, and likely shortfall of private investment afflicting PFI and other privately financed schemes, we must return to direct public sector investment in and ownership of public service facilities, affordable housing, and other essential infrastructure. Too often we have seen the market fail to serve the public interest and the public sector forced to step in and pick up the risks created by the private sector – a phenomenon we are now seeing repeated again on a grand scale.

• to stimulate investment and growth throughout the economy, interest rates must be cut as a matter of urgency, and the monetary policy pursued by the Bank of England needs to move on from an exclusive focus upon controlling inflation to one that also seeks to ensure high levels of investment and employment.

• intervention to secure the banking system should not merely “bail-out” those who have caused this crisis by socialising the losses and taking on unprofitable parts of the sector. Instead any public financial support for the sector should entitle the public to share in the benefits of any future recovery, and must be accompanied by an extension of regulatory controls to ensure that the excesses of the recent period are not repeated or rewarded. The bonus culture that has fuelled destructive risk-taking in the financial sector must be brought to an end. At the same time appropriate measures of protection and support are needed to ensure that lower paid financial service employees do not pay the price of others’ irresponsibility.

UNISON supports the recent declaration of the ETUC that this crisis must mark an end to the “casino capitalism” which has placed the pursuit of speculative gain before investment in productive industry and essential services.

The UK has been home to many of the worst excesses of this phenomenon, and is now especially exposed to the fall-out. We therefore also support the statement of the TUC general council calling for a new economic programme for the UK that puts fairness and the needs of the majority first.

Thirty years of deregulation, privatisation, financialisation, tax-cutting and taxevasion have resulted in an unprecedented widening of inequality and concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, and a massive burden of risk transferred to the many. The neo-liberal era has ended in failure. We need now to begin to rebalance our monetary and fiscal framework, our system of taxation, our regulatory regimes and our overall pattern of investment and economic development.

Public services will be fundamental to this new settlement. The lasting legacy of the current crisis must be a clear recognition of the necessary role of the state, both in its regulatory role and as a provider and guarantor of stability. In the past it has always been the public sector that has led the way out of recession by picking up the pieces of the market’s failure and serving as the engine of renewed economic growth, and over the next few years it must do so again. Now more than ever we need public services, provided to all on the basis of need by a publicly accountable and properly funded public sector, to carry our economy and our society through these difficult times. This is the bedrock upon which we will better advance social justice and the public good in the years to come.

The call for a better pay deal by UNISON's Health Executive comes in the wake of increases in the costs of fuel, energy and food which are driving inflation beyond the 2% assumption made at the time of the agreement earlier this year.

UNISON Head of Health Karen Jennings, said:

“Nurses and other health workers are already struggling to cope with almost daily increases in the cost of basic necessities such a food and energy. The re-opener clause was central to this year’s multi-year pay talks because it provided a much-needed safety net against just this situation.

“We will be gathering evidence to present to the independent Pay Review Body to show that there have been significant changes since the deal was negotiated in the spring. Our members reluctantly accepted 2.75% this year but the 2.54% and 2.5% increases negotiated for the next two years now fall well short of all expected inflation figures.”

UNISON will work with the other health unions to submit new evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body and make the case that the pay rates for 2009/2010 should be reviewed..

Please see links below for an initial bulletin and the Active Area Cover policy.

Staff briefings are to be arranged in each Sector soon and more information will also be sent out.

Active Area Cover Agreement
AAC Partnership Bulletin

UNISON and other unions had asked for an immediate uplift of 5 pence per mile on all rates, pending the completion of the mileage allowance review. The management side had initially refused to offer any increase at all but negotiations have now resulted in a 10% increase. This consolidates the increase issued as guidance in January to increase the two lowest regular user rates by 10% (but not on other rates), which was not implemented by all organisations.

These increases now constitute a collective agreement and a pay circular will be issued along with amended pages of the Handbook. This will be a permanent uplift of Annexe L of the Handbook with effect from 1st July 2008 and will continue until a new scheme of mileage allowances is agreed. The review should be completed by the end of 2008 and branches will be consulted on any proposal before it is agreed.

Click here for further information and full rates

An individual postal ballot of 452,000 members working in the NHS saw 64.91% of those taking part vote to accept the three-year offer worth 8.1% – and more to some members.

A full range of health workers, including nurses, paramedics, occupational therapists, porters, midwives, health care assistants, technical, admin, cleaning, security and catering staff backed the deal, which will establish a new NHS minimum wage of £6.77 in the second year.

This result means that UNISON and the RCN, the two largest NHS unions, representing the overwhelming majority of NHS staff, have now endorsed the multi-year agreement.

"UNISON gave all our health members the opportunity to make their vote count and the ballot result shows what a tough decision it has been," commented UNISON head of health Karen Jennings.

"The 2.75% on offer this year is the best in the public sector and the three-year deal offers stability. However, the rising costs of everyday items such as food, fuel and energy obviously make members wary about being locked into a three-year deal.

"That is why we negotiated a reopener clause that we will not hesitate to trigger if inflation continues to rise.

"We know that a number of small health unions have voted against accepting the offer and we will be making it a priority to meet with them and discuss a way forward."

The offer gives:

2.75% in the first year;
a headline increase of 2.54% in the second year, while also introducing a new minimum wage of £6.77 an hour for all NHS staff, 18% higher than the statutory minimum wage and meaning that those on the lowest pay point will receive an increase of 5.7%;
in the third year the proposed deal gives 2.5%. It includes a flat rate increase of £420 (worth 3.17% at the lowest point) for the bottom three grades;
nurses, midwives and paramedics on the main grade 5 and the bottom of grade 6 will receive extra money on top of the basic increase from the second year, to recognise that more than a quarter have reached their pay ceiling/
The two-thirds Yes vote in the ballot represents a solid vote for acceptance in the most representative test of opinion across the NHS workforce, as a result of a full postal ballot of the union with the largest membership across all grades and professions.

UNISON negotiators also point out that the package represents the best deal in the public sector, 8.1% over the years and up to 10.5% for entry-grade professionals with a new minimum hourly wage of £6.77.

But the union also recognises that a third of members in the ballot voting against the package reflects the anxiety felt about increasing food and fuel prices.

The union warned the government that UNISON members will not tolerate a below-inflation increase next year, and if inflation continues to go up rather than down, UNISON will trigger the reopener clause for year two.

Members can expect to see the money from this pay rise in their pay packets in July.

Health Pay Matters, including details of the pay package

This document is available as a PDF file.

Click here to read it in full.

Activists and members are asked to:

Print out and display the poster, reminding members of the ballot
Look out for your Electoral Reform Society ballot pack and make sure colleagues know that UNISON is giving members a chance to vote
Read and pass on the leaflet explaining the proposed agreement
UNISON's policy on these proposals will be determined by your vote, so, before you return your ballot paper, make sure you know the facts.

Vote now on NHS pay

(15/05/08) Health workers are starting to vote on whether to accept or reject the proposed multi-year agreement on NHS pay.
Campaign materials

Download all the recent health documents and campaign materials to display and distribute in your workplace
NHS pay – have your say

(30/04/08) UNISON is giving staff working in the NHS the chance to have a say on the proposed multi-year agreement for NHS pay
Conference votes to ballot all members on NHS pay

(18/04/08) UNISON’s Health Conference has agreed that all members working in health should be given a direct say on whether to accept or reject the proposed pay deal
Health workers to vote on pay
(17/04/08) UNISON is to consult half a million NHS workers on whether they want to accept or reject the multi-year pay deal on offer - for 8.1% over three years
Multi-year pay deal
(07/04/08) What does it mean to you? Details of the proposed agreement in the NHS
The NHS pay offer explained
(07/04/08) We answer your questions on the proposed three-year deal for health workers
NHS pay at a crossroads

(05/11/2007) UNISON has made the case for a substantial above-inflation pay increase for NHS staff in 2008/09

Health minister Lord Darzi's interim report in October called for polyclinics – super surgeries where GPs work alongside social care staff, hospital teams and nurses – to be set up across the country.

But today he promised there would be no change simply for change’s sake, pledging that future reforms would always be to the benefit of patients, would be clinically driven and locally led, would involve NHS users, and that existing services would not be withdrawn until new ones were in place.

UNISON has always called for change to be evidence based and that comes through strongly in the five pledges, said head of health Karen Jennings in response. “The recognition that change should be driven by the desire to raise quality and to meet the needs of local patients and staff, and not by cost or politics is a very welcome one.”

However, she raised fears that change would open the doors of the health service to more private companies.

“When the final report is published, we want an NHS that is fit for the next 10 years, not one that would be split by the private sector ethos of competition and profit,” she warned.

Lord Darzi’s final report is due to be published in full next month, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the NHS.

He said it would focus on how the government can enable local clinicians and patients to be the driving force of improvement and change, adding: "Empowered patients and empowered staff are the key to world-class standards."

UNISON in healthcare

UNISON's Keep the NHS Working campaign