Adrian O’Malley, Unison Health SGE member, personal capacity
Three weeks after the Labour government announced it will be imposing a 3.3% pay increase on NHS workers on 1 April, NHS workers are asking what the trade unions are going to do about it?
Are we going to dispute the rise and put in a claim for more? Are we going to rally around a claim that restores pay back to levels prior to 15 years of pay austerity, and start a coordinated campaign for strike action involving all the NHS unions?
The Unison Health Service Group Executive (SGE) met on 19 February. It agreed to enter into pay negotiations with the other NHS unions through the NHS Staff Council, to seek improvements in pay via the terms and conditions banding structure.
An amendment to lodge a dispute in opposition to the 3.3% in principle while talks took place was defeated by 20 votes to five.
The danger in entering talks over the pay structure without a guaranteed increase in the pay budget above the 3.3% already given is plain to see. It is divisive as it could mean different groups of the workforce potentially getting pay rises, which may have conditions attached, such as job losses or cuts to other services.
It also does nothing to redress the fact that pay is lower than for equivalents in Scotland.
The SGE meets again on 5 March. It will hear whether there has been any progress in setting up talks with the government with new money on the table, and in agreeing common cause across the NHS unions.
Publicly, there has been a concerning silence from the national unions over the last three weeks following their initial condemnation of the 3.3%.
NHS workers deserve better. We demand our trade unions unite around an inflation-busting pay claim, and commence with organising a campaign for strike action, nationally, regionally and locally.
The 5.5% pay rise for MPs has angered NHS workers even more. 5.5% of an MP’s wage for NHS workers would be a good start in reversing 15 years of pay austerity in the NHS!
Unison members have recently voted for a new general secretary, Andrea Egan, because they want a more fighting union, following years of right-wing leadership that has held back struggle. Members in the NHS will be expecting a fight. But the Health SGE is still led by the old right wing.
- Adrian O’Malley is standing for re-election to the SGE, alongside fellow Socialist Party member Paul Tovey. Winning a fighting Health SGE in the elections in April is a vital step towards securing action
