NHS: Anti-union blacklisting threat


Just before Parliament closed for the general election campaign, a select committee revealed that the infamous, and now defunct, Consulting Association (which provided names of thousands of trade unionists to construction industry bosses, who then blacklisted them) had been in discussion with companies working in the National Health Service (NHS).

Trade union rep Steve Bell spoke to the Socialist about his experience of private companies engaged in the NHS

“We know that facilities companies operating in the NHS are not only content with paying their workforce lower wages than those working directly for the NHS, but a recent report highlighted what we already knew – that they are also anti-union.

Trade union stewards working for companies, such as Carillion and ISS, look to dismiss stewards on the slightest pretence. In Oxfordshire, local stewards have recently been re-instated by one such company following spurious dismissal reasons.

In the Scottish Affairs parliamentary select committee report a confidential letter from the Consulting Association highlighted that they were going to contact human resources officers in facilities companies working in the NHS.

Whether they did contact these firms or not, those of us who work in the NHS with these companies know that they don’t wish to see unions involved – as they would have to pay their staff NHS terms and conditions, such as sick pay.

Where unions are active and give a positive lead to workers then these companies have been beaten at a local level. But this requires a determined union leadership, one that is prepared to fight on every issue at a national level and is prepared to work with other unions organising among staff in this area.”

Blacklisted: The Secret War Between Big Business and Union Activists

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