Scottish Council Reports
Agenda for Change
By the time the Council meets Health Service workers
in Scotland should be familiar with the newly launched Agenda
for Change pay structure in Health. Obviously, this will mean
a major consultation exercise for Branches and members. A strategy
is being prepared by the union nationally to accommodate this
exercise. In anticipation, the Scottish Health Committee have
been campaigning against, what we have described as, the NHS Postcode
Pay Lottery where staff are working in different parts of the
Health Service are enjoying different pay and conditions. Information
has been circulated in form of a briefing to all our members in
the NHS and the website is being regularly updated on this matter.
Low Pay Campaign
Colleagues will be aware that the Scottish Health
Committee are campaigning to ensure that Ancillary Workers receive
a pay increase to at least £5 per hour. I am glad to report
that over the past few weeks we have achieved successes on top
of the agreement that we reached for all Ancillary staff in Lothian
Health Board.
Firstly, Argyll and Clyde Health Board have agreed
to pay a minimum of £5 per hour for all Ancillary staff
within that Health Board area. This agreement impacts on nearly
1,000 staff.
Secondly, the Private Contractor Serco has offered
£5 per hour and Whitley Conditions of Service for staff
employed in the PFI hospital at Wishaw.
Thirdly, a similar outcome has been achieved with
Private Contractors in Kilmarnock and Argyll and Clyde and last
but not least, following very successful industrial action in
North Glasgow, £5.18 per hour and full Whitley Council Conditions
by 1st April 2004 has been achieved.
Private Contractors
Again as part of our targetting campaign, to remove
private contractors from the NHS, we have four major successes
to report in the last few months. First of all, Sodexho has been
removed from South Glasgow Hospitals, Mediclean has been removed
from Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire, Sodexho has also been
removed from all NHS contracts in Fife and Initial have been removed
from Stonehouse Hospital.
Over the past 2 years of operating this strategy,
apart from PFI hospitals, we have removed all major Private Contractors
from Scotland apart from North Glasgow and one contract in Paisley.
Admin and Clerical
On the back of a very successful medical secretaries
campaign last year, we are now in negotiations with every Health
Board in Scotland, seeking a linked grade for Grade 2 Admin and
Clerical staff. We are involved in discussions in Glasgow, Lanark,
Argyll and Clyde, Highland and Grampian. I will keep colleagues
up to date with the success or otherwise of this initiative.
Nurse Grading
The Nursing Sector Committee in Scotland launched
Grading Packs at the Nursing Times Conference in July. This has
been without doubt one of the most successful launches that we
have been involved in. The Nursing Times advertised our telephone
number in their magazine for two weeks running and we received
over 2,460 requests for packs from south of the border. On the
third week of the campaign the Nursing Times advertised our website.
On a normal day we would receive 4,200 hits but on the day it
was advertised in the Nursing Times we received 9,600 hits, specifically
from people looking for a copy of the pack.
Health Board Restructuring
The Scottish Parliament is launching a White Paper
on the Health Service in December 2002 and it is anticipated that
we will see the final abolition of Trusts and the Scottish Health
Service going back into a single employer. Trusts in Dumfries
and Galloway, and Borders are now presently negotiating with their
relative Health Boards with a view to merging by 1 April 2003.
Scottish Partnership Forum/HR Forum
As colleagues will be aware, Partnership Working
is central to the Scottish Government's industrial relations strategy
within the National Health Service and UNISON has been at the
forefront of participating in the Scottish Partnership Forum.
Recognising as previously stated that we are moving towards a
single employer status for Health Service workers in Scotland,
there is an obvious gap in the provision of an HR Forum to resolve
the many industrial relation issues that prevails throughout the
Scottish Health Service. To that end consultation is presently
taking place with our Branches with a view to establishing a HR
Forum.
Recruitment
Again, I congratulate the Scottish Health Branches
for, in the main, meeting their recruitment targets. It is a pleasure
to report that at ¾ of the way through the year, the Scottish
Health Branches were top of the national recruitment league. In
this battle of Britain we obviously want to remain on top.
Jim Devine
Scottish Organiser (Health)
October 2002
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