31/01/2013

Fight to protect Lewisham services will go on

“Downgrading the A&E department and closing maternity services at Lewisham Hospital will have long term consequences for the capital,” UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis warned today.

The union said the campaign to protect these services showed there was still a widespread willingness to fight and keep NHS services safe and local.

Responding to today’s announcement by the Health Secretary, the union accused the government of failing to listen to the concerns and arguments of clinicians, patients, hospital staff, unions and the local community, but insisted the campaign would go on.

UNISON acknowledged the role of specialist trauma centres in saving lives in parallel with existing A&E services, but warned a reduced, stretched service could prove a dangerous replacement for the current Lewisham provision.

Dave Prentis went on to say:

“The campaign to protect Lewisham’s A&E and maternity services has shown that people are willing to stand up and fight to keep their NHS safe and local. Hospital staff and local people will be shocked and outraged by today’s decision, but the campaign to preserve these vital and highly valued services will go on.

“The long-term impact of the downgrade – and whether today's announcement is just a repackaging of the original plans – remains to be seen. We know that a major reorganisation of emergency services is planned, which makes today’s decision even more premature.

“Lewisham is not the first and won’t be the last hospital to come under attack by this Government. Its disastrous NHS reorganisation and squeezes on funding are causing cuts and closures across the country.

“The public will continue to make their voices heard, and to fight for their NHS, and UNISON will continue to support them.”

Lewisham Hospital should never have been caught up in the financial difficulties of the South London Healthcare Trust said the union, as the hospital is on a sound financial footing.

There are currently around 34 A&E departments across the country that could be closed or downgraded.

In addition 7,000 nurses have been axed since 2010.

Around 500 hospital workers at Mid Yorkshire hospital are currently on strike over the threat of 70 compulsory redundancies and pay cuts.

Beds, Cambs and Herts police forces reject privatisation

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police Forces’ rejection of privatisation is a triumph of common sense, UNISON said today.

The union welcomed reports that the three forces have decided to work collaboratively to provide key back-office IT and human resources functions, rather than outsourcing them to a private company.

Commenting on the news, Ben Priestley, UNISON national officer for police staff said:

“This is a sensible decision by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police Forces and we hope that other forces considering potentially damaging privatisation also drop their plans. Leading change from within the police force, rather than bringing in outside companies that have little or no experience of running these vital community services makes much more sense.

“Privatisation of police services is a danger to the public. Once private companies take out their profits – as they are obliged to do by their shareholders – the pot of money left to pay for local policing will shrink, leaving the public with a poorer police service. And recent polling by UNISON shows that the majority of the public do not want their local police services to be privatised.”

30/01/2013

Teaching assistants are 'vital to schools' say headteachers

A new survey by UNISON, the UK’s largest union, reveals that the vast majority of head teachers and school leaders believe that their school could not run without the hard work of teaching assistants (TAs).

The in-depth survey reveals that 95% of heads and school leaders believe TAs add significant value to the team around children, including to those with special educational needs.

The survey also outlines best practice, and reports that TAs could play an even greater role in improving quality given better supervision and deployment.

The school leaders are overwhelmingly supportive of the work that TAs do in a mix of pastoral, teaching and administrative roles, leading some to call for TAs to get better training, pay and employment conditions.

Jon Richards, UNISON’s National Secretary for Education, said:

”The findings of our survey are a testament to the huge role that teaching assistants play in delivering high quality education to our children in schools today.

“To make sure they can play an even greater role in boosting quality and standards, we want a national framework to regulate how they are deployed, as well as their pay and conditions.

“Realising the potential of children and young people in our schools is inextricably linked to realising the potential of the TA workforce.”

NAO report into councils

As a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) today reveals that councils are facing a growing challenge to absorb cuts and to meet their legal obligation to provide services, UNISON is warning that there is much more pain to come for local communities.

New analysis of local government funding by the union shows that the already drastic cuts are even worse than those claimed in the 2010 spending review*.

Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said:

“The coalition’s multi-billion pound cuts have pared local government services to the bone. It is no surprise that even the most basic services that local councils legally have to provide are now at risk.

“Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost and vital local services such as nurseries, libraries and elderly care centres have closed. More than 300 councils are still not half way through the package of cuts they are required to make, so there is much more pain in store for local communities.”

New analysis by UNISON, the UK’s largest union, shows that the drastic cuts to Formula Grants – a major source of government funding to councils - are worth almost £1.2bn this year. This is much worse than the £0.2bn outlined in the Spending Review 2010.

*Analysis by UNISON, comparing 2012/13 Formula Grant with next year’s cash equivalent, reveals that the cut averages out at 8.4%.

The government’s 2010 Spending Review already meant that for every £100 in Formula Grant that was paid to councils in 2010/11 just £73.60 would be paid in 2013/14. The settlement announced by Eric Pickles now reduces that to just £68.60.

*Local Government already faces a reduction of 28 per cent in Formula Grant by 2014/15. Spending Review 2010 cut Formula Grant – the main grant to local authorities - by £3bn; £1.6bn; £0.2bn and £1.3bn in the years 2011/12 to 2014/15.”

UNISON’s new analysis suggests that the additional cut due to the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement that replaces Formula Grant with the Start Up Funding Assessment (SUFA) averages over 8.4% - a very different picture from that presented by the Government of a reduction in spending power of just 1.7%.

Unemployment statistics

Commenting on the small drop in unemployment, UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:

“Any fall must be welcome but progress is still painfully slow for the 2.49m people still desperately looking for a job. The number of high street names going into liquidation shows there is no room for complacency. And only yesterday the Government announced more than 5,000 cuts to army personnel.

“We know that many thousands of public sector workers jobs are under threat as council budget cuts mean that elderly care centres, nurseries, swimming pools and other valued services face the axe.

“The Government is failing to stimulate the economy which is a vital ingredient to creating significant, long-tem, full-time jobs.

Home baking business boom putting public health at risk

New food service start-ups may be unwittingly putting the public at risk, as public sector cuts whittle away environmental health services, UNISON warned today.

The warning comes as respondents in a new survey, carried out as part of The Damage, the union’s far-reaching investigation into the impact of public service budget cuts, revealed the impact of the spike in ‘Great British Bake Off Entrepreneurs’.

Cash-strapped businesses cutting corners, and the frequency with which failing businesses change hands, means that already-stretched environmental health services are being placed under substantial pressure to keep people safe.

Yet the rise of ‘home entrepreneurs’ setting up catering services without the necessary expertise and training has created a food service ‘triple threat’ for environmental health officers, the union said. At the same time, staff shortages mean that preventative work, such as education, is being cut back. A total of 1,272 jobs have been lost in environmental health services in the UK over the past two years, which has led to a reduction in activity across the board including:

A 15% reduction in enforcement notices issued in 2011/12 A 4% reduction in enforcement visits in 2011/2012 An 8% reduction in scheduled inspections carried out in 2011/12

Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government said: “Our findings show the impact the government’s austerity agenda is having on the ability of environmental health services to keep the public safe.

“It’s not just about enforcement – although our research shows this has dropped significantly – it is about prevention, which our members are telling us is becoming more and more difficult as resources are stretched.

“Members of the public should be commended for setting up businesses and boosting their local economies in these difficult times. But their success depends on environmental health professionals having the resources to support them with provide sound, preventative advice, while still being able to protect the public from harm if things go wrong.

“Cuts to environmental health budgets and staff make a challenging job only harder; if the government wants to see real economic growth, we need proper investment in the public services that exist to help businesses flourish.”

Environmental health spending - per head of population – has dropped substantially. Local authorities spent on average £11.74 per person on environmental health in 2009/10. This figure now stands at an average of £10.81 per person

Environmental health officers’ responses to the survey included: “Great increase in food businesses starting up and just as quickly closing down. Great demand for initial advice and opening inspections for little long-term benefit. Lots of people trying to start up food businesses from home (mostly cake making!).” “More new businesses opening by people who do not necessarily have the right skills. A lot of people with redundancy money appear to think that running a food business is easy money. This has resulted in much more time being spent on [giving] advice to businesses that generally don't last.”

“We will be unable to spend time with businesses helping them comply with regulation and so will become more reliant on formal action such as notices or court action. This has been shown not to secure long term change in businesses behaviour – education achieves that.”

16/01/2013

Horsemeat scandal should have been picked up in UK

Proper government investment in trading standards and meat hygiene services could have meant the horsemeat burger scandal was picked up in the UK rather than relying on the Irish authorities UNISON said today.

The UK’s largest union said that swingeing cuts to these vital services are severely limiting the ability of hard-working officers to protect the public, and warned against watering down EU meat inspections.

Food labelling is one of the many issues overseen by trading standards officers, yet services across the UK have shrunk as their budgets have dwindled.

There have been dramatic falls in levels of activity across the board including: a 29% drop in new prosecutions a 26% fall in the total number of scheduled inspections a 24% fall in the total number of visits for enforcement purposes

In the UK meat inspectors in abattoirs physically inspect all meat leaving the premises –which is vital to safeguard consumers. Despite this, within the EU there are plans to water down these proposals, or allow the industry to self-regulate, which UNISON has strongly warned against. UNISON assistant general secretary Karen Jennings said: “While horsemeat isn't a threat to health, it does pose the question ‘do we know what's in our burgers?’ “The public deserve to have confidence in the products they buy; this confidence comes from trading standards services having the resources available to check the labelling products and pick up offences early, and from the work of meat inspectors and vets in abattoirs.

“Trading standards officers work hard to ensure that products pose no risk to consumers, but as their budgets are slashed, their ability to identify problems, inspect premises and prosecute wrongdoers has become severely limited.

“The real danger in this case is the quality and wholesomeness of meat in abattoirs. We need to avoid disease and contamination, and things like excrement making it into our food. This danger is avoided in the UK by the work of meat inspectors and vets in abattoirs.

“The issue with horsemeat in burgers is yet another example of why the industry isn't fit to regulate itself. It is vital that we continue the independent physical inspection of meat in the UK and the rest of the EU."

14/01/2013

Pension Reform

UNISON warned today that many workers will still face poverty in retirement, despite the government’s claims that its proposed overhaul of the state pension system will improve pensions.

Millions of workers will also be clobbered with higher national insurance payments under the plans.

As the government today issues its long-awaited white paper on state pension reform, UNISON said that radical action was needed to halt the decline in pension provision in the UK, which stands to leave many people in financial misery in retirement.

Many employers that sponsor defined benefit pension schemes are facing an increase in national insurance contributions – which from April 2017 could be as high as 3.4%. The union said it feared this would have a knock-on effect that passed cuts onto employees, including the low paid.

Commenting on the paper, Karen Jennings, UNISON assistant general secretary said:

“These changes are being lauded as a good deal for pensioners, but it is worth remembering that £144 is still well below the poverty line, and more will need to be done to prevent workers finding themselves desperately poor in retirement.

“Who will be worse or better off following these changes will depend on salary growth, which remains stagnant for many workers, including millions in the public sector, and inflation, which continues to eat at the income of low earners.

“What is clear is that the real winner is likely to be the Treasury, who will receive a national insurance boost from pension scheme members and employers. This windfall must go back to employers otherwise there is a real risk that many will look to dumb down their current pension offerings even further.

“The government must not hide behind this as a ‘good news story’: It is their duty to guarantee that workers – and in particular the lowest paid – are not left worse off as a result of these proposals either now, or in their retirement.”

While the union welcomed the intention to simplify the confusing existing pensions system, it said it would be looking at the implications of the proposals in the white paper in detail, and would respond to the consultation in full.

The new flat-rate is designed to combine the basic state pension with the second state pension. The union pointed out that this will not affect those who already receive, or will begin receiving their state pension before the next Parliament.

14/01/2013

Pension poverty beckons as confusion reigns for community and voluntary workers

After a lifetime of dedication to helping others, community and voluntary sector workers are destined to retire into poverty, UNISON, the UK’s largest union is warning today.

A survey of more than 2,000 of its members working in the third sector revealed widespread confusion about pensions, as well as a lack of quality employer pension schemes on offer. A significant number of employers (84%) offer a workplace pension scheme but 42.7% of staff were not in it, with many respondents saying that they could not afford to join one.

There is a very real danger that when auto-enrolment into pension schemes comes in this year, the combination of low pay and the pay freeze will inevitably lead to large scale opt-outs, as workers will simply not be able to afford the contributions.

“Poor pay, lack of clarity and poor pension schemes are a toxic combination” said Simon Watson, UNISON’s National Officer for Community and Voluntary sector workers. He went on to say:

“There is a very real danger that after many years of working to help others, third sector workers will find themselves struggling to keep out of poverty in their retirement.

“It is vital that we get the message over to both employers and workers that a decent pension scheme means the difference between dignity in retirement and just scraping through by relying on state benefits. UNISON is calling on employers in the third sector to work with the union to identify and implement good quality pension schemes, including those that carry the pensions quality mark and pensions quality mark plus. The union is holding a one-day seminar in February for community workers to try and bridge the pension knowledge gap.



Key Survey Findings

· 83% of employers offered a pension to new staff. In 23% of cases this was a defined benefit scheme, in 24% of cases it was a defined contribution scheme, and in 52% the respondents did not know.

· 42% had NOT heard of pensions auto-enrolment before

· 46% did NOT know what it would mean for them

· 51% said they wanted help in financial planning, including pensions

Personal Injury Settlements – November 2012

 

WEST MIDLANDS - NOVEMBER 2012

BRANCH AMOUNT (£)

BIRMINGHAM UNISON BRANCH 14,076

COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE COMBINED HEALTH 1,500

DUDLEY GENERAL 3,400

DUDLEY GROUP OF HOSPITALS 2,200

FRIZZELLS 7,975

HEREFORDSHIRE UNISON 13,760

SANDWELL AND CITY HOSPITAL NHS TRUST 1,800

SOUTH BIRMINGHAM MENTAL HEALTH 9,750

STAFFORDSHIRE UNISON BRANCH 10,400

STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY BRANCH 6,500

STOKE ON TRENT CITY 1,671

WALSALL LG 14,477

WEST MIDLANDS AMBULANCE 4,225

WOLVERHAMPTON HEALTH CARE 6,644

WORCESTERSHIRE COUNTY UNISON 35,000

GRAND TOTAL 133,378

01/01/2013

Bleak 2013 for families warns UNISON

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, is warning that after a hard year, families face a bleak 2013 across the UK as they struggle to cope with the on-going recession.

The union’s welfare fund has seen a massive rise in the number of applications for grants in 2012 that fund basic essentials such as school uniforms and heating bills. Applications for help with heating bills went up by a massive 388%, and calls for help with the cost of school uniforms by more than a quarter. In the past year, the charity has paid out more than £750,000 - a rise of 11% on the previous year.

Union organisers are increasingly reporting that public sector workers are being forced to rely on food banks to feed their families. The Trussell Trust, which runs the UK’s largest network of food banks, estimates that the number of people turning to them for help has risen by 100% in the past year.



Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:

“It’s not just the unemployed who are struggling; the number of working people in poverty is on the rise in Tory Britain. The Coalition Government is hitting working families and it is hitting them hard.

“Our welfare fund used to pay for wellbeing breaks, but the recession means that holidays are a thing of the past for low paid families. What people need now is help with the basics of life, such as food and fuel.

“Parents say they dread the bill for school uniforms when the new school year begins – in some cases the cost runs to hundreds of pounds and they just can’t afford it.

“It is heartbreaking to read their applications where they spell out the struggles they face and how difficult things have become. The stress of the struggle to make ends meet is making many sick, they’ve lost working tax credits and it has pushed them over the edge. Some can’t even afford the weekly shop and have to rely on their family for help with groceries.

“The government needs to get real about the depth of the crisis. Until consumer spending picks up, our economy won’t grow and until people have money in their pockets and jobs they can rely on, they won’t spend.

“The Government urgently needs a plan for growth and jobs in 2013 – not simply to be ploughing ahead regardless with an economic plan that is not working.”

The union is calling on the government to help families in the New Year by ending the public sector pay freeze which has hit millions of workers for two years, and local government workers for three. A new plan to fuel growth and long term employment is urgently needed to get the UK back on the road to recovery said the union.

UNISON’s school uniforms grant

The number of applications to UNISON’s school uniforms grant scheme jumped by more than a quarter (27%) last year. This year, more than £30,000 was paid out to nearly 450 UNISON members who earn less than £18,000 and are struggling with the cost of their children’s school uniforms.

60% of those who applied said they faced a bill between £100 - £300 for their child’s school uniform.

76% said there was no other help available towards the cost.

71% were worried that their children would be disciplined because they do not have the right uniform.

73% said it was quite or very difficult to meet the cost of their child’s school uniform.

71% say they have to turn to their family as a result of rising living costs.

UNISON’s winter fuel allowance scheme

771 people have applied for help with their heating bills this year, compared to 158 people in 2011 – an increase of 388%.

Food Banks

According to the Trussell Trust, 128,687 people used food banks in 2011/2012, an increase of 100% on the last year.

Government grant shifts scarce resources from north to south

A new study by UNISON, the UKs largest union, has revealed that the Governments New Homes Bonus Scheme is draining scarce resources away from the recession hit north, to wealthier parts of the country in the south.

Money for the new homes scheme is deducted from local council grants and then redistributed - not on the basis of need or population - but to areas where most new homes are built which largely depends on decisions made by private developers. Building firms meanwhile are unsurprisingly shying away from poorer areas that have been hit hardest by the recession and choosing to build in areas where the profit potential is greatest.

The union is demanding that the Government puts a stop to deprived areas being penalised in this way.

A table of individual councils across England shows the scale of the loss with more than 60 per cent of the money spread between London, the South East, East of England and South West. Among the top of the losers list are Oldham, Knowsley, Liverpool, Wirral. South Tyneside, Gateshead and Newcastle.

Oldham (loses £1 and gets back 0.11p) and Knowsley (loses £1 and gets back 15p), while the biggest winners are Uttlesford (gets back £19.34 for every £1 lost), Basingstoke and Deane (gets back £18.70 for every £1 lost) and Forest Heath (gets back £15.80 for every £1 lost).

Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:

It is grossly unfair that the Government is using its New Homes Bonus scheme to shift scarce resources from the hard hit north to wealthier parts of the south. Over 60 per cent of money is spread between London, the South East, East of England and South West. It cannot be a coincidence that the Tory heartland is where most money is being directed.

To most people it is obvious that private developers will be slow to build new homes in areas where the recession is biting deepest. What is less obvious is that the money for New Homes Bonus is deducted from the money that councils are supposed to get from the Government. It is being top-sliced from the formula grant and redistributed via the New Homes Bonus. And because it is distributed differently - not on the basis of need or population - councils in the south are getting much more than their fair share.

Fuel poverty !!

UNISON is calling for action not words from politicians to address the rising fuel poverty crisis facing families across the UK, following a new report from the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee today (20 December).

While the government’s own fuel poverty advisory group is reporting that another 300,000 families have descended into fuel poverty since last Christmas, UNISON has called the fact that families will be facing the Dickensian dilemma of ‘heat or eat’ in modern Britain a ‘scandal’.

UNISON’s national officer for energy Matthew Lay said:

“As Christmas draws near, families are facing a desperate situation fuelled by the greed of energy companies and government inertia. It is a national disgrace that in modern Britain families should face the choice of ‘heat or eat’. “Sadly the reforms promised in the government’s recent Energy Bill will actually make matters worse. The costs of implementing the recommendations are to be passed down to the consumer, adding yet more to already sky-high household bills. It also ignores the simple fact that profits and dividends among all the energy companies are on the increase and many of them are on the must-buy list of stock-broking firms.”

“Words are not enough, it is time for action.”

The union is calling for radical government action involving using some of the money it gets from carbon taxes to help make homes super-energy efficient – with excellent insulation, renewable energy and modern boilers. This would reduce energy usage, reduce bills and importantly put people back to work providing decent employment opportunities. It could start straight away and turn around the fortunes for families across the UK.

UNISON has seen increased demands on its own charity ‘there for you’ for help this winter and is providing help and assistance to many this Christmas.

UNISON demands 'Fair Pay Now'

UNISON, the UK’s largest union is calling for “Fair Pay Now” for council workers, as a new survey reveals that hundreds and thousands of workers are suffering from a whole raft of extra cuts to their terms and conditions.

On top of a three year pay freeze, the survey, which covers 264 councils across England and Wales, shows car allowances, weekend enhancements, overtime and mileage rates, as well as redundancy pay are being hardest hit. But significant numbers reported cuts to contracted hours and pay, shift and call out payments, bank holiday rates and 23% reported school staff being moved onto less favourable “term-time only” contracts.

Heather Wakefield, UNISON Head of Local Government, said:

“Local Government workers and their families are really hurting. The three year pay freeze means that, since 2009, pay has fallen by a shocking 13%.

“Our survey shows that, to add insult to injury, council workers are also seeing their terms and conditions being slowly but surely chipped away. Many of those being hit hardest are the low paid working in home and residential care as well as sheltered housing and schools, where shift payments are a critical element of their incomes.

“We are asking for fair pay now to restore pay levels and bring them in line with inflation.”

"Get into real world" - vicious council cuts will hit more vital services

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, is warning that the Government’s 1.7% cut to local authority spending power will have a devastating impact on council services and workers. The details announced by Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles of how much each council will be allocated out of government central funding, simply means more cuts, more redundancies and fewer local services for those who need them most.


Heather Wakefield, UNISON’s Head of Local Government, said:

“Local councils are already under the Government’s financial cosh and today’s cuts will push many more vital services over the edge. By 2013/14 the Spending Review will have cut grants to Councils by £4.3bn while handing companies £3.75bn in cuts to Corporation Tax, where is the fairness in that?

“Eric Pickles needs to get into the real world. Around the country Libraries, Day Centres, and Youth Clubs are closing, care is being rationed as eligibility criteria become ever tighter, and young people find careers advice has all but disappeared.

“The evidence of the damage on vital local services is now all around us and plain to see. The wrong choices are being made and the gap between Ministerial rhetoric and the reality of what is happening to public services simply gets wider. Ministers are out of touch with the lives of ordinary people and the day to day experience of those who rely on and deliver our public services.

“Using council reserves to pay for everyday services is bad financial management because once they are gone, that it is it – councils will have no financial safety net in case of emergency.”

The Spending Review in 2010 meant that for every £100 councils received in formula grant in 2010/11 they would get just £73.60 in 2013/14 and further cuts have been announced since then -that is before inflation is taken into account.

Notes for Editors

The Leader of the Local Government Association Sir Merrick Cockell says the cuts ‘are unsustainable’. The Leader of Kent County Council says ‘the tank is running on empty’ and Finance Directors call the cuts ‘appalling’

Government adds to fear in workplace

The announcement today that the Government is cutting the opportunity for consultation on large scale redundancies from 90 to 45 days, “Is a cruel blow for workers and their families” said Bronwyn McKenna, UNISON Assistant General Secretary. She went on to say:

“Cutting the opportunity for employers and unions to realistically explore alternatives and ways to avoid large scale redundancies is a retrograde step. It will mean the loss of more skilled and experienced workers to the dole. The recession has led to fear in the workplace and the Government is adding to those fears by cutting short the opportunity for meaningful talks to take place.

“Any worker facing redundancy needs time to plan, to mitigate the impact on them and their family finances. Making arrangements to cover mortgages or rent, sort out bills, re-train and apply for new jobs all takes time and this cut will leave families facing financial hardship.



“This process can also be used to cut pay and conditions through disreputable dismissal and re-engagement strategies. Halving the period for consultation gives greater license to rogue employers to attack wages.”

06/12/2012

A & E waiting times - UNISON response

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today warned that a rise in A & E waiting times will not only worsen, but will spread across the health service as the effect of Tory cuts and mismanagement of the NHS hits hard.

A major survey of more than 46,000 patients by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that a third spend more than 4 hours in A & E. In 2004 the figure was 23%. Waiting times to see a nurse or a doctor have also risen.

Only yesterday, the Chancellor was on his feet in the House of Commons claiming that the government was reducing expenditure on public services at the same time as delivering improvements. He cited waiting times in the NHS as an example of such improvements. This survey shows his claims need to be taken with a huge bucket of salt.

All ambulance trusts have to make around £500 million worth of cuts over the next five years. The NHS as a whole has to deliver £20 billion worth of efficiency savings in the lifetime of this parliament.

Christina McAnea, UNISON head of health, said:

“This survey shows that Tory claims that they are protecting our health service are worthless. Ask any nurse, healthcare assistant or midwife, they know what is standing in the way of delivering the best possible care to patients; Tory cuts.

“All across the country nurses and health workers are losing their jobs, wards are closing and now we know that A & E waiting times are rising – this is deeply worrying. It means that patients are suffering. Meanwhile, billions are being wasted on a chaotic and deeply unpopular top down re-organisation of our health service. This money should be spent on caring for patients.

“The government needs to start listening to the real health experts – health workers – and take action to protect the NHS before it is too late. This rise in A & E waiting times is just the tip of the iceberg.”

06/12/2012

Mutuals and co-ops report - UNISON response

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today welcomed a House of Commons report* into mutuals and co-operatives which highlights a dangerous lack of evidence for the government’s drive to promote the use of them in the public sector.

The report identifies that there are still very few examples of mutuals and co-ops in the public sector, particularly in local government. This exposes the government’s many claims about the benefits of mutuals and co-ops as worryingly unproven.

UNISON has long been warning that there are dangers lurking in the plans, and sounding alarm bells about the lack of evidence for the benefits that it would bring for local people and essential services.

Greater employee and service user involvement is the way to provide services which meet the needs of communities, but that this can be done co-operatively in-house, without the need to set up a new entity, fragment services and put staff terms and conditions at risk, said the union.

Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said:

“The government has been pushing the mutual and co-ops agenda hard as a new way of delivering local services. The dangerous lack of evidence for the benefits is deeply worrying. Their claims about the benefits are little more than warm words.

“At a time of slashed budgets, local authorities are desperately searching for ways to continue to deliver quality services. But we believe the principles of co-operation can happen within existing services - setting up complex and untested new structures in the current climate is a playing a dangerous game with vital services which people rely on and our members’ jobs.

“The report makes a number of recommendations to Government and calls on them to ‘take action to provide support’ if it wants more mutuals and co-ops to develop. Without this, the report is clear that this will not happen.

“In this sense, the report is a test – if the Government believes in genuine co-ops and mutuals as a means of improving public services, it will act. If not, the rhetoric which has surrounded this agenda will be consigned to history, along with other failed policy fads such as the Big Society

NHS suppliers - UNISON response

Commenting on research exposing the differing costs of medical supplies, Sara Gorton, UNISON Deputy Head of Health, said:

“It is a disgrace that medical suppliers should exploit the NHS by charging as much as they can get away with. NHS logistics was created to help bring in economies of scale, but that has since been privatised and it seems clear that the NHS and its patients are the losers.

“The unwillingness of Trusts to share information is part and parcel of introducing more of the culture of private companies into the NHS. Sharing information is key to extending good practice and patient care as well as getting the best value for money. Sadly introducing competition undermines willingness to do just that.

“Frontline’ is not just about clinical staff - research like this shows the important role in stopping waste that can be played by properly run finance and procurement departments with access to good quality information on costs.

“The NHS is under severe financial pressure because of the Government’s demands for £20bn in efficiency savings. More transparency in the marketplace would help to save jobs and reduce cuts which would be good news for patients, staff and the taxpayer.

Energy companies should pay their way - UNISON

A windfall tax on the billion pound profits of energy companies would be a vital step in reducing the UK’s financial problems, UNISON said today.

As British Gas owner Centrica looks set to announce £1.4bn profits, while simultaneously increasing prices by 6%, the UK’s largest union said the government should be looking at the balance sheets of energy companies to find alternatives to counter the austerity agenda.

Mike Jeram, UNISON head of business and environment, said:

“The billion pound profits of energy companies, announced at the same time as massive price hikes for their customers, are an insult to the many families who are struggling to get by as winter takes hold. austerity, it is only right that we ask big companies to contribute more out of their profits.

“The amounts of money being talked about are astronomical, and a windfall tax is just one way the government could intervene to take the edge off the cuts agenda.

“If these companies are going to continue to wring hard-pressed families for every penny they have, just to keep warm, it is only right that their enormous profits contribute to the society that lines their shareholders’ pockets.”

Centrica is the latest in a line of energy companies who have announced massive profits while at the same time inflicting substantial price increases onto their customers.

The union has already condemned energy firm SSE’s decision to increase bills by 9% while announcing £400m half-year profits, urging the government to make good on its promise to keep energy prices down as Winter begins to take hold.