Health workers organise for “no” vote on pay deal

Submitted by AWL on 25 April, 2008 - 9:20

Following the health conference of the public services union Unison in mid April, members have received ballot papers inviting them to accept or reject the Government’s proposed three year pay deal.

However, this is not just a rerun of last year, The conference agreed that union branches can produce their own publicity to explain the reality of the deal — pay cut after pay cut after pay cut!

Last year a campaign in the branches for a no vote had to be suspended after activists were threatened with disciplinary action. (Even then, a third of members voted to reject the deal despite the very positive spin but on it in the accompanying information).

About 100 delegates attended a hastily organised meeting at the conference to discuss organising the No campaign in their branches.

The proposed deal is well below inflation, but the union Service Group Executive (SGE) failed, on a tied vote, to make a recommendation against it. Then a motion for the conference to discuss and make a recommendation was ruled out of order.

The union leaders had to retreat last year’s position of calling for a consultative ballot.

The ballot material will tell members that this is “the best deal achievable by negotiation” and should be rejected only if they are willing to take industrial action. It is in substance an industrial action ballot — only, a majority to reject will mean not industrial action, but a further ballot on action.

Counter-motions calling for an immediate move to reject and ballot for action, and another motion from Scotland calling for a rejection of the three year deal and accepting only the PRB recommendation for this year, were both lost by a very narrow margin.

The consultation period should also be a start to the campaign for industrial action. No one expects this to be easy, but with the example of other public sector workers on strike members confidence can rise.

Industrial action can include and be started with a local work to rule, overtime bans, frustration of government target collection and other measures short of strike action, following the example of Irish nurses last year.

Pay can generate a united fightback from health workers, building on the myriad frustrations and disputes already to be found in most work places. Previously isolated groups, feeling powerless to challenge constant downgrading of posts and cuts in clinical standards, can find common ground in a campaign together on pay.

The conference also voted to turn the 60th birthday celebrations for the NHS, this summer, into a protest against privatisation. And large fringe meetings are finally becoming a part of the culture at Unison health conference.

The biggest was a meeting in support of Karen Reissmann, the Manchester nurse sacked for her campaign to defend mental health services. There was also a meeting about the witch-hunting against the left in Unison, with both Yunus Baksh and Glenn Kelly speaking.

What next?

l Advertise any local public sector pay meetings and rallies following the 24th April (NUT, UCU and PCS strike day) send a delegation and a message of solidarity. Let your members see it’s already a big campaign we’d be joining, and not something we have to do alone.

l Join the Health Activist e-list, which is already buzzing with information and ideas about how to organise a No campaign in your branch To join the health activists e mail list, just send a blank email to: healthactivists-subscribe@unionlists.org.uk

l Use it as an opportunity to recruit new members and identify new activists who will help take up the struggle. Map your hospital or work place, identifying key individuals in each ward or department who will take and pass on publicity and act as a link-person for the union.

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