A coalition of 13 health unions has warned that a combination of increasing demand, shrinking resources and the current pay freeze, are putting staff under severe pressure. According to the unions the impact of the proposed pension changes and the massive programme of NHS reforms in the Health and Social Care Bill, are adding even more to the stress felt by staff. In their joint evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body, the unions, which represent staff including nurses, midwives, paramedics, therapists, porters, cooks and cleaners, highlight increasing concerns about how they can maintain the quality of patient care. Christina McAnea of UNISON, which submitted the evidence for the Review Body, said: “Stability is vital in any workforce - more so during a period of change. The current turmoil in the NHS is undermining staff morale and threatening the delivery of high quality patient care. On top of job cuts and ward closures, growing waiting lists and an attack on their pension, staff faces a reorganisation on an unprecedented scale” (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 July-August 2011).
English: http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events/latest_news/pay_freeze_and_pressure ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/sep/20/unions-pay-rise-nhs-2013
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.