Clare Williams reports on yesterday’s meeting of the UNISON Health SGE:
The White Paper, 'Liberating the NHS' being the biggest attack on the NHS since its inception will be robustly challenged by UNISON, the leading health service union. Already a judicial review has been accepted as legitimate and we are waiting for a date for UNISON's case to be heard. It is essential we use this time to get other organisations, particularly user groups to join us in this.
Under the banner of UNISON's Million Voices the health group has launched Our NHS, Our Future which will bring together broad alliances of public sector workers, users of health services, community and voluntary sector groups to build the biggest campaign to save the NHS in a decade. It is critical this campaign is part of our whole union response against the attacks on all public services and public sector workers. We need to get our message out to the wider public so communities understand the threat to their NHS.
We have made a good start, however we are in for the long term. Health branches are encouraged to mobilise health workers on the ETUC Day of Action on 29 September where there are activities taking place up and down the country. Health branches will build for the TUC week of action starting with a lobby of Parliament on 19 October, and take our message into our workplaces and communities.
This campaign needs to also connect with the attacks on terms and conditions, such as the current pay freeze ; pension review; and Foundation Trusts wanting to move away from national pay structures. We will lead the campaign to defend our members from these attacks.
Public sector workers are not the cause of the economic crisis and should not be asked to pay the price. It also does not make any economic sense to put thousands of public sector workers on the dole reducing taxation, and the ability of the private sector to grow.
We have the arguments, and the Health Service Group will be leading health workers in taking our campaign forward in our workplaces and communities to challenge the undemocratic policies of the Con Dem Government.
