10 days on since the NHS employers proposed a two-year block on incremental progression for 100,000s of NHS staff in England and in return offered no compulsory redundancies for part of the workforce and finally the media are reporting it as news;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/dec/19/nhs-salary-increments-job-losses
In some ways it could be seen as old wine in new bottles as senior NHS officials had announced their pay cutting intentions back in March:
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/03/19/54890/nhs-must-show-pay-restraint-to-save-jobs-hr-chief-clare-chapman.html
And in July the NHS Chief Executive used the occasion of the Tory NHS White Paper launch to call for greater flexibility in pay and redundancy terms:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/12/nhs-health-reform-andrew-lansley
Little wonder then that at a time when health workers see the NHS in England being turned upside down - with outsourcing being intensified across most Trusts and primary care services being marketised - growing numbers of health workers see the supposed guarantee of job security in return for pay cuts as a sick but very expensive joke.
UNISONActive invites reader responses on this important issue - Click here
See also
http://unisonactive.blogspot.com/2010/12/nhs-workers-to-consider-tough-choices.html
http://unisonactive.blogspot.com/2010/12/unisonactive-debatetough-choice-for-nhs.html
