UNISON Health Care Service Group
Conference:
Debate on "Partnership Working"
Report by Workers' Weekly Health Group
One of the most hotly debated motions at Conference was a
motion submitted by Newcastle City Health Branch on the New Labour call for
"partnership at work" which is also the call of the TUC leaders. The
main motion 28 Partnership in Action (printed below) was up against an
amendment 28.1 from the Service Group Executive that eliminated the clause of
the motion: "Real Partnership would involve the NHS being properly funded;
an end to low pay, privatisation and PFI. Real democratic partnership would
mean NHS workers, local users and communities deciding how health care is
delivered. Conference therefore instructs the SGE to campaign for a
democratically controlled, accountable NHS where partnership is between those
who provide the service and those who use it."
Whilst the amendment was passed by Conference, the motion
still highlights that the call for partnership is an insult to the members of
the union and the users of the NHS and this opposition to partnership at work
was strongly voiced by many delegates in the debate.
Moving the motion, a delegate from Newcastle City Health
Branch said that they were not accepting the amendment because of what it takes
out of the motion. He said that partnership should be an arrangement between
equals. He said that there was no partnership when it came to pay, to PFI
or the attacks on terms and conditions. He pointed out that what you see is
increasing attacks on health workers so it is important to be clear about where
this notion of partnership comes from. He said that the gap between rich and
poor grows wider and wider so how can there be a partnership between the rich
and the poor as Tony Blair says. He then pointed out that the Public Private
Partnership is not a partnership because it allows the private sector to cream
off the best bits of the public sector and run them for profit. "That is
not partnership, it is privatisation", he said. Conference applauded when
he said, "Ask the Rover workers about partnership and the 50,000 people
that could lose their jobs." He concluded by saying that it could be
called partnership when we have a democratically controlled, accountable NHS,
when they do what we say not what they say.
Bob Abberley, UNISON Head of Health, then spoke on behalf of
the Service Group Executive supporting the amendment. He reminded Conference of
the presentation to delegates by Andrew Foster of the Partnership Board of the
Confederation of Health Service Trusts. He focused on one thing that Andrew
Foster had said as important. That if things were so bad, which he accepted
they were at certain places, why were some people in the unions so frightened
at looking at a system that might make it better. Bob Abberley then remarked
that there were those that don't want better working relations, didn't want
partnership because it didn't serve their interests. He said that whatever
faults the government have, we have a better industrial relations. All we are
doing is showing that partnership working is good for trade union organisation
and we should grasp this opportunity so that we are in a position to deal with
the government. He said that if it didn't work, we could change it. He said,
"Partnership was a new opportunity and a new way of doing things which is
what our members want." He complained that John Denham, the Health
Minister, didn't get a round of applause at Conference when he said that as
part of partnership working it is essential that trade union representatives
have good time-off facilities and cover put into the workplace to allow them to
do it. That is partnership, he said. He concluded by saying that he
"didn't want us as an organisation to be seen as an organisation that
isn't prepared to look to the future".
Opposing the amendment, the speaker who followed said that
she resented being called negative and not wanting to improve industrial
relations in the NHS. She pointed out that you do not need partnership to try
and do that. She said you must look at the version of partnership that they
actually want. She gave examples, and said that this is in fact cuts by any
other word.
Another speaker then supported the amendment by praising his
Director of Personnel, a UNISON member, who had spoken at the TUC Conference on
Partnership. He called on Conference to support the amendment.
A delegate then spoke on behalf of UNISON South Tyneside
Health Branch supporting the main motion and opposing the amendment. He said
that delegates should consider that motion 28 was one of the most important
motions at this Conference. He said that he thought that it was a question of
principle about where the union stands on this question. He said that the
experience of his branch, like many other branches, was that good organisation,
partnership with the members, was a more relevant thing in getting the Trust to
listen to the concerns of the members. He said that of course the management
will listen to us on many questions, but he pointed out that all the time there
are three or four disputes running throughout the year. What are we going to do
– sign up to social partnership and say to the union members these
disputes can be placed to one side?
The delegate went on to say that it is very important to be
clear that the social partnership the government is calling for is not on our
agenda but on their agenda. He pointed out that they are trying to get workers
behind their employers in the global market at the expense of the national
economy, at the expense of their rights and interests. It is about turning the
public sector over to the private sector, he said. It is about getting rid of
any roadblock to their agenda. He reminded conference that the Health Minister,
John Denham, got so excited yesterday that the Whitley terms and conditions are
going to be scrapped in relation to what they have planned regarding
multi-skilling and more cuts for the NHS. He called on Conference to recognise
that the union must build its own arrangements, its own partnerships with the
members, with patients, with the poor who are getting poorer and not with the
rich who run society and are getting richer. He concluded by saying that the
union must fight for its own agenda, an agenda that was the right to health
care for everyone, that the debts of the Trusts should be written off and so
on.
Replying to the motion, the mover of the main motion from
Newcastle City Health Branch said that it was a complete red herring to say
that this issue was about trade union rights at work. He said
"partnership" would not stop PFI, and "partnership" would
not stop low pay. He emphasised in his conclusion that only strong unions would
do that. He said that it is us who have a better vision of the NHS, one that is
a democratic in which the users and the providers work together and where they
have control over the budget and let the management be juniors in that
arrangement and not the ones who call the shots.
After the debate, discussion on the important issues raised
continued in the hall and outside.
For Your
Reference:
Motion 28 submitted by Newcastle City Health Branch
PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION
This Government makes frequent references to Partnership
working. The reality in the NHS however remains anything but a Partnership.
Jobs continue to be lost, low pay remains endemic; our services continue to be
privatised, and PFI threatens tens of thousands of our members' terms and
conditions. The real increase in NHS expenditure remains little more than that
which we got under the Tory Government, and in Trust after Trust management
continue to act as if the NHS is their personal property, where budgets count
more than patient care. Under such circumstances talk of Partnership is an
insult to our members and the users of the NHS. Real Partnerhsip would involve
the NHS being properly funded; an end to low pay, privatisation and PFI. Real
democratic partnership would mean NHS workers, local users and communities
deciding how health care is delivered. Conference therefore instructs the SGE
to campaign for a democratically controlled, accountable NHS where partnership
is between those who provide the service and those who use it.
Amendment 28.1 from Health Service Group Executive
Delete last three sentences from "Real
Partnership…" and insert:
Conference welcomes the report of the Taskforce on staff
involvement. The recommendations contained in the report provide opportunities
to improve branch organisation, increase our member's involvement in the
decision making process and generally improve the working lives of our members.
Conference calls on all branches to press their employers to
implement the recommendations of the report and the action plan issued by the
national social partnership forum. Employers and Trade Unions must especially
acknowledge recommendation 2 of the report -
"Good industrial relations are key to delivering staff
involvement through effective social partnership at all levels."
Some examples of areas that Branches are already working in
partnership with employers include -
· Programmes to develop
leadership skills recognising the key role that Trade Union activists play at
local levels as leaders of the workforce.
· Frameworks for staff
rights recognising the key role of trade unions in promoting good industrial
relations.
· Funded protected time for
staff training including trade union education
· The development of family
friendly working practices
· Joint development of
policies for dealing with issues such as discrimination at work, bullying and
harassment.
Conference supports the idea of Regional tasks forces
consisting of management and trade unionists to provide a leadership role in
supporting and facilitating local trade unions and managers in adopting the
partnership approach to industrial relations.
UNISON branches should encourage employers to establish
personal development plans for all staff. A timetable for achieving this should
be set jointly with each employer.
Most importantly UNISON branches should seek to ensure every
trust complies with the recommendations that there are proper facilities and
time off for trade union representatives, including the provision of cover when
away from their usual place of work.
