NMC increase in fees

Background

Despite already increasing the registration fees for nurses and midwives in 2012 from £76 to £100 the NMC have announced that they want to further increase fees by 20% to £120 in 2015.

UNISON is opposed to the increase and is campaigning against it. Over 100,000 people have already signed the online petition

 https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/60164

UNISON Lanarkshire Health Branch is calling on all nurse and midwife members to write to the MP and ask for their support in our campaign to oppose the increase.

The Campaign

It’s quite simple. over the next few months UNISON will be out and about in every workplace encouraging nurse members to sign up to our campaign.

We will have packs of standard letters for you and your colleagues to sign, if you are a UNISON member we will post them on to your MP for you.

Alternatively you can use the template letter (cut and paste) below and the following web link to write or email, to your MP direct at the House of Commons.

At this stage we are not targeting MSP's because the issue of NMC Registration and Fees is still reserved to the UK Government.

In addition Branch Secretary Mary Samson is writing to every MP in the Lanarkshire area asking them for their support. Who knows one or two might even agree to meet with UNISON members to hear their views - if they do we will keep members on our email list posted.

Not on our email list? You can make sure you are kept up to date with all of the big issues affecting UNISON members simply email us at

unisonlanhealth@hotmail.co.uk

with your name, address and email and we will amend your records to make sure that you are included in our regular email communications to members.

You Can Find Your MP here...

Before you start you will want to find out who your MP is. You can use your postcode to find the name of your MP here..

http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/

Template Letter

<<insert your name>> 

<<Address>> 

<<Postcode>> 

<<Your MP's name >>

House of Commons,

London SW1A 0AA 

<<insert date>>

Dear  MP

I am seeking your support as a local constituent and one of 670,000 nurses and midwives working in the UK in our fight to scrap further NMC fee increases.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator for nurses and midwives on the UK. It is illegal to work as a nurse or midwife without being on the NMC register. In order to be on the register, all nurses and midwives must pay an annual registration fee. The NMC maintains this register in order to 'protect the public'.

The NMC has again proposed an increase in registrations fees, this latest increase will see fees rise from £100 to £120 per annum, a 20% hike. The last increase was in 2012 following a consultation in which nurse and midwives were overwhelmingly against the rise from £76 to £100, a 32% rise, a total increase of 52% in two years. At this time the NMC was bailed out to the tune of £20million by the Government only two years later they state that without a fee increase the NMC will end the financial year with a £7.3 million deficit. This report was tabled at the January council meeting of the NMC. Over 670,000 nurses and midwives pay the annual fee currently totally £67 million. 77% of registrants fees are spent on 'fitness to practice'.

Health Christina McAnea, UNISON Head of Health has said that

“it beggars belief that the NMC should even consider asking nursing staff to pay such a massive increase in fees.  The family budgets of many nurses and midwives are under severe pressure and one more bill to pay can all too easily tip them over the edge, especially as it comes on the back of the recent pay announcement. Public protection is everyone's business and the full financial burden shouldn't fall to registrants alone.”

I write today to ask for your help and support, to ask questions of the NMC and their financial mismanagement.

Kind regards

Finally

Contacting your MP is just the start of the campaign, if your MP is in touch with you, let us know what she/he says - send a copy of their letter or email to UNISON at the contact details at the side of this website.

You could even write to your local newspaper or to the NMC direct

NHS strike ballot

Delegates at UNISON’s annual health care conference in Brighton have this week given an overwhelming ‘yes’ vote to an industrial action ballot over pay.

Speaker after speaker, angrily condemned the UK Government’s decision not to pay the full Pay Review Body award to NHS staff in England.

The UK government will only allow the pay award to be paid to staff at the top of theirincremental scale. And to add insult to injury, the pay rise will be non-consolidated. All other staff will not receive the pay award. This means

that 60% of NHS staff and 70% of nurses in England will not get any pay award this year.

Christina McAnea, UNISON’s Head of Health, said: “Demand for NHS services is increasing and funding has been cut regardless of what the Westminster Government says and they want you and our members to make up the shortfall by cutting pay and conditions.”

“We face a Government in England deliberately provoking us into a dispute and so no doubt they are already preparing for this. So we must

be prepared.”

The strike ballot will go ahead in England, but talks will be held over UNISON’s position in Scotland because of the different approach being taken by the Scottish Government.

Spanish Civil War Memorial unveiling in Motherwell - Saturday 20th July

On Saturday 20 July at 1pm a memorial to the International Brigaders from Lanarkshire will be unveiled in the Duchess of Hamilton Park in Motherwell. Funds for the memorial have been raised No Pasaran Memorial Committee North Lanarkshire. Contact no.pasarannl@yahoo.co.uk for more details.

Bedroom Tax Conference Saturday 29th June

There have been many comparisons made between the Bedroom Tax and the Poll Tax. Most of these are misplaced. The bedroom tax is much, much, worse than the Poll Tax.  Unlike the Poll Tax it only affects the poor  - and is specifically designed to drive them from their homes.

It is, as the STUC put it, “unfair, immoral and frankly absurd policy that will do nothing to improve the housing crisis that exists in this country”. There are there are steps that Councils and the Scottish Government can take but frankly we can’t rely on them. So the finale of the Austerity Uncovered tour the STUC are calling a Anti Bedroom Tax Conference in Edinburgh this Saturday. Try and be there.

The Spirit of 45'

It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a  time when Britain responded to crippling debts and chronic daily hardship with a decisive move to the left: nationalising industry, building council houses and creating brand new public services from scratch.

The fact that it’s hard to imagine now is exactly why Ken Loach has made ‘The Spirit of ’45’.
The film is at its most emotionally powerful when talking about the foundation of the NHS.
Harry Keen tells of when, as a junior GP, he visited a family on the day the NHS came into being. He had previously left some medicine for a child with a cough. I said, “How’s little Johnny?” And Johnny’s mother said, “Oh he’s fine.”

And I heard a lot of coughing and spluttering at the top of the stairs. I said, “He doesn’t sound terribly good, would you like me to go up and see him?” She said, “No, I’m sorry doctor, we can’t afford it.” And I said “Today, July the fifth, it will cost you nothing.” And I was able to go up, and I’ve never forgotten that moment in my life.

Later we hear about how the NHS is now being privatised in England.

 Extract of an article at:
www.redpepper.org.uk/days-of-hope-the-spirit-of-45
Spirit of 45
Film 4 at 9pm Tonight
www.film4.com/reviews/2013/the-spirit-of-45

1% Pay Rise Delayed

The 1% pay rise awarded to over 155,000 NHS Scotland staff has been hit by further delays.

The pay rise was due to be paid in April but health workers will now have to wait until June for the extra money in their pay packets.

Although the pay rise will be backdated to April staff may have to wait even longer for back payments.

Willie Duffy, Head of Health for UNISON Scotland said: "Clearly this is unacceptable. We signed off a circular instructing health boards to implement the pay rise, three weeks ago.

"I was assured the pay rise would be in the May pay packet. Our members will be angry about this given that they have had the pay rise in England, the North of Ireland and Wales and we are still waiting."

"I am going to be writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Alex Neil, to express my anger at the way the whole process has been handled and the fact we were assured it would be paid in May. I will be asking for an explanation from him as to why it has not been."

Hundreds of health workers win backdated maternity leave public holidays

Women health workers in Scotland are to receive backdated public holidays they were wrongly denied while on maternity leave.

NHS mums, including nurses, physiotherapists, cleaners, midwives, admin workers and other staff, could receive up to seven days if they were in full time posts. Women who have had more than one period of maternity leave since 2008 would be due backdated holidays for each period.

UNISON, the public services union, took up the case after the NHS employees, were told they could not accrue public holidays on top of their annual leave, while they were off on maternity leave.

Willie Duffy, the UNISON lead on the NHS, said that management conceded an argument first raised and won by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde UNISON branch.

He said: “As a result of UNISON’s efforts, potentially hundreds of women in the NHS will be getting back some backdated annual leave that they were refused previously.

“We knew that we were right to argue this should apply Scotland wide. The employers have agreed we were correct and agreed to implement it from April 2012. However, at first they would not backdate this any further.

“I am pleased that the employers side has now accepted that they made a mistake which they are committed to fixing and will backdate it to April 2008.”