Time up for PFI Pro£iteers in Lanarkshire

UNISON Lanarkshire Health Branch has launched a campaign to bring staff providing 'Soft' Facilities (catering, portering, domestic and security) currently employed by Serco in Wishaw General Hospital and ISS at Hairmyres Hospital back in-house.

The Branch has taken the decision after discovering that NHS Lanarkshire planned to rollover the existing contracts on both sites to the private pro£iteers who are currently operating them. The Health Board has 'bench-marked' the services in both hospitals against the in-house services at Monklands Hospital.

UNISON believes this 'bench-marking' exercise was a farce, who in their right mind would compare services currently provided at a dilapidated Monklands with relatively new facilities at Wishaw and Hairmyres. To be clear this is NOT an attack on the staff who provide a service in Monklands but more a comment on the great work they do in difficult circumstances in an extremely old building not fit for purpose!

UNISON has produced a PFI bulletin which we have directly mailed to all Lanarkshire MSP's and MP's along with a letter asking them to support UNISON's campaign to bring the staff back in-house were they belong.

The Branch has also produced a model letter for members, their families and supporters to send to local MSP's and MP's urging their support and a petition asking the general public to also support this campaign.

Let's be clear PFIs are bleeding Lanarkshire's NHS, its time to put a stop to pro£iteers draining OUR National Health Service.

Support our campaign You can support our campaign in a number of ways you can directly email NHS Lanarkshire Chairperson Neena Mahal Nina.Mahal@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk and/or Chief Executive Ian Ross ian.ross@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

Alternatively you can write to them both at: NHS Lanarkshire Headquarters, Fallside Road, Bothwell G71 8BB

PFI what to do with letter here

Print of letter to send to local politicians here

Print of copies of the petition here

PFIs BLEED THE NHS DRY! sticker here

UNISON PFI bulletin here

Video: The secret deal that threatens the NHS - TTIP

Cancer patient Paul Giles travels to Brussels find out how the new TTIP trade deal could threaten NHS services http://www.redpepper.org.uk/video-the-secret-deal-that-threatens-the-nhs/

Happy Birthday NHS - 66 today!

UNISON Lanarkshire health Branch wishing our National Health Service a happy 66th birthday today.

UNISON WIN THE FIGHT TO PROTECT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

UNISON members along with other ISS employees would have received a letter on 2nd July from Toby Pryor, Divisional Director advising that “there have been a number of rumours circulating recently in relation to ISS affecting changes to the terms and conditions of employees working at Hairmyres Hospital. "I can appreciate this is unsettling and I am therefore taking the opportunity to write to you to assure you this is not the case.” Mr Pryor goes on to state that “while ISS have been in discussion with national union representatives in relation to sickness enhancements, these discussions have been solely in relation to England and as such have no impact to employees working with us in Scotland.” We don’t mean to be pedantic about Mr Pryor’s letter however for the sake of accuracy and to ensure there is no dubiety we have printed extracts from the letter dated 7th May received by UNISON on the back of this newsletter. Contained within those extracts you will see that ISS planned originally to introduce these cuts at a UK level on 1st June 2014, hoping that the trade unions at a UK level would accept their proposals, which would impact on staff in Scotland. ISS subsequently agreed to hold off until 1st August 2014. On receipt of this letter UNISON published a bulletin to all ISS members within Hairmyres and a general bulletin for all other NHS staff—who were very supportive—to bring to their attention the proposed attacks on terms and conditions. We also sent a letter (24th May) to ISS at a UK level advising that we would NOT be accepting any cuts to our members terms and conditions and if need be, would take all steps available to us to fight them, if as they suggested they decided to implement the cuts regardless of the trade union position. Our letter to ISS was also copied to the Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire and our Branch Chairperson, Lilian Macer also raised the issue with NHS Lanarkshire. On Monday 23rd June, two UNISON representatives attended a UNISON ISS meeting in London to discuss the planned attack on terms and conditions. At that meeting ISS re-iterated that this affected contracts in England and only one in Scotland. Following that meeting UNISON advised ISS that any planned changes to terms and conditions would need to be negotiated at a local level i.e. Hairmyres site. On Wednesday 25th June, UNISON Regional Organiser, Robert Rae received an email from Paul Cronin, Employee Relations Director of ISS inviting UNISON to a meeting on 18th July to discuss their proposals in more detail. On Friday 27th June, UNISON took the decision to send out a consultative ballot to its members within ISS seeking guidance on whether you would be willing to take industrial action to protect your terms and conditions. We also issued petitions to members and stewards to raise awareness across NHS Lanarkshire about the proposals to your fellow workers, in the event that you needed support to fight these issues industrially. We believe as a consequence of the pressure brought to bare by UNISON—no other trade union did anything publically—including the subsequent consultative ballot which made ISS reconsider their proposals. We remain convinced that what we outlined was going to happen had it not been for UNISON’s intervention on your behalf. Nothing that UNISON issued therefore was factually incorrect. **************************************************************************** Extract from ISS letter dated 7th May The proposals affect all those operatives—Porters, Housekeepers, Healthcare Cleaners, Security and Catering staff—employed on Afc terms and conditions of service who are contracted to work at weekends or who do so on rosters including weekend work undertaken other than in overtime. They are employed across all NHS Trusts in England (NHS Board in Scotland) in which we are the Soft Facilities Management contractor. Our preferred method of implementation is, by agreement with the unions on behalf of the workforce. However should this not be possible then we will need to consider our options for implementation which, as a last resort, may require imposition of the change in relation to all affected employees. Our proposed timescale is to achieve implementation by 1August 2014. Chris Ash Head of Healthcare **************************************************************************** Organising in ISS As a footnote to this whole issue there is another trade union organising within ISS however they did not contribute anything to the fight that we are aware of, other than piggy backing on UNISON raising the issue at an NHS Lanarkshire Partnership meeting on Monday 30th June. UNISON Lanarkshire Health Branch continues to work on behalf of its membership within ISS, and would encourage you get more involved with the branch. If you have an enquiry or wish to speak to the branch, or get more involved please get in touch. Contact details at the bottom.

ISS update

UNISON Lanarkshire Health Branch has issued a consultative ballot to all members employed within ISS at Hairmyres Hospital. This followed on from the plans by ISS at a UK level to cut weekend enhancements from staff’s salary if they are off sick. UNISON believes this is an unacceptable attack on staffs terms and conditions which needs to be resisted. The consultative ballot asks members to confirm whether they would take action short of strike action or strike action in the event that ISS introduce these cuts. The Branch has also issued petitions to stewards and members asking that they urge the wider NHS family in Lanarkshire to sign the petition to demonstrate their support for their fellow workers in ISS. We would urge to sign the petition if you are asked.

UNISON warns of a major assault on public services as 60 per cent of cuts are still to come

UNISON Scotland launched a report today (25^th June)  – The Cuts Don’t Work: The impact of ‘austerity’ cuts on Scotland’s public services – showing what’s really happening to public services across the country.

The report highlights that Scotland’s budget is being slashed by more than £6 billion in real terms. Around 50,000 public sector jobs have already gone with a further 60,000 expected jobs expected to go over the next 5 years. And local authorities have little choice but to put up charges for services like school meals, burials and cremations, day care and home care rates as they attempt to balance the books as a result of the ongoing council tax freeze.

While the cuts affect everyone in Scotland, it is the most vulnerable who are hardest hit, as services are cut back, jobs go, pay is cut and living standards fall.

Lilian Macer, UNISON’s Scottish Convener, said: “It’s impossible to take this level of funding and staffing out of public services without serious problems arising over time. And 60 per cent of the cuts are still to come. It’s a major assault on services everybody relies on.

“Some problems may become visible suddenly and dramatically if something goes wrong, for example in food safety, or hospital cleaning where lives can be put at risk. Others may not be noticed in headline news, but are also deeply damaging to the people affected, their families and communities.

“It could be local libraries closing, or the rushed - and very impersonal – 15 minute care visits your grandmother gets, or children whose lives could have been helped and turned around with proper social work support and intervention. Then there is the isolation of people who relied on day care centres that have closed down.”

The report also looks at how the cuts are piling on pressure to overworked, underpaid staff across Scotland including in hospitals, schools, police support staff, colleges and the voluntary sector and it is bringing public services to breaking point. Some of the comments included:

o    “If I was given the time and energy to apply to the families that I work with I could change their lives forever, but currently we stick plasters on wounds that need stitches.”   Social worker

o    “Growing workloads are a real problem. We often have to work through breaks, or work late, just to do the job properly and deliver the right level of care.”   Community midwife

o    “It’s getting worse. I don’t know where it’s going to end, no one cares about the patient or client anymore.”   Home carer

Lilian Macer continued: “This report shows the damage cuts do to local communities, local economies and the fabric of our society. They are the result of decisions and choices made at every level of Government; local, Scottish and UK.

“We can afford public services. Cuts are neither necessary nor inevitable and UNISON will continue to campaign  for the properly funded and accountable public services our society needs.”

FAIRWARNING!!

View personal information without authorisation and you could face disciplinary action

NHS Lanarkshire has implemented a new communication plan which went live on 2nd December 2013.  Employees have been notified of changes through payslips and introductory events.

UNISON has highlighted how these changes would affect members through previous bulletins.

The new system went live on 2nd December 2013.  This system has provided NHS Lanarkshire with information which enables them to spot potential misuses of personal information and breaches of confidentiality.

Confidentiality breaches include:-

1.  Unauthorised examination of the records of famous or public figures
2.  Accessing your own medical record
3.  Accessing records of colleagues, friends, family or neighbours
4.  Using the login of a fellow member of staff

This is Fairwarning!!

for more information visit http://firstport2/staff-support/ehealth-ict or contact the local UNISON branch office unisonlanhealth@Hotmail.co.uk