16. Trade union erosion?
London Board
(R) That this meeting of RCN Congress calls on Council to lobby to ensure that the power of trade unions representing health care staff is not eroded
Result
The resolution was passed.
For: 455 (99.56%)
Against: 2 (0.44%)
Abstain: 8
Debate report
RCN representatives used a debate on the erosion of the power of health care unions to highlight how their work makes a difference.
Proposer Andy McGovern, Chair of the London board, said organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry and the Tax Payers’ Alliance are campaigning to cut the powers of trade unions.
He highlighted the benefits of workplace representatives, saying: “The TUC found public sector trade union reps offer 100,000 hours of their own time every week and create savings to employers of £40 million by reducing the number of employment tribunal cases.”
Catriona Forsyth, Vice Chair of the UK Safety Representatives’ Committee, said having safety representatives will be vital to ensure the wellbeing of staff at work as the Government is proposing to reduce some health and safety legislation.
Jane Carroll from the RCN Wales board said partnership working between representatives and employers makes workplace changes work for the benefit of all staff.
And Susan Lloyd from the Lothian branch was critical of the organisations which say facilities time is a waste of public money. She said: “I am disappointed the Tax Payers’ Alliance is giving inflammatory information saying we are a tax burden.”
Background
In June 2010, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called for tougher regulations on industrial action ballots, seeking changes to voting rules so that strike action can only take place if 40 per cent of the balloted workforce - plus a simple majority of those voting - support this. The CBI argued that individual and collective rights introduced under the previous Labour government have made the British economy uncompetitive.
On 30 June 2011 several hundred thousand public sector workers went on strike in the first nationally coordinated action against the Government’s pension reforms.
Parts of the press (in particular, editorials in the Express and Times newspapers) took up the CBI campaign in the run up to the autumn 2011 political conferences. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, took the CBI proposals to the Conservative conference, arguing the restriction to the right to strike was needed in order to avoid disruption to the 2012 Olympic Games. Meanwhile, a London Underground strike, which coincided with the Conservative conference, was organised on the basis that a majority of the 33 per cent of those who voted were in favour of the action.
In relation to the 30 November 2011 strike over public sector pensions, the Prime Minister stated that the industrial action taken by public sector workers was the "height of irresponsibility”. However, trade unions and some media, including the Guardian newspaper, argued the strike action was the only route left to public sector staff to protest about changes to pensions.
The RCN did not take industrial action but supported protests on the day.
Trade union facility time is also under attack. Since 1975 trade union representatives have had a statutory right to reasonable paid time off to carry out trade union duties. However, the Taxpayers Alliance, in particular, has highlighted the cost to employers of providing paid time off to union representatives and sought to demonstrate that facility time is a costly burden to employers and has no business benefit. There have also been negative press stories, requests under the Freedom of Information Act to determine the cost to public sector employers of facility time, and parliamentary questions on the issue.
According to the TUC, of the 6.5 million trade union members in the UK around 200,000 carry out representative duties at workplace level, and these cover a range of demanding and often complex roles. Most RCN stewards and safety and learning representatives carry out their trade union roles in addition to their clinical roles.
Well embedded partnership infrastructures are in place in the NHS in England and each of the devolved countries, allowing for the effective representation of health staff on broader policy as well as employment relations issues. However, the issue of the perceived cost to the public purse of trade union partnership working has recently been highlighted in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
References and further reading
Milne, S. (2011) Five reasons public service workers are right to strike, Guardian 28 Nov. Available at: Five reasons public service workers are right to strike | Seumas Milne | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk (Accessed 27/02/12) (Web)
Milner, S. (2011) Open for business?: strikes in Britain, Political Insight, Dec. Available at: Open for Business? Strikes in Britain « Political Insight Magazine Dec 2011 (Accessed 27/02/12) (Web)
Trades Union Congress (2011) The facts about facility time for union reps. London: TUC Available at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/tucfiles/108/TheFactsAboutFacilityTime.pdf (Accessed 27/02/12) (Web)
