Unison: 'amount of extra time that staff donate to trusts is staggering' (From Bournemouth Echo)
When news happens text pix and video to 80360. Start your message with BE then leave a space.
Unison: 'amount of extra time that staff donate to trusts is staggering'
10:48am Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News
STANDING TALL: Union members paraded outside Poole Hospital waving giant invoices
UNION members paraded giant invoices at two local health trusts to draw attention to the extra hours they say staff are putting in to keep frontline services going.
Public service trade union Unison used the trusts’ own figures and a survey to work out that staff at Poole Hospital donate more than £6.5million worth of time above and beyond their contracted hours every year, while staff at Dorset HealthCare Trust donate nearly £9.8 million.
Both are among 19 trusts in the south west pay, terms and conditions consortium, set up last year. Unison calls the organisation a “cartel” and fears it will be used to drive down pay in the region.
At the moment, health trusts stick to nationally negotiated agreements.
The consortium is chaired by Poole Hospital chief executive Chris Bown. He is due to lose his job under plans to merge his trust with that of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals, which has already opted out of the consortium. Another absentee is South Western Ambulance.
Mr Bown said: “Staff at Poole Hospital work extremely hard to ensure our patients receive a first rate service, and this contribution is recognised and valued at the highest level.”
Helen Eccles, Unison regional organiser, said: “We have long campaigned against trusts in the south west seeking to reduce terms and conditions for hardworking staff.
“The figures are quite simply staggering and we believe are even that is on the conservative side. We want to make clear to managements that it is not only staff goodwill that they put at risk but there is also a financial cost to the trusts.”
Comments(9)
Dr Strangelove
says...
11:55am Wed 30 Jan 13
s-pb2
says...
12:16pm Wed 30 Jan 13
Marcus James
says...
12:50pm Wed 30 Jan 13
Perhaps the Poole NHS Trust should parade their own massive invoice showing the costs of sickness absence and long term sick, the cost of the higher than private sector pensions that they are forced to pay.
Maybe then we would see why the NHS is in the mess it is.
The unions are no better than our politicians when you see what they cost to run and the wages paid to the two-faced leaders and management committees.
Hessenford
says...
1:12pm Wed 30 Jan 13
Marcus James wrote:The Unions role is to be the voice of their members not the people.
If only the unions would keep their beaks out of everyone’s business and stop trying to be the voice of the people! It’s the unions that have cost so many NHS jobs and strained resources by pushing for increases and better conditions many of which are abused by the non-genuine staff.
Perhaps the Poole NHS Trust should parade their own massive invoice showing the costs of sickness absence and long term sick, the cost of the higher than private sector pensions that they are forced to pay.
Maybe then we would see why the NHS is in the mess it is.
The unions are no better than our politicians when you see what they cost to run and the wages paid to the two-faced leaders and management committees.
NHS jobs have been lost because of the ever increasing pen pushing jobs created which have nothing to do with patient care what so ever.
The rest of your comment show that you have no knowledge of what its like to work in the NHS.
muscliffman
says...
1:18pm Wed 30 Jan 13
Maybe the Union and their front-line staff should be making more of an issue about the recognised excess of unproductive pen-pushing back room fat-cats in the NHS - trouble is perhaps these too are in the Union.
ab8
says...
2:55pm Wed 30 Jan 13
Dr Strangelove
says...
3:01pm Wed 30 Jan 13
muscliffman wrote:Yes but the fat cat pen pushers are there because of the fake internal market forces system set up under the thatcher government.
Naturally we all should applaud these front-line people's dedication.
Maybe the Union and their front-line staff should be making more of an issue about the recognised excess of unproductive pen-pushing back room fat-cats in the NHS - trouble is perhaps these too are in the Union.
Phixer
says...
4:19pm Wed 30 Jan 13
When I go into large unionised companies on business I can see how the unions have hamstrung their members by making the business uncompetitive by high labour costs.
How many union officials lose money or benefits when they call their members out on strike? None that I can think of.
Cerdicjute says...
11:34am Wed 30 Jan 13