August: it was no holiday

Think of August and you might well conjure up images of the seaside, country walks, ice cream, sunshine and holidays. And last month certainly continued the heatwave that started in July – but there was no lying on sun-loungers for UNISON or many of our members involved in key struggles at work.

The month was book-ended by continuing industrial action from Birmingham care workers, who face having their hours and pay cut by a city council trying to save money.

As the month started, general secretary Dave Prentis visited their picket line as 250 members staged the first 12 days of industrial action throughout August against the plans which could see workers on as little as £12,000 a year lose up to £6,000.

And as August drew to an end, 50 of the Birmingham workers travelled to London in the middle of a week of strikes.

The journey included a visit to UNISON Centre and another meeting with Mr Prentis.

With no change of heart from the Labour-controlled council in Birmingham, Mr Prentis pledged the full strength of the union to back up the strikers – most of whom are women – and said the union will take the dispute to September’s Labour Party conference.

And he assured the members: “We will win – we cannot afford for Birmingham council to win.”

Birmingham says it has to tighten the purse strings because of cuts in the funding it gets from central government.

And that is something that is affecting councils and local government as a whole – whether vital services such as home care or the local parks that have been a key part of enjoying the August sun for so many of us.

But nowhere have the cuts bitten deeper than in the crisis council of Northamptonshire.

Since February, the county has gone through a halt on spending, two budgets – after auditors warned the first was unlawful – a government inquiry, the appointment of commissioners, and reorganisation proposals.

And in August it confirmed cuts to services, which UNISON warned will “devastate lives”.

But as the general secretary wrote in his blog: “We will never stop fighting for better funding, better management and better pay for all our public services.”

And that determination to fight for our members was also on show when UNISON sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in the fight for care workers to be paid the minimum wage when working sleep-in shifts.

August was a busy in month for members in the NHS in particular. It saw UNISON Scotland health workers deliver a 94% yes vote in favour of a three-year pay deal which will see their wages rise by at least 9%, while members in Wales started voting on their own offer (the ballot ends on 6 September)

Throughout the month, and across the length and breadth of England, union branches continued their campaigns against plans to move health members to subsidiary private companies, set up and wholly owned by individual NHS trusts.

August saw members in Leicester and Mid Yorkshire celebrate after plans to change their employment were scrapped by trusts, following campaigning – including preparations for industrial action where necessary – by UNISON.

But in Bolton, the union is balloting members over possible industrial action over their employer’s plans to move them to a wholly owned subsidiary and in Teesside and Wearside, members were packing out meetings to make their “anger and disappointment” clear after the local trust announced plans to set up a private company to employ them.

In fact, the union has been standing up for members everywhere: whether announcing plans for an autumn industrial action ballot to win a decent pay offer in higher education or exposing – and making joint plans with employers to tackle – the scale of sexual harassment in the police service.

 

 

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Pay Up Now! – for the full NHS team

After negotiating a pay rise for staff who are directly employed by the NHS in England, UNISON is now leading the campaign to ensure the same pay rise is implemented for those staff who work in the health service but are employed by contractors and wholly owned subsidiaries.

In July, contractor reps, health activists and regional and service group delegations met to discuss the way forward.

Key to the campaign will be boosting recruitment among privately contracted staff, with improved density vital to our success.

We have produced materials to help with this and you can access them now at the links below.

Leaflet

Poster

Logo

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‘Think again’ UNISON tells North East health trust over subco plans

UNISON is calling on the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS trust to halt its plans to hand hundreds of NHS staff over to a wholly owned subsidiary company.

The call came as union members made their “anger, worry and disappointment” clear in a meeting with the union and Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald.

The trust’s plans involve transferring around 600 members of staff, including maintenance workers, porters, housekeepers and caterers, to a private company it has set up, called Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Estates FM Ltd.

But at a standing-room only meeting today, the workers said the plans leave them feeling undervalued and worried about their future.

Many of the workers who face being transferred out of direct NHS employment have worked for the health service for more than 20 years, but now feel both worried and upset.

“Listening to the anger, worry and disappointment of staff today really sent home a loud message that the trust needs to halt these plans immediately,” said UNISON Northern regional secretary Clare Williams.

The union has written to the trust, along with local Labour MPs from the Tees Valley, calling for an end to the proposals.

The letter warned that privatisation does not work in the interest of patients or staff, and cited the recent collapse of Carillion.

Labour MP Andy McDonald addressing the meeting

The letter also asked what  message the trust was sending to some of the most lowest paid staff if it was prepared to cast them out of the NHS family?

The union has launched a petition urging the trust not to go ahead with the privatisation, which has already been signed by staff and local people.

Further meetings with staff will take in the next few weeks ahead of a trust board meeting on 25 September.

“Staff should remain as part of the NHS One Team and not be hived off,” added Ms Williams. “We have heard their views and UNISON will give our full support to this campaign. We call on the trust to urgently reconsider.”

Mr McDonald told today’s packed meeting: “I am pleased to be able to show support to the staff and, along with fellow Labour MPs, will continue to urge the trust not to abandon these as they are not good for patient care or the staff providing services.”

UNISON Tyne, Esk and Wear valleys health branch secretary John Malcolm summed up the meeting as “a clear indication of members’ anger and upset. We welcome the support of local  Labour MPs to our campaign and call on the trust to listen to the strongly held views of their staff.”

UNISON campaign against wholly owned subsidiaries in the NHS

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Blog: Standing with home care workers every step of the way

Today, more than fifty UNISON home care workers from Birmingham visited the UNISON centre. It was a pleasure to meet them and talk with them about the strike action they’re taking to defend their jobs and their pay.

Their fight for decency has been long and hard. Today was their 17th day of industrial action, in a dispute that has lasted the best part of a year. No-one ever goes on strike lightly – especially when they’re low-paid workers. These care workers feel the impact personally – and know the impact strike action has on those they care for.

But they also know how important taking action is to defend their jobs – especially from triple shifts that would make their work days long and family life almost impossible.

And all of this the result of decisions by a Labour Council.

Of course, the cuts that local government faces as a result of austerity originate with the Conservative government in Westminster but the local Labour council in Birmingham shouldn’t be let off the hook – we won’t let them get away with this that easily. They need to be held account for their choices – and they are choices – to hit care workers so hard.

As a Labour member, I’m appalled to see a Labour council put these incredible public service workers in such an impossible position. And as your General Secretary, I’ll stand with home care workers every step of the way, demanding the council recognise their mistakes, and get this sorted once and for all.

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Prentis tells Birmingham care strikers ‘we will win’

“We will win – we cannot afford for Birmingham council to win.” That was the pledge this afternoon from general secretary Dave Prentis, as he welcomed striking Birmingham carers to UNISON Centre in London.

The strikers were taking their 17h day of action, as the city’s Labour council tries to cut their hours in a desperate attempt to save money.

Under the plans, which the council claims will increase ‘efficiency,’ carers would lose money. Depending on the hours allocated to an individual, that could mount up to £6,000 a year for a worker who currently earns around £12,000 a year.

Mr Prentis (pictured above with the strikers) said that councils across the UK were watching in the belief that, if a Labour council can get away with this, they will be able to as well.

To loud cheers, assistant general secretary Liz Snape said that the council seemed to have thought: “Let’s pick on the weakest group,” but “didn’t they pick on the wrong group?”

Mr Prentis pledged the full strength of the union to back up the strikers – most of whom are women – adding that UNISON will be piling the pressure on Birmingham council and taking the dispute to next month’s Labour Party conference.

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Bolton hospital workers’ pay ballot opens

Some 650 UNISON cleaners, catering staff, porters and security officers at the Royal Bolton Hospital will be receiving ballot papers over the next few days, as they vote on whether to take strike action over pay.

The union started sending out ballot papers today after local health bosses decided not to pay the wage increase agreed nationally for NHS workers, which would be worth nearly £2,000 this year for most staff.

The workers being balloted are employed by Integrated Facilities Management Bolton Ltd (iFM) – a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Bolton NHS foundation trust. They work at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

UNISON members will lobby a company board meeting scheduled for 4 September, calling on iFM to pay the nationally-agreed NHS rate and to apply for funding from the government to cover the cost.

They already have support from local MP Sir David Crausby and from 3,500 members of the community who signed a petition.

“Why should people who have been transferred to a subsidiary company get paid £2,000 a year less than colleagues on the same band who are employed directly by the trust?” asked UNISON regional organiser Tim Ellis. “This is a real injustice that must be addressed.

“Staff are very upset about the way they are being treated and they would be wholly justified in taking strike action over this issue. Staff work hard to keep the hospital working and they deserve more than poverty pay.

“The trust and iFM need to treat staff fairly and make sure that they get the proper rate for the important work they do.”

Previous story: Bolton hospital workers to ballot on action for pay parity (22 August 2018)

UNISON campaign against wholly owned subsidiaries in the NHS

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Bolton hospital workers to ballot on action for pay parity

More than 600 hospital cleaners, catering staff, porters and security workers in Bolton will begin voting next week on whether to take industrial action for fair pay and national NHS rates.

The 650 support workers are employed by a company called Integrated Facilities Management Bolton Ltd (iFM), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bolton NHS foundation trust. They work at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

They are not being paid the wage increase agreed nationally for NHS staff. While many hospital workers in Bolton remain on the national living wage of £7.83 an hour, staff doing the same role in neighbouring hospitals are now receiving a minimum pay rate of £8.92 an hour.

Over the course of a year, these members are losing out nearly £2,000 – because they are working for separate company set up and owned by the NHS trust.

A report published this week by the Child Poverty Action Group highlights that the national minimum wage rate paid to these workers  – which the government renamed the ‘national living wage’ some years ago – does not protect households from poverty.

It showed that a single parent is £74 a week short of the minimum income needed, while a couple with two children is £49 a week short.

UNISON notified the trust today that an industrial action ballot of the affected members will start next week, and that it could lead to strikes taking place from October.

“It should be an embarrassment to Bolton iFM and the trust that hospital staff are receiving poverty pay,” commented regional organiser Time Ellis.

He pointed out that the trust and its wholly-owned subsidiary could potentially access funding from the government to cover the costs of the pay rise, “but so far they have failed even to make an application to the Department of Health and Social Care for Bolton’s share of the money available to fund the pay rise.

“They need to take action urgently.”

The workers’ case is being backed by local Labour MP Sir David Crausby, who said in an open letter:

“Our NHS is made up of more than just doctors and nurses. Without the support of many other workers they would not be able to deliver high levels of care.

“I believe that all NHS workers, be they directly employed or part of a subsidiary company, should be entitled to the same standards, terms and conditions. That includes the right to a pay rise in line with annual pay awards and access to the NHS Pension Scheme.

“We have one NHS and one workforce.”

UNISON campaign against wholly owned subsidiaries in the NHS

Previous story: Yorkshire hospitals strike called off after trust halts privatisation plan (15 August 2018)

Previous story: Another subco stopped before it’s started (2 August 2018)

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Blog: You can attack us all you want – we aren’t going anywhere

Everyone who has ever received support from UNISON knows how vital our union’s activists are. In every branch, they are the beating heart of the union, UNISON members working tirelessly to support other UNISON members around the clock and all year round.

Without UNISON activists, there would be no UNISON.

And yet, year after year, our union and our activists come under fire from those who would strip many of them of the facility time they – and their employers – rely on. Once again, the so-called “Taxpayers Alliance” – who seem to oppose public spending more than they represent the majority of taxpayers – have turned their fire on facility time.

Yet, as those same activists and those who rely on them know, facility time is vitally important and poorly understood – not least because it benefits employers as well as workers needing representation. As outlined in the 2016 report “The benefits of paid time off for trade union representatives”, for every £1 spent on trade union facility time, taxpayers get “at least” £2.31 back. That’s because, as the same report shows, facility time leads to “improved staff retention, reduced illness and boosted industrial relations”.

Happier, safer, healthier staff. Lower staff turnover. All of which saves public services money.

Yet this facility time which saves so much money is apparently what the self-appointed representatives of taxpayers wish to cut back – an utterly self-defeating move that would end up costing the taxpayer more, not less. Of course, those who wish to attack trade unions and facility time don’t really care about saving money – they care about wiping out organised labour in this country, so that they and their ideological bedfellows can run amok in an unregulated, post-Brexit marketplace.

Well UNISON has a message for them. Public services have been put through the wringer thanks to austerity, but despite everything we’ve had thrown as us, we are still standing. Still defending rights at work. Still fighting for better pay and better conditions. We won’t be chased out of our workplaces and we won’t step back for the fights to come.

You can attack us all you want – we aren’t going anywhere.

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Scottish NHS members vote for three-year pay deal

UNISON members working for the NHS in Scotland have voted by 94% in favour of a new three-year pay deal worth at least 9% over 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The vote comes after a four-week, online ballot that gave 60,000 NHS workers the chance to have their say.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that 94% of UNISON members have voted to accept a pay deal which will put an additional £400m into NHS workers pay packets in Scotland,” announced UNISON Scotland health committee chair Thomas Waterson after the votes were counted.

“This deal delivers real increases of between 3 and 27% for NHS workers in Scotland.”

UNISON Scotland head of health Matt McLaughlin described the vote as “a good result for UNISON members and I am happy that across Scotland we reached out to and engaged with the vast majority of our members.

“Their decision is a ringing endorsement of the offer.”

The deal, negotiated with the Scottish government following the pay deal for NHS England workers, means:

• all NHS Scotland staff earning less £80,000 will receive a 3% pay increase this year backdated to April 1, with a payment of £1,600 for staff earning more than £80,000;
• the top of all pay scales will rise by 9% over the lifetime of the three-year deal (including 2018) or by £1,600 a year for scales above £80,000;
• larger increments and faster progression for staff not yet at the top of their pay band – worth between 11.3% and 27.7%;
• the removal of overlaps between pay bands, to ensure promotion comes with a proper pay rise, decreasing the risk of equal pay challenges;
• big improvements in starting salaries to help the NHS attract and retain new staff.

The deal applies to all NHS contractor staff, as well as those directly employed by NHS Scotland.

Read more on the UNISON Scotland website

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UNISON makes call for proper careers advice in England and Wales

UNISON congratulates the 300,000 young people in England and Wales who sat their A levels this summer and will receive their results.

The union recognises the work they put in for the exams, like their 139,000 peers in Scotland who received their SQA results on 7 August, and hopes their results are what they want.

The union also highlights the importance of UNISON members providing careers advice all year round, in schools and colleges, to help young people reach their potential.

In Scotland, UNISON members employed by Skills Development Scotland, have been busy using social media to make sure young people know about the help that is available to them, including a helpline and face-to-face support.

As many tweeters pointing out: “Don’t panic about exam results – call the helpline on 0808 100 8000 or visit your local SDS careers centre – http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/contact-us/ Careers Advisers can offer #examresultshelp! @unisonscot @unisonsds”.

The social media campaign, along with the exam results helpline, runs until the end of today.

But unlike Scotland, young people in England face a reduced careers advice service.

The contract to run the UCAS exams helpline was awarded on cost grounds to the National Citizens Service or NCS helpline.

This employs very few qualified careers advisers at level six or above, and UNISON is concerned that young people – many of whom will have to rethink their entire career plans – will not receive the level of advice they should.

Although call takers staffing the NCS helpline are understood to have received 15 days training, the union believes that this is no substitute for face-to-face guidance or telephone guidance from a careers professional.

Most students will need career guidance, not just some well-meaning advice as they face having to rethink their entire career plan.

“It looks like a missed opportunity to pull together an effective and coherent careers service that could provide proper independent and impartial guidance by qualified professionals,” comments UNISON national secretary Jon Richards.

“Only an effective, national, all-age careers service can address and reverse this trend.”

He called for careers advice to be directly provided by professional careers advisers, adopting the model used in Scotland “where they employ level 6 advisers on a wage commensurate to their skills, knowledge and expertise – while also providing mandatory continual professional development”.

“It is key that quality careers advice needs to be planned properly and funded adequately to help improve social mobility, reduce levels of inactivity through training or education, and lead to higher wages.”

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UNISON and National Police Chiefs’ Council to tackle worrying levels of sexual harassment

Police chiefs have pledged to act over high levels of sexual harassment among police staff working for forces in England and Wales, as set out in a report published today (Thursday) by UNISON, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Surrey.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) says the report highlights some ‘outdated and unacceptable behaviour’ that must be ‘rooted out’. Details include some police staff (4%) being pressurised into having sex with colleagues, or being told that sexual favours could result in preferential treatment (8%).

The findings are based on a survey of 1,776 police staff in England, Wales and Scotland.

The analysis of the findings is a joint venture between Professor Brown from LSE and UNISON, which represents police staff. UNISON is working with the NPCC to address and eradicate sexual harassment.

The survey showed that half (49%) the police staff questioned had heard sexualised jokes being told repeatedly at work. One in five (19%) had received a sexually explicit email or text from a colleague.

The survey also reveals that:

• a third (33%) have faced intrusive questioning about their private lives
• more than a fifth (21%) have experienced inappropriate staring or leering
• almost one in five (18%) have been touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable
• a similar percentage (18%) have seen colleagues make sexual gestures at work
• twelve per cent have witnessed/been the subject of unwelcome touching, kissing or hugging
• eleven per cent have been asked out on a date by a colleague, despite making it clear they were not interested
• six per cent have been sent an explicit poster or photo

In the vast majority of cases, the survey found that colleagues – either police officers or staff – had instigated the sexually harassing behaviour.

The LSE researchers found that the more serious the harassment, the less likely it was that the affected staff member would report it. Nearly two in five (39%) survey respondents said keeping quiet was easier than complaining, and more than a third (37%) said nothing would be done if they did complain.

According to 34% of staff, the gossiping culture at work meant they didn’t believe the matter would be kept confidential, and 32% felt they would not be taken seriously.

UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Sexual harassment has no place in the modern workplace.

“Perpetrators must be confronted and dealt with immediately. Otherwise their behaviour could escalate from filthy jokes to more serious forms of sexual harassment.

“No member of police staff should feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated at work. Employees who witness or experience this abhorrent and unacceptable behaviour need reassurance that they will be listened to, and believed, and that effective action will be taken to end the harassment.”

Professor Jennifer Brown, co-director of the Mannheim Centre at LSE who led the research, said:“This research finds levels of sexual harassment consistent with that reported in police forces internationally as well as other workplace surveys.

“This is a serious problem for police forces.  When staff are already under pressure, what they need is to be able to work in an environment that respects them rather than generates yet further stress.” 

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Professional Ethics, Chief Constable Julian Williams, said:“The UNISON and LSE research into sexual harassment among police staff is important. It shines a light on policing and finds some outdated and unacceptable behaviour that must be rooted out.

“This behaviour falls short of the high standards set in the Code of Ethics, which each member of the policing profession is expected to uphold.

“We invited UNISON and the LSE to speak to all chief constables about their findings in July. There is already good practice in forces with staff surveys to identify the level of unreported sexual harassment, training and campaigns but we need to do more.

“We have committed to developing a comprehensive action plan by October that addresses the range of harassment found. Some of the behaviour described is predatory and requires the strongest response from police with individuals removed from the service.

“Other behaviours like the repeated telling of sexualised jokes may not be malicious in intent but are misguided and damaging, and our focus will be on finding effective ways of challenging them.”

Notes to editors

–     An executive summary of the UNISON/LSE report Time to Stamp Out Sexual Harassment in the Police is available here.

–     The study focuses on what working life is like for police staff including police community support officers, crime scene investigators, clerks, fingerprint experts and detention officers. It does not look at the experience of police officers.

–     As of 31 March 2018, there were 77,348 police staff working for forces in England and Wales. They make up 39% of the total police workforce in England and Wales (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/18)

–     Two-thirds (66%) of the survey respondents were female and 34% male. Almost a third said the most extreme sexual harassment increased their stress levels (32%) and hindered them from completing their work (25%).

–     The authors of the main report are: Jennifer Brown, Ioanna Gouseti, LSE and Chris Fife-Schaw, University of Surrey

–     Professor Jennifer Brown is a co-director at the Mannheim Centre for the Study of Criminology and Criminal Justice at LSE. She was deputy chair of the Independent Police Commission led by Lord Stevens.

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) studies the social sciences in their broadest sense, with an academic profile spanning a wide range of disciplines, from economics, politics and law, to sociology, information systems and accounting and finance.

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Do you know a health hero and want to make sure they’re recognised?

Do you know a support worker in the NHS who deserves national recognition for their dedication?

Perhaps you’re one yourself?

Then the Our Health Heroes awards, organised by Skills for Health and the National Skills Academy for Health, could be just the thing for you

The awards recognise and promote the significant contribution support workers make in delivering patient care and celebrate those who take special pride in their roles.

So if you work in the health service and know anyone whose contribution to your team or department deserves special recognition, ask their manager to nominate them to be one of Our Health Heroes.

Nominations close on 16 September.

UNISON has been a key sponsor of the awards since they launched in 2016. This year, we are sponsoring the Operational Services Support Worker of the Year award.

Find out more

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Yorkshire hospitals strike called off after trust hats privatisation plan

A three-day strike by UNISON members at the Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, which was scheduled to begin on Monday, has been called off after the trust’s management lifted the threat of creating a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The trust had intended to set up the company and transfer the contracts of cleaners, maintenance workers, IT staff and canteen staff to it. The subsidiary could have then been sold to a private company.

But at a meeting earlier this week, director Mark Braden confirmed with UNISON representatives that the trust has stopped all work, on forming a wholly-owned subsidiary, with an agreed short statement clarifying that this was for “both now and in the future”.

Branch secretary Adrian O’Malley said that the trust knew that “the strike was going to be solid” after experiencing a tough reception at staff meetings that they had organised last week.

UNISON campaign against wholly owned subsidiaries in the NHS

Previous story: Another subco stopped before it’s started (2 August 2018)

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Coming soon: service group executive by-elections

By-elections are due to be held for 59 seats on the union’s service group executives or SGEs.

The nomination period will open on Monday 10 September 2018 and close at 5pm on Friday 19 October 2018. Procedures and nomination forms will be available to download from the UNISON website from 29 August.

Branches should ensure that the names of the branch chairperson and secretary are current and up to date on the RMS. This is because nominations will only be accepted if they are authorised by the branch secretary and branch chairperson, and these names must correspond with that recorded on the RMS.

If your branch is an RMS user this information should be entered locally. If not, please contact your regional office and ask them to amend their records as soon as possible.

For more information, contact the member liaison unit at the UNISON Centre. Telephone 020 7121 5399, email elections@unison.co.uk.

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Pension costs – are they transparent enough?

MPs are looking into pension fund costs and charges, and UNISON is asking members to fill in a survey on their pensions.

This will help provide information to be included in the union’s submission to the to the Commons work and pensions select committee, which is carrying out the inquiry.

The union has also produced a briefing on the issues, which will help members fill in the very short questionnaire. The more UNISON members who fill in the survey, the more evidence UNISON will have to inform the submission to the inquiry which ends on 6 September.

The survey is totally anonymous and no individual members’ data will be collected other than their answers to the six questions.

The inquiry by the work and pensions select committee  inquiry focuses on whether the pensions industry provides enough transparency around charges, investment strategy and performance to scheme members.

It  will look at whether enough is being done to make sure individuals:

• get value for money for their pension savings;
• understand what they are being charged and why;
• understand the short- and long-term impact of costs on retirement outcomes;
• can see how their money is being invested and how their investments are performing;
• are engaged enough to use information about costs and investments to make informed choices about their pension savings.

Download the UNISON briefing

Fill in the survey on pension fund costs

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Have your say on private tenancies

Do you have any views on how to make longer tenancies easier in England’s privately rented housing sector? Well UNISON is asking you to share them with the government.

Westminster’s department of housing, communities and local government is in the middle of a consultation over proposals on “overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector”.  As housing is a devolved matter in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the proposals and consultation only cover England.

UNISON has produced a briefing on the consultation – which ends on 26 August – and the issues, which union activists or anyone else responding to the proposals should find useful.

The union will also be submitting a full national response to the proposals. These cover making tenancies longer, for a minimum of three years, and whether to implement a new tenancy framework by legislation, by introducing financial incentives to encourage landlords or by using education to raise awareness and bring about behavioural change.

We are also encouraging members, especially those who are private tenants, to respond to the consultation and make their voices heard in the debate on housing policy

UNISON welcomes the proposals, while arguing that they deed to go further in providing private tenants with greater security and stability. The union’s full response to the consultation will can for a new tenancy framework based on the Scottish “private residential tenancy”, introduced by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act which came into force last year.

This is open-ended and provides tenants with greater security, stability and more predictability in their rent increases.

Download the UNISON briefing

Find out more about the government consultation, including how to respond, and download the consultation document

Scottish government page on the private residential tenancies

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Blog: Universal Credit is creating chaos in family finances

Millions of people on low incomes struggle to get by. They have little in savings. They budget weekly or monthly.

They just about manage, but they worry about the cost of living. Any unplanned financial changes – emergency car repairs, broken household appliances or a large gas bill – can throw their finances into complete confusion.

The last thing they need is for the government to create added chaos for them.

Yet that is precisely what Universal Credit is doing – creating chaos in family finances. People are suddenly finding that their Universal Credit payments either stop completely or fall dramatically simply because of the way they are paid. What’s more they can lose hundreds of pounds.

This is just one of the design flaws in Universal Credit that the new report from the Child Poverty Action Group focuses on.

When Theresa May became Prime Minister she told the nation ‘If you’re one of those families, if you’re just managing, I want to address you directly.’ She pledged that the Government she led would be driven ‘not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours’.

CPAG’s report shows that people not only lose hundreds of pounds but they may also lose free prescriptions and free school meals because of this design flaw.

UNISON identified this problem in 2016 when a member found her Universal Credit fluctuating wildly when her pay was constant. She couldn’t pay her rent and got into debt as a result. UNISON calculates that she lost about £600.

As part of our campaign we wrote to every MP in June. UNISON’s action in highlighting the issue and MP’s enquiries have forced Employment Minister Alok Sharma to admit there is a problem:

‘for some months these claimants receive two or more sets of earnings during one Universal Credit assessment period’ and that ‘this may reduce, or in some cases result in no award of Universal Credit being paid to the claimant that month’

Yet the Minister is not driven by ‘their interests’ to offer a solution. He simply claims that:

‘the government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with Real Time Information (RTI) guidelines in order to minimise these instances.’

UNISON has heard these claims before. When pressed for names, none are forthcoming.

With the migration of two million families on tax credits just over the horizon, this is further evidence that the rollout of Universal Credit should be halted until these design flaws are fixed.

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Blog: Why we’re fighting on over sleep-in payments

Last month the Court of Appeal delivered a ruling that was a hammer blow for thousands of care workers who work sleep-in shifts. The court has denied them the hourly minimum pay that is the very least that they deserve.

In the aftermath of that ruling, we made a commitment to those care workers – and everyone affected by this landmark case – that we would keep fighting for what is right. That includes continuing to fight on in the highest court in the land – the Supreme Court.

Today I’m pleased so say that we have asked the Supreme Court for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision. I know – and everyone who understands the work these care workers do, knows – that sleep-in shifts are working time and must be paid that way. If you’re not allowed to leave your place of work, are obliged to be away from your home and family, if you’re up and down all night caring for those in real need, then you’re at work and you should be paid for it.

The Supreme Court will now decide whether they grant us the right to appeal against the July decision by the Court of Appeal – and we’re hopeful that they’ll agree to hear our case. If they do, you have my personal commitment that every necessary resource from our union will be used in an effort to win another landmark case for working people in the Supreme Court.

Like on the Employment Tribunal Fees case, we believe that we have a strong case, with both the facts and what’s right on our side – and that’s why we’re fighting on.

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Northamptonshire County Council cuts will devastate lives, warns UNISON

Cuts confirmed today (Thursday) by Northamptonshire County Council will devastate lives and leave vulnerable people and their families without essential support despite denials from the Council, says UNISON.

The Council, which effectively went bankrupt earlier this year, held a meeting today about its on-going budget crisis but failed to reveal any further details. UNISON warns that this lack of transparency is creating an atmosphere of ‘fear and uncertainty’ for residents and for staff.

UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The situation in Northamptonshire is dire and an utter disgrace. The Council has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty for local residents and for staff.

“Local communities shouldn’t have to suffer because of poor financial management and bad decision-making by this council.

“For years, UNISON warned that the Council was taking a dangerous route with its extreme outsourcing policy which has contributed to it going bankrupt.

“Despite promises to keep the most vulnerable safe, it’s hard to imagine how worried families across the county are feeling.

“Residents at crisis point have little hope of getting any help from the Council. The criteria to access services will no doubt be severely restricted, and vital staff who deliver them cut.

“Our main concern is that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as councils up and down the country are facing huge cuts to budgets.

“The government now must step in, provide emergency funds and fulfil its duty of care to the people of Northamptonshire.”

Notes to editors
UNISON is the biggest union in local government, representing 750,000 council workers and school staff.

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UNISON seeks leave to appeal on sleep-in case

UNISON has asked the Supreme Court this week for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision that care workers’ sleep-in shifts do not count as work time and do need to be paid in line with the national minimum wage.

The Supreme Court will now decide whether to grant the union the right to appeal against the July decision by the Court of Appeal.

That decided in favour of an appeal from mental health charity and care provider, Mencap, against an employment appeal tribunal decision in April 2017.

UNISON took the initial case to an employment tribunal on behalf of care worker Clare Tomlinson-Blake. It argued that sleep-in shifts should count as working time, and should be paid at hourly minimum wage rates or higher.

Now, says the union’s head of legal services Adam Creme, “there will be a period of time when the Supreme Court considers the application, but it is reasonable to expect the court will agree to hear an appeal.

“Assuming this is agreed, UNISON will be taking the appeal forward and fighting for our members.

“We believe the Court of Appeal got this decision completely wrong and will do everything we can to reverse it.”

Campaign: Care workers – your rights (updated 08/08/18)

FAQs: What the sleep-in judgement means (July 2018)

Press release: Sleep-in shifts judgement is a huge mistake (13/07/18)

UNISON policy: Sleeping-in shifts and compliance with national minimum wage regulations (motion adopted at 2018 community service group conference)

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Inferior university pension plans must not become the norm

Support staff at two leading universities are facing damaging pension shake-ups, UNISON said today (Wednesday).

The changes proposed by The University of Manchester and Staffordshire University will mostly affect low-paid female staff such as cleaners, catering staff, and administrators.

At The University of Manchester, over 4,000 employees face having their pensions cut by 20%.

The proposals would also mean that for those already enrolled in the scheme, instead of receiving a pension based on their final salary, as is currently the case, staff would have their pensions calculated on a ‘career-average’ basis.

Staff joining the pension scheme after the changes come into force will have their pensions calculated by ‘defined contribution’, so what they get out will be determined by how the scheme’s investments have performed.

Meanwhile 576 members of staff at Staffordshire University will see their pensions moved from the Local Government Pension Scheme, which promises them a specific income in retirement, to a new defined contribution scheme run by the university itself.

UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “This is a disgraceful move by both universities, undermining the pensions of the lowest paid.

“It is deeply concerning that two leading universities are offering their support staff inferior pension plans. We must not let this become the norm.

“These new pension schemes will leave staff struggling to plan for retirement and significantly worse off in their old age.”

Notes to editors:
– Support staff at Staffordshire University will be taking strike action on 16 August.
– More than 400 members of staff at Manchester University have signed an online petition against the proposed pension changes.

Media contacts:
Anna Mauremootoo (National) T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07903 870786 E: press@unison.co.uk
Becci Dalton (West Midlands) M: 07956 852145 E: r.dalton@unison.co.uk
Peter Urwin (North West) T: 0161 661 6720 M: 07950 262 300 E: p.urwin@unison.co.uk

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Blog: Our whole union stands by our members in Northamptonshire

For years now, UNISON has been drawing attention to the disastrous mis-management, poor leadership and chronic underfunding of Northamptonshire County Council – and demanding change.

Northamptonshire has become a watchword for local government failure, and a salutary warning to those who believe that privatisation is the answer for local services. This is a council that has pursued an extreme low council tax, high outsourcing policy that has pushed the authority to the very brink – leading to a government investigation that recommended abolishing the county council altogether.

Yet as I wrote earlier this year – it’s also a council with incredible staff providing public services in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. UNISON members – a credit to our union – working tirelessly for communities that have been badly let down by local and national politicians alike.

Unbelievably, the council have now elected to heap further pressure still upon public services pushed beyond breaking point. The cuts under discussion could leave services in breach of the legal minimum local authorities must provide, or see them closed altogether. We know who will suffer – children and the vulnerable, left without the support they need. And public service workers once again forced to pay the cost of an ideological pursuit of low taxes and outsourcing.

Our whole union stands by our members in Northamptonshire as they fight for their jobs, their pay and the services they provide. We will continue to do so, through whatever challenges they face next. And we will never stop fighting for better funding, better management and better pay for all our public services.

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UNISON responds to CPAG report on Universal Credit failings

Commenting on a report published today (Monday) by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) on Universal Credit, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:

“It’s wrong that working people are losing money because of flaws in the system.

“This is causing chaos as this report starkly highlights. No family should be hundreds of pounds worse off just because of when they’re paid. It means they can’t budget.

“The government has created this mess and it needs fixing quickly.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON has written to every MP asking them to raise the issue with the secretary of state for work and pensions Esther McVey.
– UNISON first raised the problems around Universal Credit payments with the Department for Work and Pensions in 2016.
– The CPAG report is available here.

Media contacts:
Clare Santry T: 0207 121 5546 M: 07944 191479 E: c.santry@unison.co.uk

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‘You don’t achieve anything in the movement by yourself’

UNISON’s new president Gordon McKay is a mental health nurse from the union’s Ayrshire and Arran health branch. He’s been a member of the union for 31 years, having joined the NHS in 1987 and UNISON forebear NUPE on the very same day.

“In working class communities in Scotland, that’s what you did – you joined your union straight away,” he says.

But he’s keen to stress that joining a union was far from an unthinking action. “It was recognised that the best way to defend yourself was to defend your colleagues, in the knowledge that when the time came, they would defend you.”

It was always a conscious solidarity.

Gordon moved into his speciality of mental health nursing in 1988. He recalls: “I was on days off on Monday and Tuesday and on strike on Wednesday. My first working day in mental health was the 1988 day of action.”

He didn’t become an activist immediately, he says. He and his wife were just starting a young family at the time.

But Gordon does remember, very clearly, the incident in the early 1990s that led to him becoming more active.

‘I just thought, I ain’t putting up with any of that’

A young colleague was being dressed down by “a relatively junior” manager.

“He gave her an absolute hell of a bollocking in the middle of a corridor. And that was because she had nipped off for five minutes to use the phone.

The woman’s two-year-old daughter was at home with chickenpox, being looked after by her grandmother. “She phoned to see how the wee one was. And we got this tirade. You know: ‘You should consider yourself lucky to have a job and if I see you using a phone again without getting my permission you won’t have one’.

“She was a young girl and she was in tears, she was distraught. “I just thought, I ain’t putting up with any of that. And if I can help people who either want to challenge that sort of behaviour or just need someone to talk to, then yeah, that’s gonna be me.”

That refusal to stand by when he witnesses injustice, or people in need of solidarity, is still there three decades later.

‘To have no hope, no aspirations, no dreams, when everything’s just about the next plate, must be a hell of a way to live’

Gordon McKay was elected UNISON president by the National Executive Committee (NEC) at the end of June’s national delegate conference.

It’s traditional for presidents to nominate a charity and use the increased profile of their presidential year to raise awareness and funds for their chosen cause. Though Gordon hasn’t yet settled on the specific charity, he knows the cause he will be supporting.

“It will be mother and newborn baby support in sub-Saharan Africa, probably Malawi,” he said.

“I was sitting with my daughter about six months ago watching a programme on TV [on the issue]. I remember saying to her: ‘I wonder where these people will be in a year’s time’. And she said: ‘Well, we know where most of them will be. Most of them will be dead’.

“I think that to have no hope, no aspirations, no dreams, when everything’s just about the next plate, must be a hell of a way to live. And anything, anything we can do just to make that slightly better…”

As “president of the biggest union in the UK” he is in the perfect position to help make things more than slightly better, both for people on the breadline in sub-Saharan Africa and for those working like himself in vital public services in the UK.

So does Gordon have any specific targets or goals for his year as UNISON president?

“I’ve always thought, whether as an activist or a member, that setting yourself goals for what you want to do in your trade union does not work,” he says.

“Because the reality is you don’t achieve anything in the trade union movement by yourself. What you do, is you achieve it with other people.

“What I would hope I can participate in achieving with others is probably twofold.

“The first would be to continue to make the case with the public for public services – to get the message across that it’s public services that hold our society together, and how they do that.

“And the second, I think, would be to continue to be part of UNISON’s Pay Up Now! campaign, to get back some of the £18,000 that’s been stolen off our members over the last seven years to pay for the greed and incompetence of other people.”

Gordon is joined on the presidential team by senior vice president Josie Bird (pictured above with Gordon at national conference) and junior vice president Sian Stockham.

Josie is a local government worker from Newcastle, where she has worked as an administrative officer for the past 17 years. The secretary of the union’s Newcastle City branch, she also chairs the NEC’s finance and resource management committee.

Sian is a support care worker from Abergavenny. She has been a member of the NEC since 2005, where she holds the seat representing fellow low-paid women members in Wales.

Photos: Steve Forrest

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Higher education members to be balloted on strike action

UNISON’s Higher Education Service Group Executive (HESGE) is to organise a national industrial action ballot after over two thirds of those members who voted in a recent branch consultation, rejected the national pay offer.

The ballot, taking place in the autumn, will call on members to vote to take strike action to improve the current pay offer and seek to co-ordinate strikes with other HE unions.

As the Trade Union Act requires a 50% turnout to ensure any subsequent strike action, the HESGE will be asking for national and regional resources to be dedicated to supporting the ballot and getting a high turnout.

The ballot is likely to take place in late September/early October with regions working with branches during the remainder of August to ensure that records are up to date in preparation for the ballot.

The HESGE will be strongly campaigning to get members to vote to take action and we will produce updated materials and resources to support the process in due course.

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Another subco stopped before it’s started

UNISON members at the University Hospitals of Leicester were celebrating this week after being told that they won’t be transferred to a wholly owned subsidiary company.

The proposal in Leicester would have seen members who currently provide services in-house being transferred to a separate company (subco).

UNISON branch secretary Mandy Marsden said: “This is a magical moment for us.

“We were called into a meeting on Monday and informed by the Chief Executive that the subsidiary will no longer be going ahead because they have not got permission as an NHS trust. Something that we have been telling them in negotiations.

“This is a fantastic victory for us and our members. However, had they listened to us in the first place it could have been sorted long ago.”

The victory in Leicester follows a UNISON-led victory at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Foundation Trust last month that saw plans for a ‘subco’ dropped after sustained action from UNISON members.

However there are plans for subcos at other hospitals including Chesterfield and UNISON’s general secretary Dave Prentis has previously talked about the threat of subcos: “They’re a threat to jobs and terms and conditions. They’re a slippery slope towards backdoor privatisation.”

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Northamptonshire County Council plans are going too far, warns UNISON

Plans by Northamptonshire County Council to announce yet more cuts and closures to services will leave the most vulnerable people in the county with nowhere to turn, says UNISON today (Wednesday).

The Council, which effectively went bankrupt earlier this year, has called an emergency meeting this evening.  At this, it’s likely councillors will announce cuts that could leave services in breach of the legal minimum local authorities must provide, or be closed altogether.

There are fears too, says UNISON, that councillors could be gearing up to announce huge cuts to the wages of council employees.

UNISON branch secretary Penny Smith said: “The County Council is once again letting the most vulnerable people in the county down, and putting their health and well-being at risk.

“Despite the best efforts of Council staff to keep people safe and provide services under difficult circumstances, local residents will increasingly struggle to receive the most basic of services. And attacking employees at a time when the Council is already relying on their goodwill is a disgraceful move. 

“This has now gone too far. The Council is at risk of failing to keep children and vulnerable people safe. This could cost lives.”

UNISON is calling on the government back up its intervention with emergency funds to pay for basic services, and fund the staff that provide them.

Media contacts: 
UNISON Northants County branch secretary Penny Smith M: 07890 260634 E: branch.secretary@northantsunison.co.uk

UNISON national media team:

Fatima Ayad T: 0207 121 5255 M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Justice restored

It’s one year since UNISON beat the government at the Supreme Court and forced an immediate change in the law.

The case made headlines. Now we can tell the full story of how David beat Goliath. It’s a remarkable, epic tale that spans over four years. And it’s all true.

We hear from the people who made it happen and the ordinary members who are currently fighting for what’s right, thanks to that famous win.

If you ever want to know what difference your union makes, you just need to read this…

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Drop in criminals facing court as police lack resources to investigate

In the twelve months to March 2018, just one in 11 reported crimes ended in court, while in 2017 it was one in eight.

UNISON analysis of the data shows that one reason for the drop is that police are struggling to find enough evidence to convict criminals. From 2017 to 2018 there was an 18% rise in criminal investigations closed because of ‘evidential difficulties’, figures from the Home Office show.

Of the 4,877,000 crimes reported in the twelve months to March 2018, nearly one in 10 (9%) were closed due to a lack of evidence. Cases closed for evidential difficulties are often a result of victims not supporting further police action, but our analysis shows that for one in three of these cases, the victim did want the case to proceed.

Other reasons for cases being closed without a conviction are the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or the police deeming the investigation ‘not in the public interest’, offenders being too ill or too young, or settlements being made outside of court.

UNISON national officer for police and justice Ben Priestley says: “We have heard over and over again that police forces lack people power. Police officers, police staff and PCSOs have all been cut since 2010, and it all has an impact on what police forces are able to achieve.”

This comes at a time when police forces are struggling under the pressure of austerity, with many senior police figures calling for an increase in funding.

Durham police force solves crimes at a consistently high rate compared to other police force areas. Roy Collins, who works for Durham police and is the UNISON branch chair, says part of the reason is the force’s investment in PCSOs: “The primary role of a PCSO is to be a visible presence within local communities, and the fact that minor crime levels and anti-social behaviour crimes are falling year on year confirms the trust that the communities have in our PCSOs.”

Volunteers on the rise

The police workforce in England and Wales has seen an overall drop of 18% since 2010, which includes a 15% drop in police officers, a 21% drop in police staff, and a massive 40% drop in PCSOs. This comes amid a growing trend in police forces relying on volunteers, sources have told UNISON.

A snapshot analysis of jobs posted on the website allpolicejobs.co.uk on Saturday 28 July shows that over 1 in 10 (11%) jobs with police forces are unpaid.

These unpaid roles include a volunteer firearms training administrator in the Hampshire police force area, CID support volunteers in both Derbyshire and Leicestershire and a volunteer domestic abuse perpetrator assistant in Thames Valley.

Mr Priestley comments that the drop in the police workforce is now beginning to have an impact. “We’re seeing crime figures going up, solved cases going down, and it’s because of the reduction in staff.

“It is extremely worrying that police forces appear to be making up for the loss in paid staff by hiring volunteers who are not accountable in the same way as staff on the payroll.”

Visit our police workforce tracker to see how the police workforce in your local area has changed since 2010.

The Home Office did not respond to our request for comment on the figures.

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Meet our NHS

Kalliopi Kolagki, front centre, with colleagues at Watford General          © Jess Hurd

Kalliopi Kolagki is a nurse in the Accident and Emergency ward of Watford General Hospital. Originally from Greece, she’s been in Watford for 18 months and is one of hundreds of EU workers on the hospital staff. She’s enthusiastic and professional, and speaks of her experience as “very positive”. But she also has a very particular anecdote that speaks volumes about today’s NHS, for good and ill.

“On the shop floor – that’s how we talk of A&E – I’ve seen  a certain change of behaviour since Brexit, from patients and relatives,” she says. “Because nowadays, they usually ask you where you come from.

“We had one patient, she was elderly, with back pain, who kept on saying, ‘I’m not going to receive care from anyone who doesn’t come from this country’. To be honest, A&E is multi-cultural. Italian to Spanish to Indian – you name it, we have it. And it was kind of impossible to find anyone who wasn’t from somewhere else.”

If Kalli was offended, she’s hiding it with laughter. “We did eventually find someone English for her. We don’t throw people out.”

Watford’s branch secretary Jason Flintras, who is also a nurse from Greece, estimates that more than 50% of all the hospital staff – and 60% of the nurses – are EU workers.

“I hear lots of people saying, ‘European people come and take our jobs’. But I don’t see many British people willing to get involved in nursing, I don’t see many British people willing to do the housekeeper’s job, the cleaner’s job. It’s not that we come to steal the jobs – the vacancies are there, we just apply, and there isn’t enough competition. I think [NHS trusts] would hire anyone applying for a nursing job as long as they are qualified.”

Jason observes that “no sane person would consider committing to nursing with the conditions that you have at the moment in the UK”, citing the government’s removal of the NHS bursary for nurse training and the under-staffing and stress of the job itself. Ironically, what is deemed a poor prospect for British people is an opportunity for someone from Greece, Italy or Spain – whose governments pay for their training but can’t employ them. “So in a way the UK is benefitting from those countries’ distress,” he says.

This has been one of the conundrums of Brexit: the people whose lives have been thrown into disarray by the decision to leave Europe are essential to our public services.

And Jason asks a question posed by many of his colleagues on the wards: “If one day all the European nurses had to be deported, who would look after the patients?”

There are still negotiations about how this process will be, and UNISON gives us the voice in those negotiations

The general acceptance today is that EU workers will not have to leave the UK after Brexit. But despite government assurances, it’s understandable that many of those staff at Watford General continue to have questions and concerns.

How do they register for what the government is now calling ‘settled status’? What happens if they make a mistake or don’t have the documents to prove their time here? What happens to their workplace rights? Their families? How will racism and discrimination develop in a country in this new era of ‘us and them’?

And if the British government could change its mind about the Windrush generation, how can Europeans feel any more secure?

No workplace illustrates the benefits of the European workforce, and the uncertainty caused by Brexit better than the NHS.

Hospitals like Watford clearly couldn’t do without its team of trained and conscientious healthcare professionals. But it was recently reported that almost 10,000 EU NHS workers have left since the Brexit vote. One in five European doctors have made plans to leave the UK. And official figures have shown that the number of nurses from the EU registering to work in the UK has dropped by 96%.

One additional reason for the drop-off in nurse registrations is the Nursing & Midwifery Council’s introduction, in the same year as the referendum, of the IELTS language test for EU nurses which, by all accounts, has been near impossible to pass.

Jason, whose English is impeccable, has nevertheless struggled with it himself, meaning that he remains a transitional nurse, without the pay and career progression that would come with registration.

It’s a dilemma that affects a handful of the staff UNISONmet on the wards – young people who were approached by recruitment agencies in their own countries, invited to work in the UK but given obstacles to progression and, with Brexit, doubts about their future.

 I believe that the NHS is one of the greatest healthcare systems in the world, so I said to myself – why not give it a go?

But Jason remains determined and pragmatic. He joined UNISON because he saw the union trying to make sense of Brexit for its members, then started campaigning himself for the rights of EU citizens, and is now branch secretary.

Right now, his chief advise to his NHS colleagues is to follow suit.

“Try to get a bit more involved. Lots of people who are affected by Brexit didn’t get a chance to vote and have their say. But through UNISON you can interact with MPs, you can lobby, you can demonstrate, and you can educate others about how Brexit will affect them.

“Everyone has to go through the settled status process. And the more active and involved they are with the union, and express their worries and their feelings, the easier it is for us to take their issues to a higher level.

“There are still negotiations about how this process will be, and UNISON gives us the voice in those negotiations.”

Mia Magklavani, 29, paediatrics staff nurse, from Greece

Mia had been working as a nurse in Greece for six years, when she came to the UK in December 2016.

“I came here to develop and become a better nurse. I believe that the NHS is one of the greatest healthcare systems in the world, so I said to myself, ‘Why not give it a go?’ And it was a good decision.

“I do feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work in a paediatrics ward. Caring is great, but the fulfilment that you feel is greater when you’re helping a child. And I definitely don’t want that to end.

“Before I came to the UK, I had ex-colleagues who were already here. They were settled, they liked the environment, they said people were accepting of us coming from other countries. But that was way back, before the volcano of Brexit.

“As a person I try not to over-worry. But I’ve started not feeling safe, in a way. It’s been hard work to get where I am. I just wish things will develop in a way that means I will be still be able to do what I love and offer all that I can.”

Ioannis Bastas, 29, orthopaedic charge nurse, from Greece 

Ioannis is on his second period in the UK. Previously he worked in a London care home. He has been at Watford General since February 2016.

“I was assigned to this ward because of my previous experience in a care home. The ward is mostly elderly people, with fractured hips. Many have dementia. They need reassurance, and you need to be patient with them.

“I really like working with elderly people. Each patient is different, each is quite challenging. Even small things make them happy, and the smile they give you is a big reward.

“The NHS needs people, they need foreigners. I don’t think we have any English nurses on my ward – we have Spanish, Italian, Indian, from the Philippines, Romania. Only one staff member is English.

“So I’m not concerned, because if they let everyone who is not a UK citizen leave the NHS, it would just collapse.”

Roberto Nuzzi, 28, assistant practitioner in endocrinology, from Italy

Roberto came to the UK in January 2017, immediately after completing his nursing training in Italy. Like many, he has had his progress blocked by his difficulty in passing the IELTS test. He came with his partner, who is working as a waitress.

“I applied for a band 5 job. This is 4. I was assured the test was easier. Honestly, IELTS is a nightmare, it has a fail rate of 90%.

“That test has just been replaced. The problem is the new one is four times more expensive. It’s £400. And I have to study on my own because they don’t provide us with courses.

“Brexit scares me a lot because my plan was to come to UK, develop my job and build my family. So when you discover that you may not have rights in the country you have chosen to live in and you may be discriminated against – even if it’s not on purpose – you don’t know what to do.

“People who have lived 10, 20 years in this country are just leaving. So I’m thinking: am I not catching the danger signals?”

Cristiane Soares, 44, housekeeper, from Brazil

Cristiane is Brazilian, but came to the UK in January 2016 with her Portuguese passport, which she has through her grandfather. Her husband works as a finance assistance at a nearby school. They have two sons.

“I was a civil engineer in Brazil for eight years. We left because of the violence. My oldest son, he was 15, was robbed five times coming back from school. I had the chance to live here. I knew it was possible to have a job like this and survive.

“I didn’t come here for the money. I just came here for the quality of life. And for me it’s good, because my son can go out safely at night and I can sleep. And my younger son, who is just six, has been discovered by a Chelsea scout – I’ve never seen a kid play football like him.

“This country gave me a possibility to survive and to have security for my sons. And they are having a good education here. Day by day our life is going to improve. I’m hoping that when my English is better I can start to do a better job.

“I don’t believe that they are going to make Europeans leave. I’m just worried about my [eldest] son. If he wants to go to university I don’t know if he will be have access to university loans. The loan now is for people who are working in EU countries.”

Jan Frydrych, 19, healthcare assistant, from Poland

Jan moved to the UK when he was 10, with his mother, step-father and sister. He’s been a healthcare assistant at Watford since April 2017.

“I would say Britain is my home. I have all my friends here, all my colleagues and most of my family are here. I’ve grown up here, I’ve learned here, I developed here. I’m a bit concerned about what’s going to happen after 2019, but I’ve been here for a while, so I guess that’s better than for some.

“There have always been one or two [racist] comments. But there’s been an increase, in general, since Brexit. And there are so many of us Polish people here. I think people are scared of those numbers.

“Some people believe that Britain ‘will be British again’. But what does that really mean? I think America and Britain are alike in that way, there are so many different cultures, and so many different people who became American, became British, it’s a big, big family.”

Omar Federico Ficarra, 24, transitional nurse in the acute admissions unit, from Italy

Omar has been a transitional nurse at Watford since January 2017. He too is having difficulty passing his language test and therefore becoming a registered nurse.

“I came here because of the unemployment in Italy. It’s very difficult for nurses to find a job there. I saw an advert on a website, for a job in Watford, had an interview and passed. So I jumped on this adventure with my girlfriend. She is also a transitional nurse, on another ward.

“The multi-culturalism is something I actually love about this country, and this hospital. Because it’s not something that is common at all in Italy, in Italy we have almost only Italian staff, Italian nurses, doctors, whatever. Here instead I can see many other realities. I’m very happy with it. To me it’s a step forward for a culture. I prefer it.”

Antonio De Martino, a senior staff nurse in A&E, from Italy

Antonio (above, with A&E colleague Kalliopi Kolagki) served in the Italian army, before changing career to nursing. He worked first in Italy, and has been at Watford General for three years. 

“A&E is the only place, the only job, the only lifestyle that makes me feel that I’m doing the right thing. It makes me feel that I can actually make a difference for people in need. You have to be spot on, on top of the wave all of the time.

“This job has given me the opportunity to do a lot of things. Right now, I’m buying a flat. Because the NHS is so short of healthcare professionals, I don’t worry that my job is at risk, or that I am at risk. Whatever happens, you are useful. I know my knowledge, my skills and capabilities, my motivation – and these make me feel safe.”

Elisavet Karampasidi, 23, transitional nurse on a surgical ward, from Greece

Elisavet had the foresight to take her language test before leaving Greece, only for the Nursing & Midwifery Council to lose her documents. As a result, she has been unable to register for more than a year.

“My ward is general surgery, light orthopaedic and urology. I like it because it’s fast and you have a plan – patients are pre and post op, they go, they come back, you take care of them, they leave. It’s a fast process and every part of it has to hit the mark. And I find it fascinating.

“I would be happy here if I had my [registration] pin. I have support from the hospital to understand what went wrong and to get registered finally.

“What scares me is the unknown. When the time comes I will just have to decide if I’m willing to accept the changes and try to preserve my life, my job, or that it’s not worth it and I should go to another European country, or back home.”

Mariana De La Rua Rico, maternity ward clerk, from Spain

Mariana has lived in the UK for 15 years. She worked first in hospitality and then, on returning to work after having two children, she joined Watford General. Her husband is a general manager in a hotel.

“I first came here because I wanted to improve my English. I got a return ticket for six months, but then I met my husband here. He’s Dutch, and this is common ground for us, speaking English and not each other’s language, so we decided it was a good place to stay.

“At first I found the EU referendum shocking. I thought, ‘Really?’ England is one of those countries with a good economy, which receives immigrants to work here. I don’t think the vote was necessarily against anybody coming to the country, it was more about politics and how things are run. At the same time, who are the easiest to blame – the weakest, the newcomers, the ones you can identify as not yours.

“I’ve never been afraid that I couldn’t stay, because I’ve been here a long time, I own a house, and I’ve kept most of my paperwork, just because I’m like that. But other people don’t – your P60s, your P45s, all those things, you don’t keep them. And when Europeans came we came legally, and we didn’t need all that. Now they say you need to prove you’ve been here for five years. It’s the same as Windrush – it’s a bit too late.

“But actually, we are leaving. My husband was not happy in his job and started looking for something. And he found a job in Holland.

“He was looking for a job at the same level as here in the UK. Although he has a lot of experience, and had a lot of interest, it always came back to ‘thank you, but no thank you’. Because employers are unsure about how it’s going to pan out with Brexit, it’s easier to go with the English person than with the one who has to have a visa to stay.

“Our kids speak English. And if you ask them, they say ‘I’m British’. But now they need to learn Dutch.”

What now? 

The government has said that all EU citizens and their families who have been in the UK for five years by the end of 2020 will be able to apply for ‘settled status’, which will allow them to continue living and working in the UK indefinitely.

Those who have been here for less than five years will be able to apply for a temporary residence permit until they have built up enough years to apply for settled status.

In June, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that the government’s “default” position would be to grant, not refuse such applications.

However, UNISON remains cautious. Questions remain about the application process. And EU citizens could still be at risk if the UK government and the EU fail to reach a final deal by Brexit day on 29 March 2019.

UNISON is recommending that members do not voluntarily register at this stage.

What they can do is keep as many documents as possible showing the continuity of their time in the UK. We suggest using the settled status checklist provided by the3million on its website: www.the3million.org.uk/checklist.

We are also updating our guidance Getting Ready for Settled Status to assist the union’s EU members, which will be available on the UNISON website and sent to branches in due course.

Images: © Jess Hurd

The article Meet our NHS first appeared on the UNISON National site.

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