Union welcomes end of Dorset County Hospital's involvement with consortium

12:10pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

Unions protesting about Dorset County Hospital's involvement with the consortium last year Unions protesting about Dorset County Hospital's involvement with the consortium last year

UNION leaders claim staff at Dorset County Hospital’s morale has been boosted by the end of its involvement with a controversial pay consortium.

The Dorchester hospital was one of 19 across the South West collectively looking at pay, terms and conditions.

Unions reacted angrily to the move, claiming the move could disadvantage staff from the region if measures proposed by the consortium were introduced.

The Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's board has now considered a number of recommendations put forward by the consortium, which largely advocate the need for employers and staff representatives to work together to implement national pay conditions agreed under the Agenda for Change banner.

However, it did not support a recommendation to reinstate the consortium approach in the future and recognised the end of its work.

The hospital's director of workforce and human resources Mark Power said: “The consortium has been useful and productive in drawing attention to the need to reform elements of the national pay systems and in influencing recent developments in this area.

“The board reinforced its support for nationally negotiated terms and conditions and recognised the end of the consortium's work.”

Unison area organiser for the South West Jon Dunn said: “Unison members told us that the trust's membership of the pay consortium meant staff felt betrayed and devalued.

“Unison has campaigned hard on this issue.

“This decision has boosted staff morale with our members feeling the trust has recognised their exceptional commitment to patients, and clearly shows that the trust recognises the value of national pay and conditions for NHS staff.”

Regional secretary for Unison Joanne Kaye added: “This is great news for our members and shows the success of Unison's ongoing campaign against regional and postcode pay.

“These are exceptionally difficult times, but with the threat of regional pay no longer hanging over members' heads, Unison looks forward to working with the trust to face up to the challenges they are facing as a result of the coalition government's austerity policies.

“We applaud this move by the Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.”

Regional organiser for the union Helen Eccles said the move highlighted the importance of national pay negotiations that were conducted between unions and NHS national employers.

She added: “Locally, members are delighted that the shadow of local pay has been lifted so they can get on with doing their job just looking after patients.”

Comments(5)

patience567 says...
12:22pm Thu 14 Mar 13

My father received excellent care for a life threatening heart attack at Dorset County Hospital so I think they are worth it. And housing round here is expensive.

Report this post »

JamesYoung says...
12:23pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Probably not the right time to be doing this, but regional pay is important i think. There is no good reason why a doctor in a poor part of the country should be paid the same as one in a rich part of the country because the cost of living may be different.
A plumber can earn £100k in London. I suspect he'd be lucky to earn £40k around here.

Report this post »

dontbuyit says...
1:09pm Thu 14 Mar 13

JamesYoung wrote:
Probably not the right time to be doing this, but regional pay is important i think. There is no good reason why a doctor in a poor part of the country should be paid the same as one in a rich part of the country because the cost of living may be different.
A plumber can earn £100k in London. I suspect he'd be lucky to earn £40k around here.
And why shouldn't nurses and doctors doing the same job and paying the same to be trained, get the same pay wherever they are in the country. If we switch to regional pay they will all just migrate to the best paying cities, and rural areas like this will be left short of the skilled staff needed. Plumbers are not a good comparison,a burst pipe is not a life or death situation.

Report this post »

MaidofDorset says...
2:06pm Thu 14 Mar 13

The danger arrises when house prices are expensive and the wages low compared with other areas.

Newly qualified staff who have already left home to train will go to the area which will give their families a good standard of living.

Report this post »

Hateignorance says...
6:49pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Regional pay penalises students who have to pay off loans; it legitimises supply and demand differentials across the country; it leads to migration both internal and external; it puts pressure on certain areas of the country to find housing or leads to long commutes; it leads to a shortages and thus puts peoples lives at risk... We already have a postcode lottery in the health service (inverse care law) where poor areas have long waiting lists because too many health professionals are concentrated in more affluent areas.
The only way that regional pay can be advantageous is if pay in less affluent areas is higher than others to entice more doctors, nurses etc away from middle class enclaves.

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree