bluffed saying it has gone very well, the results are disturbing.
UNISON estimated that before the latest concessions
around 15 percent of workers in these areas required pay protection (which would translate to 150,000 workers across the NHS) which is significantly up on the 75,000 that the government was aiming for (they don't mention that in the press releases!) The latest documents on AfC suggest that even after the changes 7.5 per cent of the NHS 1-million workforce could require protection, 5 per cent of them for more than a year.
Prvate Eye revealed recently that in some trusts between 30 percent and 40 per cent of the workforce were downgraded under AfC. These job re-evaluations have led to significant disruption in trial areas. For instance 200 staff in Sunderland walked out in protest at being downgraded.
Health Can
In James Paget Hospital near Lowestoft, 29 percent of admin staff required pay protection.
The Dept. of Health admitted that "the numbers of staff requiring pay protection because of harmonisation of unsocial hours payments was higher than expected, particularly among the low paid".
Once you've decoded the management speak for cuts in pay and reducing the night work rate you begin to realise that everything was not rosy in the garden - but then managers don't work anti-social hours so it's not so bad is it?
Bizarrely UNISON's response was to say that they welcomed changes because AfC "will go some way to putting more money into the pockets of our lowest paid members."
Unfortunately this untrue. Many jobs will end up with pay below the low pay unit's 'decency threshold and of those who require pay protection (which incidently is temporary and does not apply to those recruited after introduction) the vast majority are low paid workers.
You may find it difficult to believe that this Labour government is introducing a and top consultants at the expense of maintenance and admin but there it is.
Even the attempt to introduce this on a national level will hit severe problems. The trial areas were given £80,000 each for this process, which was still difficult and time consuming.
Once the scheme goes national there will be no extra funds, meaning that existing resources will need to be diverted in order to implement this bureaucratic tosh. AfC is part of the government's plan to 'modernise" public services.
Many thousands of jobs that were once done by NHS workers are HOW done through contractors and agencies, at an increased cost and decreased service. It's also had an impact in some areas on union organisation.
This process will be further deepened by the introduction of Foundation Hospitals.
We have a deeply flawed deal (and there is no space to detail the difficulties with on call payments, short term pay protection, increase in working hours, etc.) and no comprehensive information on the outcome of the trials for people to base their decisions •Ol8.
The government cannot release these statistics because they will reveal that large numbers of low paid workers will receive significant pay CULO
You don't need agenda for change to do simple things like decent pay increases and reducing hours. Bring the privatised contracted services back into the NHS.
Let's try to retain staff without burning them out. Their agenda will inevitably lead to a two tier health system with 'choice for the rich and rubbish pay for the workers - Agenda for Change is an integral part of that and cannot be allowed to go through unopposed.
UNISON has called a special conference for 7th October followed immediately by a national ballot of all UNISON health workers.