New Unite NHSBT Branch Blog

This is the link to a new branch blog:  unitenhsbt.posterous.com/

In theory, all branch members should be able to post to it once their email addresses are authorised.

The old blog will continue to run in parallel.

Pay Cuts Continue

With the announcement of a two-year pay freeze for NHS staff earning over £21,000 and only a £250 yearly pay rise for those earning less than that, The pattern of real term pay losses is set to continue.  The last three our of four years have seen real-term pay losses.  The latest inflation figures show an increase in the Consumer Price Index of 3.2% and the Retail Price Index (the figure used in all pay negotiations) is now 5%.  Even for the very lowest paid NHS staff, the £250 pay rise equates to a 2.5% rise, still below both measures of inflation.

With increases coming soon for pension contributions (and remember, pensions are just deferred pay) NHSBT staff will be even worse off.

This blog has moved

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Myths About Public Sector Pay

A good article by Polly Toynbee in yesterday's Guardian debunking the myths being spread by the right-wing press about our terms and conditions.

Margaret Haywood Re-instated

Margaret Haywood, the nurse who was struck off the register (on the grounds of breaching patient confidentiality) for taking part in a Panorama programme that highlighted poor patient care has been re-instated and instead given a one-year caution.  All credit to her union, the RCN,  for supporting her.  Unite also issued a statement of support (see previous blog post).  It is unfortunate that one of the other major health unions actually supported her original punishment.

Cycle to Work Scheme Approved

After months of persistent campaigning by Barry Maguire and David Linsey, the NHSBT has now signed up to the 'Cycle to Work' scheme. This is the arrangement that allows you to get a loan of up to £1000 for a new bicycle and accessories and pay this loan back through salary sacrifice. This means that you pay the loan back from your gross salary and you save on income tax, national insurance and pension contributions. For a standard rate taxpayer, you can save nearly 40% of the cost of the new bicycle and accessories. This compares very favourably with the current loan scheme which will save you around 0.5% over the period of the loan.

Due to the length of the tendering process, the scheme won't be up and running until April 2010. This is a positive step by the NHSBT but it is only a start. To wean staff off their cars, the facilities offered to cyclists and walkers need to be improved with proper changing rooms and showers at all bases and centres. While we often say that donors expect higher standards at our venues, it is equally right that staff should expect higher standards at our workplaces. It is not right that staff are forced to wash and change in the toilets after they cycle to base.

Petition for Margaret Haywood

The Royal College of Nursing is hosting an online petition in support of Margaret Haywood who was struck off the nursing register for breaching the rules on patient confidentiality. 25,000 signatures have been added so far. As more details emerge about this case, the action of the NMC seems even more unjustified. Ms Haywood has had the support of her own union (the RCN) and Unite.

Unite Statement on Margaret Haywood

Unite has released the following statement concerning Margaret Haywood, the nurse who was struck of the register by the NMC after she exposed poor care at her hospital in Brighton. Of course, the NMC claim it was for breaching confidentiality (the same charge levelled against Graham Pink twenty years ago) and not for highlighting the poor care the elderly were receiving at her hospital.

There is also a letter of support from Professor PJ Barker, a fellow of the Royal College of Nursing.