04.03.13
South West pay consortium publishes full proposals
The South West Pay, Terms & Conditions consortium has published its business case to save tens of millions of pounds by urging workers to give up holiday entitlement, earn less for night shifts and work extra hours for free in exchange for keeping their job.
The plans also include lower sickness pay, shorter holidays and locally-set pay rates for some consultants.
Northern Devon Healthcare Trust, however, has become the latest to withdraw from the controversial consortium.
Chris Brown, chief executive of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, has led the consortium’s work and says that without “radical action” to cut costs, 6,000 jobs could be at risk. Terms and conditions should be a lever to raise standards in the wake of the Francis report, he says.
The proposals will now be considered by the boards of each member of the consortium.
The Department of Health has been careful to distance itself from the consortium, dubbed a ‘pay cartel’ by unions.
Health minister Dan Poulter told MPs it had been “somewhat heavy-handed in the way that it has conducted its affairs”. He said: “We know most employers prefer to use national pay frameworks as long as they are affordable and help them recruit and retain the talented and caring staff they need.
“Strong partnership working right across the NHS is good for patients and good for staff.”
Dean Royles, chief executive of the NHS Employers organisation, said: “We are awaiting the decision of the pay review bodies on this year’s pay award and we will be working with local employers, including those in the South West, as we approach discussions on medical terms and conditions of employment.”
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