Regional Pay (NHS)

David Anderson Excerpts

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andy Burnham]

The Government’s position was indeed made clear in Westminster Hall this morning, and perhaps we shall hear it again from the Dispatch Box in a moment.

The south-west trusts’ initial document stated that the consortium would explore

“radical changes to terms and conditions of the workforce”.

It went on to say that this would not be a negotiation, and that

“trusts would be obliged to dismiss and re-engage staff to secure such changes”.

That is disgraceful, and it is simply not possible for the Government to have no view on it. It is provocative, destabilising and divisive. However, it gets worse. In the vacuum left by Ministers, the chaos is spreading. We have identified a further 12 trusts across England that are actively considering opting out of “Agenda for Change”. There are five in the north-east, which gives rise to fears of a second emerging pay cartel. North Tees and Hartlepool has issued 90-day notices to 5,452 staff as a precursor to forcing them to sign new non-“Agenda for Change” contracts—staff who refuse to sign by March 2013 are threatened with the sack—and South Tees is considering a similar move.

[Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Andy Burnham]

I will give way for the last time to my hon. Friend.

[Mr Anderson]

I support what my right hon. Friend is saying. In the north-east there is real anger among people who have devoted their lives to the health service, and who are now being told that they will effectively be forced to sign new contracts, because otherwise they could face the dole. Is that any way in which to treat people who are relied on to make what are literally life-or-death decisions? It is a disgrace.

[Andy Burnham]

These are the same staff whom we were celebrating during the Olympic games, just a few months ago, for everything that they contribute to the NHS and to the care of others, but Ministers sit there and do absolutely nothing. It is disgraceful that any staff in the NHS should be treated in such a way.

This is no academic threat. These are the panic moves of an NHS that is experiencing increasing distress, in which control has been lost because it is facing the biggest financial challenge in its history. After the election, the £20 billion Nicholson challenge should have been the only show in town, but the previous Secretary of State was allowed to proceed with his vanity reorganisation of the NHS. Instead of focusing on saving money, the NHS has been busy wasting it: £1.6 billion, and rising. A full £1 billion has been spent on redundancies—1,300 people have received six-figure payouts, and l73 have received more than £200,000—while 6,000 nurses are losing their jobs. That is scandalous.

As unforgiveable is the Conservative party’s repeated inaccurate boast on NHS funding. I checked on the Conservative party website today, and in the “Where we stand” section it says this:

“We have increased the NHS budget in real terms in each of the last two years.”

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

I am coming on to say exactly what the Government’s approach to regional pay is, so I will address the hon. Gentleman’s comments.

[Mr Anderson]

rose—

[Mr Hunt]

May I just answer the question put by the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg)? Let me make it clear: we are not proposing to abolish “Agenda for Change”; we are not proposing an end to national collective bargaining; we are not proposing the abolition of national pay scales; and current pay scales will not be cut. What we are doing is supporting the changes brought in by the previous Labour Government to ensure there is sensible flexibility in pay across the whole country.

[Mr Anderson]

The Secretary of State mentioned people working night and day. Does he agree with the agreement in “Agenda for Change” that people should get additional pay for working night shifts, both because such shifts are antisocial and as compensation for not only the impact on family life but the fact that people who work night shifts tend to die earlier?

[Mr Hunt]

I support the principles behind “Agenda for Change”, which were introduced in 2004 by the Labour Government of which the right hon. Member for Leigh was a member. I also support a number of other flexibilities introduced by the Government—the right hon. Gentleman supported the legislation—in respect of foundation trusts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

I want to make a little more progress, and then I will perhaps take one or two more interventions.

NHS employers have the ability to set their own terms and conditions, but the vast majority prefer to use national terms and conditions, and provided that those remain sustainable and fit for purpose, they are likely to continue to do so. I welcome the national negotiations between NHS employers and NHS trade unions, and I urge both sides to bring the negotiations to a swift and successful conclusion. Unfortunately, the time it is taking for agreement to be reached is encouraging some employers, such as those in the south-west consortium of NHS and foundation trusts, to examine alternative provision. Sadly, it appears that the people who bankroll the Opposition—particularly Unite—would rather put their members’ jobs at risk than work with employers to find an acceptable solution to help the NHS meet its financial challenge—[Interruption.] I am sorry they do not want to hear this—

[Mr Anderson]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that it is a point of order rather than a point of frustration. We will hear it and I will discover whether it is.

[Mr Anderson]

On three occasions, the Secretary of State has said that the trade unions bankroll the Labour party. A large majority of the trade unions in the health service have no links to the Labour party whatsoever.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but that is a point of debate that he might wish to develop further if he is successful in catching my eye. We will leave it for now.

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[Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)]

I know it is unusual in this place to listen to anyone who has experience of the real world, but I will try yet again. I worked in the coal industry for many years—in fact for decades. In 1966, a national agreement was reached to bring parity to the system. It took six years for that to be applied across the industry. The main reason why that was done was that people thought it unfair that people who worked in some of the worst conditions in coalfields were historically disadvantaged because they did not produce as much coal as people who worked in coalfields where it was easier to get the coal out. It was the right thing to do. It was based on the principle that applies to this debate—that people should be paid for what they do, not for where they do it. That is the principle that should guide us today.

I had the privilege of presiding over the Unison national conference that agreed “Agenda for Change”. Unison was the last and most reluctant union to sign up to it because it saw some of the problems that it would bring in. We are now seeing those problems. People are exploiting “Agenda for Change.” They are exploiting some of the freedoms intended for families and trusts. Some employers will exploit almost anything. Seeing where we are today and some of what is going on across the country makes me believe that some of the concerns expressed were right.

Today’s debate cannot be separated from what is going on in the rest of the country. We are seeing an anti-worker attack, which is being driven to some extent by this Department but mainly by No. 11 Downing street. Let us look at what is going on. Let us reflect on the background: 750,000 jobs are to be lost in the public sector, while people are having to pay more for their pensions, work for longer and get less pension when they retire. Then there is the pay freeze.

A point was made from the Government Benches about getting the pay burden down, but health service staff will see a reduction of at least 10% in their living standards during the period of this Government. If that is not an example of the workers doing their bit—all being in this together—I do not know what is. Incremental freezes are being introduced, health and safety legislation is being watered down, job security is being weakened, and employment rights and access to industrial tribunals are being changed. There are changes to benefit rules that, officially, are about making work pay, but really mean that people have to go to work for as little pay as employers can get away with. We are back to the future—back to the low-pay, low-skill economy of the 1980s, when people were frightened to stand up for themselves because of the problems they were facing; when compulsory competitive tendering destroyed the conditions of manual workers whose roles were intrinsic to the safety of the national health service.

No one should be surprised to find out that some will be exempt from the regional pay proposals. Who are they? According to the Department of Health submission to the pay review body, the only exemption will be for highly paid managers working in the new bodies established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. While the people being employed to privatise the health service will not be subject to the regional pay proposals, there will be an impact on the lads and lasses on the front line who look after our constituents day in, day out. That is the unfairness of the situation, and people will focus on the problems at that level in the current negotiations.

The Secretary of State said that he supported proper negotiations, but is it proper that North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has served redundancy notices on people? That is no way to have proper negotiations. Is it proper that South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is thinking about doing the same? City Hospitals Sunderland is trying to freeze increments without consultation or negotiation. Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is also freezing increments, while all the trusts in Tyneside, which I represent, have said they will not introduce regional pay. That is one of the problems. Where it is easy to travel from one part of the region to the next, people will travel; people who are not getting a good deal in Hartlepool, Sunderland or Middlesbrough will travel to Gateshead, Durham or Newcastle. National terms and conditions are key, so that people are paid the same no matter where they work. Otherwise, recruitment and retention will become a huge issue.

It is clear that the majority of people who have spoken in the House and outside oppose regional pay. Ten north-east firms have urged the Government not to introduce regional pay, because reducing the spending power of public sector workers in the region will have a hugely detrimental impact on their businesses.

I raised a point with the Secretary of State about trade unions, but let me refer to the BMA, the RCN, the Royal College of Midwives and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. None of them is affiliated to or the paymaster of the Labour party, but all of them say, “Don’t do this.” But it is not just them saying it. The hon. and learned Member for Torridge and West Devon (Mr Cox), the hon. Members for Hexham (Guy Opperman), for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) and for Carlisle (John Stevenson)—all Conservative Members—are all against the proposal. A raft of Liberal Democrats—the hon. Members for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson), for St Austell and Newquay (Stephen Gilbert), for Torbay (Mr Sanders), for Manchester, Withington (Mr Leech), for Southport (John Pugh), and for St Ives (Andrew George), and even the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills—are opposed to it. The Deputy Prime Minister is also opposed to regional pay, as was his party conference. How on earth can the Conservative party try to force it though?

[Mr Bradshaw]

My hon. Friend says that the Liberal Democrats have said they are opposed to it. Will not the test be how they vote in a few minutes’ time?

[Mr Anderson]

I have always appreciated my right hon. Friend’s talents, but I ask him please not to steal all my thunder.

Who wants regional pay? The Department of Health, but even more so, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as it is part and parcel of an attempt to drive down workers’ conditions and undermine the work force for ideological reasons. He is putting the NHS at risk for the sake of party political advantage. It is a disgrace.

How will the Liberal Democrats vote tonight? I have read the amendment—I used to write amendments —and it is the easiest thing in the world to fudge your way around something, but this is a point of principle. Let us make no mistake. The people out there—the nurses, the midwives, the doctors—will read the weasel words of the amendment as exactly what they are. The basic principle is in the motion. We want the Government to tell the employers that there is a national pay bargaining agreement, and they should stick to that.

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[Andrew George]

They cannot.

[Mr Anderson]

Clearly, there are issues about foundation trusts, but the Government can do what they want—or they can as long as the Liberal Democrats help them. Tonight, however, the Liberal Democrats have a chance of stopping the Government doing what they want, by doing what their party wants, and what the people they represent want—by throwing out the proposal, and voting on the clear principle that national pay bargaining should happen in the national health service, and nothing should be done to undermine it, including supporting the amendment.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I call Sir Nick Harvey, who should resume his seat no later than 3.40.