The recent Queen’s Speech introduced a series of bills by the majority Conservative government. Many of these raise union concerns, particularly those aimed at reducing trade union activity. Here’s UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis’ first reaction:
“The UK already has tough laws on strikes – there is no need to make them stricter still.
“Democracy won’t be enhanced by raising thresholds but by bringing balloting into the 21st century.”
The West Sussex branch wrote a motion calling for a strong response to the proposals from our union which will be debated at National Delegate Conference in Glasgow in June 2015.
On plans to change the NHS Dave Prentis said: “David Cameron has been evasive about how he is planning to fund this at a time of serious efficiency savings.
“The £8bn funding is just enough to keep the NHS going. Ministers must find new money if they want more NHS services to be available. Our worry is that they will be taking this out of the earnings of already hard-pressed NHS workers.
“The public is right to expect that the NHS should be well-run and safely staffed every day of the week, but they won’t want to see that happen at the expense of dedicated health professionals.”