NHS

Not long after the rejection of a pay deal by NHS workers in the GMB, 94.8% of Unite's health sector workers - including health visitors, hospital pharmacists, health care chaplains and members in many other health care professions and support services voted to turn down the three year offer worth less than 8%.

If their decision is confirmed by the 450,000 NHS workers in Unison next week, the government may be forced to abandon its attempt to reach a long-term settlement.

Following a proposal of three years of sub-inflationary pay rises UNISON Head of Health, Karen Jennings, said that she would be "asking our executive to consider recommending this deal to members as a well-balanced package"

The proposed deal gives 2.75% in the first year.

In year 2 it gives 2.54%. Those on the lowest point will receive an increase of 5.7%.

The appeal, which bosses deliberated over for a week, attempted to overturn the decision to dismiss Reissman, who was sacked for 'gross misconduct' after criticising cuts to NHS services in the media.

The NHS Blood and Transplant Board which manages the NBS aims to axe blood centre in this area, in cuts plans that will see 600 jobs lost. However it emerged this week, in addition to the two recent deaths as a result of shortages in specially matched platelets, that the impact of the cuts is already being felt in other hospital shortages of blood, in your area and across the country.

More than 150 staff, who care for 1,000 seriously-ill psychiatric patients, are on picket lines across Manchester and say they will not return to work until senior nurse Karen Reissmann is reinstated.

The strike follows the decision of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust bosses to sack Ms Reissmann on Monday.

UNISON members who work for Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust are protesting about the ongoing suspension of their branch chair and national health executive member, Karen Reissmann.

This coincides with the disciplinary hearing for their branch chair, Karen Reissmann. There will be a mass lobby of the hearing Thursday 18th October 8am, at the Trust’s headquarters (Chorlton House, 70 Manchester Rd, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9UN) where the disciplinary hearing will take place.

In a statement, UNISON said:

- but they weren’t surprised.

UNISON, who represent 5,500 healthworkers in Leicestershire, described the decision to pay Mr Smith such a huge amount of money as “an insult to the commitment and dedication of ordinary healthworkers”.

Striking nurses lobbied their board last Thursday and were told their trust had “made approaches to Unison Regional Centre regarding ways of halting the industrial action”. When they met yesterday (Monday) UNISON regional officers were merely informed that the trust was to convene a disciplinary hearing for Karen the week beginning 15th October.