NHS trust spends £3.3m on lawyers to resist equal pay

NORTH Cumbria NHS trust has spent a massive £3.3 million on lawyers in an attempt to stop low-paid women winning equal pay.  Its huge expenditure of taxpayers’ money, on legal action to resist fair wages, places it among the highest spending NHS trusts on the issue.

The vast outlay is in shocking contrast to the earnings of some of the trust’s own low-paid employees, such as cleaners and cooks, who earn £6.77 an hour.  The public service union UNISON points out that the trust has spent more than £1,000 for each of its employees.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, urged management to negotiate a way through rather than persist with a “scandalous waste of money”.  He added:- “While North Cumbria is clearly one of the biggest spenders, it is not alone. Trusts in other parts of the country are racking up lawyers’ fees fighting equal pay. I would urge all of them to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible and stop pouring money down the drain.”

Using Freedom of Information legislation, UNISON discovered that since April 2000 North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, covering the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, spent £2,488,000 on private solicitors and barristers to oppose equal pay claims.  The cost to the trust of the time spent by its own staff on the court proceedings has hit £783,000 during the same period.

Management also concedes that its predecessor, the Carlisle Hospitals NHS Trust, spent some £52,000 on outside lawyers engaged in similar legal action – although it is unable to discover the cost of time spent by its own staff.

Dave Prentis pointed out that the money spent on litigation would have bought a whole range of vital services for the hospitals. ”You could employ at least 150 extra hospital cleaners or 100 extra nurses for a year with the cash they have stuffed into lawyers’ wallets.”

The money could also have bought:-

► 431 coronary bypass operations (£7,645 each)

► Or 582 primary knee replacements (£5,663 each)

► Or 632 primary hip replacements (£5,220 each)

► Or 3,815 cataract operations (£865 each)

► Or a GP surgery

► Or a new NHS walk-in centre. Such a centre was built at Milton Keynes a couple of years ago at a cost of £2.29m.

Dave Prentis then added:- “It is scandalous that an NHS organisation could spend so much taxpayers’ money on resisting fair wages for women nearly 40 years after the Equal Pay Act.  Management at this trust resisted all recent attempts to negotiate an equal pay settlement and have decided to waste precious resources on engaging expensive lawyers to keep justice at bay. This is a scandal and it’s been going on for the best part of a decade. I appeal to the trust to see sense and negotiate a way through. Enough is enough.”

Part of the trust’s own mission statement says it “is committed to delivering equality of opportunity for all staff and patients. As part of our general duty to promote equality, we strive to eliminate any unlawful discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations.”

Dave Prentis also said that:- “The statement is a travesty of the reality. The trust has fought tooth and nail – with other people’s money - to stop our members achieving justice.”

Are you ready for the 2010 General Election?

AS the pre-election campaigning begins, the Electoral Commission, the independent elections, watchdog is warning everyone who wants to have their say in the 2010 General Election to make sure they are registered to vote.  Says Commission Chair, Jenny Watson:- “Research published after the last General Election estimates that about three and half million people who were eligible to vote were not registered. The evidence coming through since then suggests the picture isn't getting any better.   If you’re not registered, you can’t vote – it’s very simple. Take a few minutes now to make sure that you are able to have your say on election day. You can print off a registration form from aboutmyvote.co.uk. Many people assume they are automatically on the electoral register if they pay council tax or if they have voted before. This is not the case: you need to register every year. And if you have moved house, even within the same borough, you need to re-register with your new address.  So if you want to vote in the General Election, now’s the time to act and make sure nothing stops you.”

Half a million in North West working for no overtime pay

ALMOST half a million people in the North West are working overtime for no extra pay, a North West TUC analysis of official statistics have revealed.   If they had been paid, they would each have earned almost £5,000 extra a year (£4,976). 

The 'shortchanged study' shows that 469,000 people across the Region regularly worked unpaid overtime in 2009.  In the North West, 388,726 people worked between 1 to 10 hours overtime every week for which they did not receive an extra penny. Another 80,251 worked more than 10 hours overtime unpaid every week.

Workers in the North West are second only to London for chalking up the biggest rise in unpaid overtime (+£492).  With many employers and staff agreeing to cut hours in order to avoid job losses, the reduction in working time has had a knock on effect on the number of people working paid and unpaid overtime, the TUC says.

The TUC has declared February 26th Work Your Proper Hours Day and will call on bosses to thank staff for the extra work they are putting in to help businesses through the recession.

North West TUC Regional Secretary Alan Manning said:- "The recession has forced many employees to do less paid hours in an effort to save jobs. Many are working overtime unpaid instead. This flexibility and the sacrifices made by staff has saved  jobs and kept companies afloat. Bosses should thank staff for the extra effort they are putting in to help their business through the recession. But millions of people are still working far too many hours and not being paid for it. This long hours  culture causes stress and damages people's health. Employers shouldn't forget that working cultures such as pointless presenteeism which keeps people at their desks for no good reason is not just bad for staff, but bad for business too."

Thank goodness for Public Sector Workers

PUBLIC Sector workers throughout the North West have risen to the challenge over the last few days despite the most adverse of weather conditions. In spite of the worst snow falls in 30 years, Public Sector workers including those employed in the NHS such as Paramedics and Nurses as well as, Home Carers and Social Workers have maintained services to the most vulnerable in our communities. Council gritting teams have also worked round the clock to keep our roads open, despite a national shortage of grit. Frank Hont, UNISON Regional Secretary said:- “For some Public Sector workers not going to work because of the bad weather was not an option. I am really proud that essential public services have been maintained and our members working in the emergency services have gone the extra mile in ensuring that people are looked after in their time of need. These are the same workers who worked over the Christmas and New Year period caring for the sick, keeping our streets clean and safe and keeping the lights and heating on.”