The 2018 TUC Congress backed a motion calling for investment in NHS manager’s pay and reform of board-level remuneration, as well as the removal of disincentives for staff to take management jobs.

MiP national committee member Jeremy Baskett represented MiP at the landmark 150-year anniversary meeting of the TUC in Manchester, and spoke in support of the motion, which was amended by MiP to specifically refer to manager’s pay.

The full text of Jeremy’s speech is below:

“Senior NHS staff and boardroom-level directors need to know that they matter and that their – our – contributions to our great National Health Service are valued.

“The pay deal recently achieved has not been as successful as it could have been in making management jobs more attractive for members of junior staff, and it did not secure a reduction in the length of time to reach higher increments of pay.

“Board level pay, in particular, remains an issue, and at a time when the NHS is struggling to fill such roles, more could be done to encourage staff to aspire to these crucially necessary positions.

“Job evaluation is also a key issue for our members, and some staff consistently do not receive the support they require for good job evaluation—the NHS needs to work with unions to change this, as well as the need to improve the pension scheme contributions of eligible staff, as the current tax regime directly creates disincentives to taking up a more senior role.

“Agenda for Change was developed to be an escalator, not a cliff edge. It’s supposed to help create an NHS where you could begin as a porter and become a chief executive. Such success stories do exist – we have members who began as gardeners and became board members. But we need more people following this path, and we need to make that path easier to climb, not harder.”

TUC 2018 Motion 61: NHS pay

Congress notes the change of direction in NHS pay rates away from austerity.

The recent pay offers in England, Scotland and Wales were achieved by the NHS unions working together for the greater good of NHS workers.

This model of joint working, with the support of the TUC, should be welcomed and saw real negotiations take place for the first time in a number of years.

Whilst these agreements will go some way to re-building pay rates in the NHS it needs to be acknowledged that NHS workers are still suffering the effects of austerity and the job is not yet finished.

Congress therefore calls on the General Council to continue to work with NHS unions in the years to come to ensure that our members can continue the journey towards decent pay to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of our members.

For example, investment in senior bands and reform of boardroom pay is still required. We need to remove disincentives for staff, especially clinicians, to seek promotion into management roles and to ensure that – as originally intended – Agenda for Change supports NHS career paths from porter to chief executive.