Received from: PCS
Congress agrees that the Tories have broken Britain. There are desperate problems in the NHS, the civil service, education, local government and across the whole public sector, which are causing great suffering.
The state of the NHS is causing huge concern. Britain has one of the lowest number of hospital beds for each head of population of any western country. Staff vacancies are at record levels. Congress condemns the Tories for deliberately destroying the NHS in order to boost the profits of private healthcare companies and create a two-tier system.
Serious poverty is affecting millions of people. Tory austerity has cut social security by £14bn and forcing many to use foodbanks, including people in work who are claiming benefits many of whom are our trade union members.
Congress notes with concern that, in the face of this crisis, Labour emphasises “reform” of public services including the NHS and refuses to commit to paying doctors and nurses and other public servants more than the Tories.
Congress calls on the general Council to:
i. lay bare the brutal record of the Tories in a series of communications over the next year
ii. give full support to public servants taking industrial action to fight back against Tory cuts.
iii. campaign for Labour to commit to funding pay increases for public sector workers that at least match inflation, and provide for pay restoration, and to abandon its outdated economic policies, adopting a policy of major investment in public services to fix our broken Britain.
Public and Commercial Services Union
AMENDMENT
› In paragraph 4, delete: “Doctors and nurses” and replace with “NHS medical and support staff including doctors, allied health professionals and nurses”.
› In paragraph 5, add final bullet point:
“iv. campaign for Labour to commit to the publication of a cross-governmental strategy for investment in public services to address the alarming rise in poverty and inequality in the UK”.
British Dietetics Association