CWU Conference Destroys The Smoke And Mirrors Of Government NHS Privatisation

Motion 12 at CWU Conference on Sunday, destoyed completely the lies of a Labour Government and the smoke and mirrors hiding the reality that the NHS is being shredded run by private healthcare companies slicing up the NHS budget into profit centres of poor and denied healthcare; following the American system and hidden behind the NHS logo!

 

In a superb debate, emotions and support for the NHS being a public service, and exposing the Government's "lies and its aim of fracturing the service into local services run by private healthcare companies for profit and for the pockets of shareholders ultimately exploiting ill-health on an industrial sclae. Such is the US sytem that this government clearly wishes to emulate.

 

The terms of the motion can be read from the image right. You can also read the movers and seconders speeches below and/or watch the videos below. which features the moving and seconding delegates from the Mersey Branch's Tom Kirkwood-Sweet and President Winston Richards, Regional Official, London and South East Branch:

"Chair, Conference, Thomas Kirkwood, Sweet Gratitude, Mersey, Marlborough, rising to move motion 12. Look, the privatisation and the selling off of the National Health Service has been a problem that has been going on in this country for decades at this point sadly. And it is the underhanded use of contractors and subcontractors who masquerade themselves under the use of the lettering of NHS and the use of the NHS logo that quite easily fools a lot of ordinary people into not realising that their local trust has sold off in some way or is subcontracted in some way part of the services that they receive. And that can be through clinics, it could just be the cleaning in the facilities, etc. It is not right.

 

This is about transparency ultimately within society. paying for a national health service that it's a pride and joy of this nation it's one of the key pillars of society that we looked and say look at this achievement and it was spearheaded by the trade union movement it is absolutely incumbent upon us as the labour movement to push for transparency to expose the issues that are lying under the surface and to expose just the wholesale selling off of key services of just vital for our health service. Thank you."

 

 

 

Seconding the motion was President Winston Richards:

"Hello, good morning Conference, President Winston Richards, Regional Official, London and South East. Again, to support the motion, I mentioned in my previous speech about the outsourcing. We've got one of our members in our branch who's pretty clued up on this and I didn't realise and he explained to me that there's different people working for the same organization dedicated workers who love what they do but unfortunately they've been moved from one company to another company to another company three different pensions different terms and conditions of work and it's eroding the good work that people are doing out there now.

 

Now, anyone who's ever been or had to deal with the NHS know that the professionalism is beyond reproach. However, what we have, and I don't know how it's happened and how we've got to this point, is an exploitation of people's dedication to do the job, to help people at a time when they most need it. So what this motion is actually asking for is for some redress in how our wonderful, brilliant health service is managed. And this outsourcing is just not the way, as in other industries, but predominantly the health service is not the place at all. So this motion, as I see it, covers all the bases.

 

It's something that I think we need to continue to press and support. And I'll just mention before I go, because I didn't mention it before, that within the South East region, our Works Matters campaign are having a meeting in June. I think it's 17th of June. So anyone who's in the South East region, can register and send officers or outsource reps from their health industries or from other industries there to learn how to organise, campaign and to get rid of this disgusting outsourcing process that seems to be taking over everywhere. Thank you."

 

Next up was a delegate from the CWU's UTAW, first time delegate and speaker at the conference , Salah Toz. He described in some detail the degree to which the NHS is being 'bottomed out' and handed over to private healthcare companies in a stealthy and dishonest manner by the Government:

 

"Conference, I rise in support of motion 12 and I do so from the perspective of an NHS IT worker, someone working behind the scenes to keep systems running and to ensure continuity of patient care.

 

But increasingly the NHS is unfortunately being hollowed out across all areas, including clinically and digitally. For example, IT systems, patient data platforms, call handling, cyber security, software support, infrastructure management. More and more of it is being handed to private contractors whose priority is not patient care but profit margins.

 

Unfortunately, workers also see the consequences every single day. We see fragmented systems that do not properly communicate with each other because contracts are carved up between competing providers. We see outsourcing firms cutting staffing levels to the bone while demanding impossible workloads from the remaining staff."

"We see experienced workers replaced with insecure contractors or even offshore support teams who are given neither the required training nor have the institutional knowledge needed to safely support critical NHS services. And we're seeing millions upon millions of pounds of public money diverted away from our frontline healthcare into consultancy fees, shareholder payouts and endless procurement exercises.

Conference, our NHS is not optional and our IT systems are not optional. If these systems go down, appointments are missed, test results are delayed, communications fail, our NHS fails. Staff cannot continue like this.

Those of us who work in or around these systems know the pressures. We know the stress of trying to keep outdated infrastructure functioning, remain publicly accountable and publicly run. Conference, if we continue down our current road of fragmentation and privatisation, we risk turning the NHS into little more than a brand badge attached to a patchwork of private providers. But we can stop this. Please support motion 12. Thank you."

 

The final speaker was from the CWU's National Executive Committee, Owen Beaumont, who spoke in full support of the motion ina speech which was both emotional and inspiring:

 

"Owen Beaumont standing on behalf of the NEC to strongly support motion 12. Our National Health Service is not just a set of buildings or a logo. It is a promise. A promise that healthcare will be free at the point of use, available to all, run for the people, not for profit. Yet today that promise is under unprecedented threat.

 

This motion lays bare the reality the Government's position on the NHS is the one of broken promises. On new hospital builds, on recruitment and most damningly on real-time funding. We have seen misleading numbers spin and frankly blatant lies about the true state of our health service. But the threat goes deeper."

"Outsourcing and privatisation are accelerating with more and more NHS services handed over to the lowest bidder. This is not about efficiency or patient care, it is about profit. Every pound siphoned off by private contractors is a pound taken away from patient care, from staff pay, from the heart of the NHS.

 

Worse still, private companies are abusing the NHS name and logo, protected by law, and yet used to mislead the public into thinking they are receiving NHS care when in fact their illness is being exploited for private gain. This is profiteering, plain and simple, and it must stop.

 

Conference, the CWU has always stood for a free public NHS. We've always campaigned to keep our health service out of public hands, out of private hands, for private companies. Now, more than ever, we must redouble our efforts. Motion 12 instructs the Executive to continue our campaigns to end all outsourcing and privatisation and return the NHS to full publicly funded service free to use.

 

It also calls for us to campaign for the Department of Health to withdraw permission of the use of the NHS logo where it has been misused and to prohibit its use in any contract delivery where it's used as a mark of trade. These are not just technical points. They are about defending the very soul of the NHS. We allow the NHS brand to be hijacked, we allow the public to be deceived and we allow the slow death of our national health service by stealth.

 

Let's be clear. The NHS is already protected by law as a registered trademark. But laws are only as strong as the will to enforce them. We must demand that the Department of Health acts now to protect the NHS name and to end the abuse by private profiteers.

 

Conference, this is not just a fight for our members who use the NHS. It is a fight for every worker, every family and every community in this country. The NHS is the greatest achievement of our movement. We cannot and will not let it be sold off piece by piece.

 

I urge you to support motion 12. Stand for a public, free and truly national health service. Let's keep the NHS in public hands for the public good. Thank you very much, Conference."

 

The motion was CARRIED unanimously.

 

 

 

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