Local health workers protest at Westminster

Unison members at the Houses of Parliment

Members from Unison Pennine Acute Health Branch joined thousands of UK workers on Monday (2 November) in London to lobby MPs and attend a protest rally in Westminster.

Members of trade unions and civil liberty groups sought to raise concerns over the Trade Union Bill, which is currently being "rushed" through Parliament.

Unison believes that the Trade Union Bill is unnecessary, unfair and undemocratic because it is:

• Attacking the rights of workers to take strike action.
• Putting a stop to facility time – the time union reps use to represent their members.
• Allowing inexperienced agency workers to be brought in to cover workers on strike.

Members of the branch were warmly welcomed by Heywood and Middleton MP Liz McInnes and Manchester Gorton MP Gerald Kaufman, who both gave their support to the campaign against the legislation.

However, David Nuttall, the Conservative MP for the Bury North constituency, where hundreds of Unison members live, declined to meet Jean O’Donnell, Branch Secretary and constituent of Mr Nuttall.

Speaking on Monday from inside the Houses of Parliament, Jean said: “I am disappointed that my MP refuses to listen to my concerns. I came here today to represent the opinions of hundreds of his own constituents who work locally in the NHS.”

In a written response, Mr Nuttall said that his position was one of support for the Bill.

Hundreds of Unison members who live and/or work in Mr Nuttall’s constituency had completed postcard petitions calling on him to listen to their concerns over the Trade Union Bill and to vote against it when it is next debated at the third and final reading in the coming weeks.

Stephen Moran, Unison Branch Treasurer, also at the lobby said: “The number of working days lost to industrial action is at an historic low. The government cannot claim to be responding to a problem, as there isn’t one. I believe that the Trade Union Bill is about what this government have up their sleeves. They are not responding to action, but anticipating it. I see this as a wake-up call.”

Unison continues to oppose the Trade Union Bill and hundreds of petition postcards calling on David Nuttall MP to oppose the Bill will be delivered to his constituency office later this week.