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Trade unions save £100 million every year

Friday 18th September 2015
The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) has highlighted the importance of trade unions for nurses. Image Credit: Steve Debenport
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    The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) has warned that a proposed Trade Union Bill could have negative consequences for nurses in the NHS.

    Highlighting the importance of the bodies, the RCN said any changes could affect productivity and morale for workers in the health service. 

    This is off the back of research that found trade unions save the NHS in excess of £100 million each year. Independent evidence revealed that staff turnover in organisations without union representatives is three times higher, compared to those that had this type of representation.

    With this in mind, the NHS is saving at least £100,000 by having a trade union, which for a large teaching hospital would add up to £1 million each year.

    With the NHS is struggling to recruit and keep staff, the RCN said affecting the work of trade unions by restricting the amount of facility time available to representatives would have a detrimental effect on both staffing levels and productivity. 

    The body warns that wanting to change this is based on the incorrect assumption that there are too many trade union representatives in the public sector.
     
    The proposals in the bill, which aim to save public money, could have the opposite effect, the RCN argue, as it could leave people unable to promote safe work environments, reduce staff turnover and improve productivity.

    Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: “The government claims that the Trade Union Bill will save public sector money but it will actually have the opposite effect.

    “Aside from the financial cost of high staff turnover, when the NHS is already struggling to recruit and retain enough staff, removing the positive impact of union representation risks having a significant impact on patient safety."

    The financial benefits of having trade unions could be even greater than the research suggests as the study did not factor in other benefits of union representatives, such as early resolution of disputes, reduction of sick days caused by work-related injury and illness, and productivity improvements through helping staff acquire new skills.

    Ms Davies said it was far too simplistic to just look at the cost of facilities time without considering the many benefits, adding that the NHS can not afford to further damage staff morale or waste money on unnecessary recruitment costs. 

    "The trade union bill is bad for staff, employers and most importantly it is bad for patients,” she said.

    Written by Martin Lambert

    Mediplacements is a genuine specialist medical recruitment company. Contact us to see the latest nursing jobs. 

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