Industrial Relations in the NHS

438 Pages·1992·8.851 MB·English

by  Roger Seifert (auth.)

Industrial Relations in the NHS
To my wife Anne and to my children -
Sarah, Joseph, Rachel, Adam, Hannah and Judith
Industrial Relations in
theNHS
Roger Seifert
Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations,
University of Keele, UK
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, BV.
Distributed in the USA and Canada by
Singular Publishing Group Inc.,
4284 41st Street, San Diego, California 92105
First edition 1992
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Chapman & Hall in 1992
Typeset in 10 on 12 Palatino by EXPO Holdings Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
ISBN 978-1-56593-040-7 ISBN 978-1-4899-3214-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-3214-3
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The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the
accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Contents
Acknowledgements vi
Preface vii
Abbreviations x
1 Work, wages and the industrial relations tradition 1
2 The professions and their associations 46
3 The trade unions and their members 113
4 Employers, managers and the conduct of industrial
relations 163
5 Whitley and the survival of collective bargaining 198
6 Deadlocked: arbitration, industrial action and pay
review 256
7 Workplace collective bargaining 294
8 The market, collective bargaining and the survival
of custom 360
Bibliography 403
Names index 417
Subjectindex 419
Acknowledgements
I received help and support from all those I approached from
within the NHS. In particular, from all staff organization
representatives and managers who agreed to answer my
insistent questions.
Phil Gray was involved in preparing some of the material for
Chapter 4 and gave his support to the project in its early days.
Dr Audrey Jacobs prepared considerable amounts of material
for Chapter 5, and also helped with several other chapters. She
gave her enthusiastic support to the book and was a great friend
when the going was rough.
Steve Weekes took the trouble to read through the final draft
and provided some valuable comments.
Preface
This is the first book yet written on industrial relations in the
NHS and it has been completed at a time of radical and rapid
change. Some of the material, particularly in the final chapter,
reflects first thoughts about the impact of the new system on
industrial relations.
The book arose from my teaching experiences with health
service practitioners from several of the NHS trade unions and
professional associations. Many of these activists, as well as
managers, expressed frustration that there was no single source
about some of the issues which concerned them. This book is the
result of their anxieties.
Throughout, I have assumed that the main thrust of
government policy towards the NHS, at least since the early
1980s, has been to sell off important sections of the service to the
private sector. There is, I believe, strong evidence for this
proposition. My argument, however, is based not only on the
evidence of government's will to 'privatize', but also on the
behaviour of ministers, senior civil servants and senior NHS
managers which adds up to a set of policies and practices which
together allow the point that government runs the NHS as if it
was going to sell it.
That is, therefore, the starting point and the rest of the book
flows from the consequences of putting into place the relevant
employer and management structures and practices. The book's
scope is limited to the industrial relations aspects of the
traditional and reformed NHS. These 'aspects' are mainly
concerned with the institutions, relationships and results of
collective bargaining.
Abb reviations
A&C administrative and clerical
A&E accident and emergency
ACAS Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
ACB Association of Clinical Biochemists
AHA Area Health Authority
ANA Association of Nurse Administrators
APEX Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical
and Computer Staff
AScW Association of Scientific Workers
ASM Association of Supervisors of Midwives
ASSET Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives
and Technicians
ASTMS Association of Scientific, Technical and
Managerial Staffs
AUEW Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers
BAOT British Association of Occupational Therapists
BDA British Dental Association
BDA British Dietetic Association
BHA British Hospitals Association
BMA British Medical Association
BMJ British Medical Journal
BOS British Orthoptic Society
COHSE Confederation of Health Service Employees
CPSM Council of Professions Supplementary to
Medicine
CSEU Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering
Unions
CSP Chartered Society of Physiotherapists
DATA Draughtsmen and Allied Technicians
Association
DDRB Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body
DGH district general hospital
Abbreviations
DGM District General Manager
DHA District Health Authority
DHSS Department of Health and Social Security
DMT District Management Team
DMU directly managed unit
DPO District Personnel Officer
EETPU Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and
Plumbing Union
EOC Equal Opportunities Commission
EOP Equal Opportunities Policy
FPO Federation of Professional Organizations
FPS Family Practitioner Services
FUMPO Federation Union of Managerial and
Professional Officers
GDP General Dental Practitioner
GMBATU General Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied
Trades Union
GMC General Medical Council
GP General Practitioner
GWC General Whitley Council
HPA Hospital Physicists Association
HSC Health Services Committee (of ruC)
HSI health service indicator
HVA Health Visitors' Association
HWSU Hospitals and Welfare Services Union
IHA Independent Hospitals Association
IHSA Institute of Health Service Administrators
IDS Incomes Data Service
IMS Institute of Manpower Studies
IRO Industrial Relations Officer
IRS Industrial Relations Service
IT Industrial Tribunal
JCC Joint Consultative Committee
JNC Joint Negotiating Committee
JSC Joint Staff Committee
JSSC Joint Shop Stewards Committee
MEA Municipal Employees' Association
MHA Mental Hospitals Association
MHIWU Mental Hospitals and Institutional Workers
Union
MLSO Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer
MSF Manufacturing, Science and Finance