! January 2020 h c g r d a M r o h e f a d t e 5 i s l n — S y UNISON Fights For The g a , n u d r i Q t a Housekeepers! e , Y e l l M a n i H o l i a t n r a w e g o n i o v e 0 T a G 3 N d : l 8 r a 1 o ,e u 0 f s n a u g 2 n e o 0 l A H 2 S m Housekeepers, the unsung heroes of the health service, are the latest group to receive a rough deal in ULHT. (read more on page 1) ’ Also in this issue: - Transformation Monies and New Services At LPFT - Breaking the Taboo of Trade Unionism - Photo Pledge Competition - £20 Gift Vouchers To Be Won! I Need help? @LincsHealth lincs_health_unison Our email: [email protected] Unison Lincolnshire Our number: 07716558647 (office hours 9am –5pm, Mon- Health Branch day– Friday) Defending The Dignity of they will be physically unable to complete their work. Like- We Must Break The “Taboo” Of Photo Pledge Competition - £20 Housekeeping Staff wise, the fast pace and public-facing aspect of working in a Trade Union Membership Gift Vouchers To Be Won! kitchen is a frightening prospect for some, especially those Lincolnshire UNISON Health Branch Secretary, Liz Lowe Prizes: who suffer from anxiety. The change is causing a great deal of In the endless battle against infection, the housekeepers dili- unnecessary stress and a significant number of housekeepers 1x£20 voucher for each of the 5 sectors of the branch – ULHT, gently trudge day and night through our hospitals, surgeries, have said that they will leave if forced to comply with the or- LPFT, NHSPS, LCHS and Private & Voulentary (P&V) waiting rooms and care homes, scouring every nook and cran- der, which could create a serious problem for ULHT at a time How to enter: ny to eliminate dust, dirt and disease, keeping us safe from a when it is already struggling to fill vacancies across the Trust. deadly outbreak and making our workplaces much more Take a photo with the pledge at the back of this newsletter – UNISON is supporting our members in this matter and hope pleasant places to work in. And where would we be, were it post it publicly on Facebook, twitter or Instagram with the that by the end of January we will have reached a reasonable not for the housekeepers who “slave away” in our kitchens, hashtags #lincshealthAGM2020 and one of #ULHT #LPFT solution that preserves the dignity of our hard-working house- #LCHS #PandV canteens and cafeterias to fill the bellies of hungry staff, pa- keepers and keeps the kitchens running smoothly and the tients and visitors? If an army marches on it’s stomach, so too Alternatively you can email your pledge corridors of our hospitals in great condition thanks to their do the legions of healthcare workers. to [email protected] including your full name, and tireless efforts. which sector of the branch you work in. Please indicate if you These vital soldiers in the cause of better health are worthy of would be happy for the branch to share your photo on social respect and yet in October last year, an undated letter was Are Managers Ignoring Stress at media. found (not given or explained) on the staffroom table at Pil- grim Hospital in Boston informing these workers there that work? Closing date for entries: from the 1st November they would be spending every other USE DATIX! 5pm on the 4th of March 2020 week working as auxiliary staff. The change has since been delayed—thanks to UNISON—but what this would mean is Workplace stress is a health and safety issue. When informal The Draw: that housekeepers who for years have worked as kitchen staff discussions with line management fail to mitigate the prob- The winner for each area will be selected at random at the might be forced to do cleaning duty, while cleaners might find lem, or stress risk assessments are not being used or followed, AGM – if the selected winner is not present another will be themselves ladling soup at short notice. it may be appropriate to record the continued risk on the Da- selected. Many of the housekeepers are at the older end of the work- tix system or the equivalent health and safety database in force and fear this sudden change with have a determinantal your workplace. As we enter into the new year it’s prime time for us to reflect effect on their physical and mental health. Our members cite on the last 12 months and look forward to the future and Thinking of becoming a rep? serious concerns for the effect on their health of being com- what we can do to make the next 12 months better than the Get in touch at: [email protected] pelled to do the often heavy work of cleaning and are worried last. We’ll put you in touch with your local Lead Rep, who can guide Transformation Monies One thing we all seem to struggle with as trade union mem- and help you to become a workplace representative. bers and activists is talking about being in a union. It is almost and New Services At LPFT taboo and embarrassing to talk to friends and co-workers Not a member yet? Richard Holmes, LPFT Lead Convenor about being in a trade union, why it is important – and why they should join too! You can get in touch with the Branch at 07716558647 and we Possibly most exciting news for LPFT currently is that they have can send you a membership form. This is one of the first things activists have to overcome, but I been successful in gaining substantial new investment from NHS would ask every member to break that taboo and talk to you Or alternatively, you can join online at: England. Lincolnshire has been identified as one of 12 ‘early family, friends and co-workers about why you are in a union join.unison.org.uk implementer’ sites across the country for testing new models of care for those with mental health problems. With this comes and UNISON in particular. around £8million over the next two years to radically redesign Being in a union is much more than just insurance in case the Trust’s community mental health services. something goes wrong at work. We are a collective of people This year will see a lot of exciting transformation projects and ready to stand together and support each other. Every em- developments of services come to fruition as a consequence; ployee in this country has the right to join a trade union, and staffs are really looking forward to seeing these improvements in turn amplify their voice and fight against low pay, poor co- making an impact in Lincolnshire. nations and mistreatment at work. Every single employee in this country has the opportunity to The Trust has also been successful in being awarded a joint con- benefit from the wide range of training, learning events, sup- tract with Lincolnshire Action Trust to provide a Liaison and Di- port and protection that trade union membership offers them. version Service for Lincolnshire. The only barrier to them joining is, often, that no one has Liaison and Diversion services identify people who have mental asked them to. health, learning disability, substance misuse or other vulnerabil- So my mission for you, in 2020, is to tell your friends, family ities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice and co-workers why you are in UNISON, and ask them to join a system. The liaison and diversion service will aim to provide trade union too! early screening, assessment and intervention services to all vul- nerable people coming into contact with different parts of the https://www.tuc.org.uk/join-union criminal justice system.