Implementation of Agenda for Change

That the Parliament believes that pay modernisation in the NHS is necessary in order to address continuing problems of low pay and unequal pay, which undermine the spirit of teamwork on which the NHS relies and which cannot be justified in a society that believes in equal pay for work of equal value; recognises that addressing these fundamental issues was the basis of the negotiations surrounding Agenda for Change; welcomes the endorsement of the principles of Agenda for Change by a majority of members of the major health service unions; further welcomes the opportunity for Agenda for Change proposals to be piloted in Early Implementer sites, including three "paper" exercises in the NHS in Scotland; recognises and supports UNISON’s support of a review of the outcome of the Early Implementer exercise in 2004 to ensure that Agenda for Change does, in practice, address the issues and a further ballot of its health service members to approve Agenda for Change as modified in light of the exercise; further recognises that the implementation of the Agenda for Change proposals in Scotland after the Early Implementer exercise and subsequent ballot may require additional negotiation between the NHS and the health service trade unions to take account of particular issues facing NHS staff in Scotland, including the impact of UNISON’s recent low pay deal, which raised the minimum wage for NHS staff to £5.18 per hour, and the need to ensure that no staff will lose financially as a result of Agenda for Change, and calls on the Minister for Health and Community Care and senior management in the NHS to continue engaging in constructive dialogue with the main health service unions in order to ensure that future implementation of Agenda for Change in Scotland incorporates any changes required to reflect both the outcome of the Early Implementer exercise and the particular circumstances of staff in the NHS in Scotland.