The TUC Congress, which is taking place in Liverpool, has overwhelmingly given its backing to a motion moved by the FDA on the role of pay review bodies.

The motion noted that:

“Pay review bodies were intended to bring industrial peace, depoliticise bargaining and, through evidence-based approach, help public services address some of the key strategic workforce issues. Governments, of all colours, have interfered in this process so much that the independence of those bodies has been critically undermined.”

The motion argued that, “as our public services face up to the challenges of the future, a new compact between government and public servants is needed,” and therefore called on the TUC to work with unions in different sectors to produce a model template for PRBs and work with affiliates to ensure that PRBs are fit for purpose.

Moving the motion during the debate, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said that when pay review bodies were making decisions that had “such a fundamental impact on our members working lives”, unions have to make sure “we have done everything in our power to get the best possible outcomes”:

“Greater independence, flexibility and engagement with unions can help improve outcomes. Giving greater weight to the evidence provided, rather than simply the affordability arguments of government, can start to address the recruitment crisis that blights many of our public services.”

Addressing concerns raised by some unions about the use of pay review bodies, Penman added that this “was not about breathing new life into a failed process, it is about ensuring, as we do everyday as negotiators, that where our members are impacted by a decision, we’ve done everything in our power to influence that for good.”

Elsewhere at Congress, the FDA’s President Tony Wallace spoke in support of a motion on fair funding for public services, calling for a stable long term plan for public services” and strongly criticising “a chronic lack of investment and long term planning”:

“What has happened to our country? I was born almost sixty years ago in a state hospital. I was educated by the state, my family depended on the support of the state when it went through some troubled times. The state saved my life in Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow when I was seven years old, and I’m eternally grateful to this day. And for the past forty years, I’ve worked for the state to secure the funds which should be used to ensure that it survives and thrives.

“And yet, health service waiting lists grow forever longer, immigration is in chaos through chronic underspending and understaffing, and our schools and public buildings are literally collapsing around our children’s ears.”