Army Covid furore: What did Unison statement actually say?

The large-scale trade union, covering public sector workers, issued a statement shortly before 9pm last night, which was interpreted by many people online as being hostile to military involvement.

The Facebook post had drawn around 3,800 comments from people at time of writing, many stating that they are Unison members, but who oppose the union’s stance,

Whilst the union has not sought to hide its original statement, it has since issued another statement to “clarify” its stance.

Both are included in full below:

From Unison Northern-Ireland (@unison.northernireland), 8.47pm

“UNISON is aware that the Health Minister has requested that medically trained British military personnel be deployed into hospitals in Northern Ireland to assist during the current Covid-19 peak.

“UNISON was not consulted in relation to this issue. We have already engaged with the Chief Nursing Officer on this development, demanding to see information in relation to staffing pressures, which we understand to be the basis on which this request has been made. We have also asked for clarity in relation to the hospitals at which military personnel could be deployed.

“There must be full transparency in relation to staff pressures across our hospitals.

“We will be writing formally to the Minister urgently seeking detailed reasons for this decision, including seeking information as to what other avenues of support have been sought, such as securing additional staffing from private sector healthcare providers.

“We will be demanding clarity in relation to the roles and responsibilities that military personnel may take.

“We will keep our members updated on this issue.”

Follow-up statement from the same account, 2.28am:

“MESSAGE FROM PATRICIA McKEOWN, REGIONAL SECRETARY

“Several hours ago, UNISON posted information for members following reports in the media that military personnel are to be deployed into the health service to assist in responding to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

“We have seen the social media response to our earlier post and regrettably it has been misunderstood. We are happy to clarify and expand on it.

“To be absolutely clear UNISON has not objected to assistance from military personnel.

“UNISON has publicly supported the efforts of the Health Minister to confront the pandemic in all too often difficult political circumstances.

“In our experience the deployment of military personnel into public services is a decision taken as a last resort. We were immediately concerned that a request for aid of this nature indicates a crisis that is moving out of control.

“This is why it is important that we know in advance what options are being explored.

“We signposted our intention to ask a number of questions on this development, given that disappointingly there had not been consultation in advance.

“We have never underestimated the severe pressure all health and social services workers are under at this time. We have been publicly and repeatedly at the forefront of highlighting that pressure from the outset of the pandemic at every opportunity.

“On an almost daily basis we have been in continuous and extensive negotiation with the Department of Health and employers on measures to reduce the pressure on the workforce, as our members continue to respond despite growing stress, fatigue, sickness and fatalities.

“This is the worst public health crisis in living memory and it is right that all avenues of support for the health service and those working in it be explored, including assistance from military personnel. It is equally right that the workforce and their unions should be fully consulted in advance.

“Our request is for detailed information on how, when and where external personnel will be deployed and what the management and accountability structures will be for them. These are important questions.

“Our call to see the most-up-to-date information on urgent staffing pressures is due to the fact that we have impressed upon the Department and the employers the need to keep UNISON totally informed when and where it becomes apparent that shifts cannot be covered safely. Safe staffing is precisely why our members took industrial action a little over a year ago.

“We have stressed the need to explore every option including the deployment of nursing and other staff in the private health sector under the control and direct management of the health service. We have not been presented with any information on this as an urgent action under consideration.

“It is our duty as a trade union to protect our members and the service. It is the responsibility of those running the service to explore all options and disclose the information in a timely manner.

“We have listened to our members’ concerns. We have shared in more detail the efforts we have been making to try to take pressure off our members and protect the service. We are now anticipating an early engagement with the Minister and we will report the outcome of this to our members through our branch structures.”

Read more from this reporter:

Click here: Abortion: Westminster warns it is ready to intervene again over full access in NI

Click here: Family-owned greengrocer: We are better stocked than Tesco

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor