TUC calls for commission to repair ‘broken’ public services

The plan is to bring together unions, employers and independent experts to tackle challenges facing the NHS, schools and other parts of the public sector.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said there was a crisis in hospitals, schools and other sectors after 14 years of underinvestment under the Conservatives.

In an interview ahead of the annual TUC Congress this weekend, Mr Nowak told the PA news agency he could not name one public service which was better than 14 years ago.

Workers across the public sector, including nurses, teachers and those in organisations such as the Environment Agency, Revenue and Customs and Health and Safety Executive, could now earn more money in the private sector, leading to huge numbers of vacancies, unions believe.

Mr Nowak called for a “fresh start” for public services with the formation of a Public Services Workforce Commission, adding that a top priority would be dealing with the recruitment and retention crisis he said was blighting many parts of the public sector and costing the Treasury billions in expensive agency staff.

Ahead of the conference, which opens in Brighton on Sunday, the TUC published an opinion poll among more than 3,200 members of the public which highlighted “huge concern” over the state of the UK’s public services.

Three out of five respondents said public services are deteriorating, with a majority believing the NHS and local government services have got worse over the last five years.

The state of social care, policing and criminal justice, schools and public transport were also criticised by those surveyed.

Mr Nowak told the PA news agency that public services had been “cut to the bone” under the Conservatives, while workers and unions had been “ignored”, but he was hopeful of a completely different approach by the Labour government.

There were clear signals that the promised Employment Bill will be delivered, heralding a huge change in workers’ rights, he said.

The union organisation said the new Government’s decision in July to deliver “real terms” pay rises to a range of public sector workers was “a crucial first step” in dealing with the staffing pressures in frontline services.

During the Conservatives’ time in office real wages in public sector suffered a “steep decline”, said the TUC, falling by an average of 3.6% from 2010 to this year, dealing a “hammer blow” to morale and forcing staff to quit.

Following more than two years of strikes by hundreds of thousands of workers, Labour’s election victory is an opportunity to reset industrial relations, said Mr Nowak.

He added: “The last Conservative government drove our public services into the ground. This has had a devastating impact on communities up and down Britain and has left our country poorer and weaker.

“We know that fixing 14 years of Tory mismanagement and neglect won’t be an overnight job.

“But unions are ready to roll up their sleeves to help rebuild our broken public realm.”

Ash James, director of practice and development at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said: “The creation of this commission can’t come quickly enough for NHS staff and patients.

“Three quarters of physios in the latest NHS survey said they do not have sufficient staffing on their team to do their job properly. This presents real harm and risk to patients.

“Insufficient staffing affects staff morale and low retention. A high proportion of physios are leaving the NHS within the first five years of their career.“