{"id":16368,"date":"2018-09-26T12:16:16","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T11:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=16368"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:12","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:12","slug":"unite-labour-ian-bruce-royal-liverpool-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=16368","title":{"rendered":"‘Important victory’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On the final day of the Labour Party conference (September 26) Unite delegate Ian Bruce moved an emergency motion on the crisis facing the Royal Liverpool Hospital, which had been mothballed following Carillion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collapse earlier this year.<\/p>\n

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Ian called it \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba scandal created by corporate greed, lies and corruption\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe new Royal Liverpool Hospital is 18 months late and sadly still unfinished,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ian pointed out. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe existing hospital that serves the health needs of Liverpool is falling to pieces and no longer able to properly function.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe care of patients is suffering because this hospital is inadequate. The dedicated NHS staff are being placed under intolerable pressure due to trying to provide first class care in a third class building.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Ian placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of construction giant Carillion which collapsed in January.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNo work has occurred on this site since then,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen the building was inspected the inspectors found many serious structural concerns.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know the extent of that damage as the trust won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t release the structural engineering report. On top of that it was revealed only a fortnight ago that some of the cladding on the hospital was unsafe as it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pass fire tests.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Referencing the Grenfell disaster, Ian told conference that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwe know what devastation this can bring.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He pointed out that the hospital trust asked Carillion before it went bust, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWas the cladding safe?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey responded yes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut as we now know Carillion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s management had a serious problem with the truth.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe cost of replacing the cladding and the structural work will cost millions and even then the hospital has still got to be finished before it can serve the health needs of the people of Liverpool.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ian told conference of the growing community campaign<\/a>, in which Unite has played an integral part, in demanding that the hospital be built.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Conservative government which was asleep at the wheel when Carillion went bust have been slumbering ever since and failed to take action to get work restarted,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWell this week they finally woke up.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite, the trade unions, MPs, the local mayors and most importantly the people of Liverpool secured a great victory yesterday as the Trust announced that the PFI contract will be terminated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd rather than a new PFI contract the hospital will be completed through direct government funding.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ian paid tribute to Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson who he said was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bkey in helping us win that battle\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut there is still a war to be won,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ian added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe now know that the hospital will not be operational until spring 2020 — a disgraceful three years late.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He denounced the fact that the \u00e2\u20ac\u015bprivate spivs\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 behind the failed PFI deal \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Legal and General as well as the European Investment Bank — are going to get compensation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a penny,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ian argued. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey should be told\u00c2\u00a0you\u00c2\u00a0rolled the dice. You lost now pay up now. And any compensation must not be at the expense of the people of Liverpool who have already suffered enough.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He went on to say that while the Royal Liverpool Hospital campaign welcomed the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funding commitment, he said that so far there have been no commitments about which firm will build the hospital and how their workers will be treated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe coalition in Liverpool needs to stay together,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ian asserted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Royal Liverpool must be completed with direct employment — not bogus self-employment or umbrella companies.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He added that their rates of pay must be decent and unions must be given full access to the workplace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere must be no chance of the dirty disgusting practice of blacklisting occurring,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEven a sniff of it would be a betrayal of the people of Liverpool.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis week we should feel proud of the pressure of the united Labour movement; it has won us an important victory,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ian concluded as he urged conference to support the motion. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow lets us ensure workers on the Royal are treated decently, honourably and fairly.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the final day of the Labour Party conference (September 26) Unite delegate Ian Bruce moved an emergency motion on the crisis facing the Royal Liverpool Hospital, which had been mothballed following Carillion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collapse earlier this year.   Ian called it \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba scandal created by corporate greed, lies and corruption\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe new Royal Liverpool […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[872,1022,1028],"wps_subtitle":"Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ian Bruce hails Royal Liverpool Hospital campaign win","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16368"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25836,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16368\/revisions\/25836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}