BOSTU Officers are frequently and regularly engaged in discussion with other members of the staff side of the NHS Staff Council. This ensures our members are represented at the highest level and that we are informed of decisions and developments in a timely manner.
The current recognised organisations are:
- British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT)
- British Dental Association (BDA)
- British Medical Association (BMA)
- British Dietetic Association (BDA)
- British Orthoptic Society (BOS)
- Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)
- Federation of Clinical Scientists (FCS)
- General and Municipal Workers Union (GMB)
- Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA)
- The Royal College of Midwives (RCM)
- The Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
- College of Podiatry (COP)
- Society of Radiographers (SoR)
- Unite
- Unison
Seats and voting rights are variable depending on the size of the organisation. BOSTU has one seat and one vote, as have COP and BDA, wheras Unison, the largest union, has seven seats and twelve votes.
Despite being the smallest member union, a member of the BOSTU Executive is welcomed at the regular monthly meetings of the TU leads. We are recognised and valued as being an organisation that is very close to its members, as the majority of our Executive are practicing orthoptists in the NHS and all are actively involved in case work. The officers of the other TUs at national level are professional TU activists and administrators and do not necessarily have a background within the profession of the members they represent. As a result the Council members are always interested in the perspective of our Executive, coming from direct experience.
The Executive posts of Secretary, Treasurer and Chair (plus three assistant posts) for the staff side of the Staff Council are appointed by the staff side, nominated from within the staff side and voted for by the staff side. The Executives regularly meet with the management side of the staff council, taking with them the collective opinions of the wider staff side and bringing back to us issues for joint decision making. In this way, the concerns of orthoptists working in the NHS can be relayed via local representatives and our own Executive, to NHS employers.
There are many and varied sub groups that meet to research, develop and negotiate specific employment policy and protection subjects. Any member of the staff side with a special interest can be co-opted onto a sub-committee with approval of the wider staff side.
As well as the monthly meetings, the staff side holds an Annual General meeting to which local representatives (lay members) can also attend and staff council holds plenary meetings at which all staff side are invited to meet management side.
Whilst the function of the staff council is to negotiate on Agenda for Change pay and terms and conditions for NHS staff in England, nominated representatives from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales attend the meetings on behalf of their wider staff side forums to share information.
BOSTU are currently seeking national representatives from Northern Ireland, Scotland nor Wales. We would really welcome a BOSTU representative from each of the home countries so we can properly represent the entire membership. A BOSTU executive member would also be able to attend the forum equivalent to staff council in their own country enabling them to represent their members and access information on their behalf more quickly than is currently possible.
We continue to engage and work with our staff side colleagues on behalf of our entire membership and always welcome any members and local reps who are interested in getting more involved.
If you would be interested in becoming involved in BOSTU, you can find out more here, or contact us directly for an informal discussion.
Deborah Podmore
BOS TU President
[email protected]
If you are interested in finding out more:
Visit the BOS TU pages.
BOS TU is one of the 48 member Unions of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).