The Government notes the New Year’s statement issued by the health branch of Unite the Union and wishes to place a number of important matters on the record, as well as wishing Unite and all of its membership a great 2026.

Minister Arias-Vasquez’s approach to reform at the GHA is, and has always been, focused on ensuring fairness and equity across the board for all staff, while safeguarding patient services and protecting the interests of the taxpayer. This has required difficult decisions and structural reform but is the only responsible way to deliver lasting improvement for staff, patients and the public.

This principle underpins all current workforce reform, including the Government’s intention to implement real Agenda for Change, which remains the recognised and proven framework for delivering fairness, consistency and transparency in pay, grading and progression, and was requested in Unite’s wish list before the 2023 General Election. We would urge Unite to engage with the GHA on these discussions. True fairness requires that reform is inclusive and applies across the organisation.  This is what the GHA wishes to achieve.

In this context, the decision for the GHA’s Industrial Relations Officer to now form part of the wider HMGoG Industrial Relations team should be welcomed by Unite, not criticised. The GHA is by far the Government entity with the largest and most complex volume of Union claims, with a workforce of circa 1,400. Integrating this function into the central Industrial Relations team effectively provides the GHA with access to a larger, more experienced and better resourced industrial relations team, strengthening the capacity to address longstanding matters in a more coordinated and consistent way.

This approach ensures that every claim is examined carefully, fairly and in line with standards applied across the whole of Government. It also allows the wider implications of any individual claim, including potential contagion effects, to be properly understood and examined before decisions are taken. This is not only in the interests of the GHA workforce, but also, importantly, in the interest of the taxpayer.

The Government must also correct the record in relation to remarks made by Unite’s Regional Officer, Donovan Correia, in an interview broadcast on GBC News on 2nd January 2026, in which he said:

“Well, there have been quite a few challenges this year, namely in disputes. The GHA, for instance, we've had quite a few, quite a few demonstrations outside No.6, not a lot of progress being made in those cases. It's for most part, it seems like we've been hitting brick walls with the government.”

The suggestion that “not a lot of progress” has been made at the GHA and that the Government has been “hitting brick walls” is factually incorrect. There were two demonstrations outside No.6 – the Industrials and the Allied Health Professionals. The issue with the Industrials was resolved on 21st July 2025 and the Allied Health Professionals claim for parity was agreed BEFORE the demonstration occurred.

At a 4-hour meeting on the 11th June 2025, Unite agreed there were 75 claims outstanding at that date. We went through these one by one. However, subsequently, further claims predating this meeting have emerged. Of the 75 historical claims 38 have now been closed. HMGoG would consider that to be progress.

The Government recognises that complex and historic matters remain, including issues affecting retired staff and remains fully committed to working through these responsibly and transparently.  A larger Industrial Relations team will, undoubtedly, assist with this. The processes and procedures which are now in place should assist with bringing consistency to all claims – although HMGoG understands why processes and procedures may be resisted.

The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said:
“Fairness is the foundation of everything we are doing at the GHA. It means fairness for staff across all disciplines, fairness in how claims are assessed, fairness in how our taxpayer’s money is spent and, ultimately, fairness for patients who rely on our GHA every single day.

“Every decision I have taken, and every decision I will take, is guided first and foremost by the interests of patients. That is the responsibility I carry and which I will not lose sight of.

“This is difficult work and it has required structural reform and difficult decisions. But we are delivering. More claims than ever before are being progressed, long-standing disputes are being resolved and the system is becoming stronger, more stable and more accountable.

“I will not accept an approach to reform that benefits some groups while leaving others behind. Agenda for Change is about building a workforce framework that works for everyone. My responsibility is to the whole GHA workforce, to patients and to the taxpayer, and that is exactly the approach we will continue to take. I therefore urge Unite to sit down with us and with the GGCA and let’s implement real Agenda for Change across the GHA, in Gibraltar’s interest.”