Confederation of Health Service Employees
# Confederation of Health Service Employees

The Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) was a United Kingdom trade union representing workers primarily in the National Health Service.

## History

The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the Mental Hospital and Institutional Workers Union and the Hospital and Welfare Services Union, with the aim of having one union to represent workers in the National Health Service on its formation.

In 1993, COHSE merged with two other trade unions - NUPE (the National Union of Public Employees) and NALGO (the National and Local Government Officers Association ) - to form UNISON, the largest public sector trade union in the UK.

### Major COHSE campaigns

    1948: Nursing Students Pay
    1959: Unofficial Overtime ban
    1962: Nurses Pay (Lets twist again)
    1972–73: Ancillary Pay strikes (Low pay)
    1974: Nurses Pay (Halsbury)
    1974?: Private Patients Dispute
    1979: Public Sector Pay (Winter of Discontent)
    1982: NHS Staff Pay campaign (12%claim)
    1988: Nurses Pay (Clinical Grading)
    1989–1990: Ambulance Dispute

### Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates at each Parliamentary election from 1979.

| Election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1979 general election | Dudley West | Mike Hartley-Brewer | 29,109 | 49.1 | 2 |
| 1979 general election | Ealing North | William Molloy | 26,044 | 43.6 | 2 |
| 1979 general election | Fife Central | Willie Hamilton | 27,619 | 58.0 | 1 |
| 1979 general election | Loughborough | John Cronin | 24,589 | 39.6 | 2 |
| 1979 general election | Oldham West | Michael Meacher | 17,802 | 52.4 | 1 |
| 1979 general election | Rhondda | Alec Jones | 38,007 | 75.2 | 1 |
| 1983 general election | Central Fife | Willie Hamilton | 17,008 | 43.1 | 1 |
| 1983 general election | Oldham West | Michael Meacher | 17,690 | 44.1 | 1 |
| 1983 general election | Rhondda | Allan Rogers | 29,448 | 61.7 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Oldham West | Michael Meacher | 20,291 | 49.4 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Redcar | Mo Mowlam | 22,824 | 47.3 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Rhondda | Allan Rogers | 35,015 | 73.4 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Stoke-on-Trent North | Joan Walley | 25,459 | 47.1 | 1 |
| 1987 general election | Workington | Dale Campbell-Savours | 24,019 | 52.4 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Falkirk West | Dennis Canavan | 19,162 | 49.8 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Oldham West | Michael Meacher | 21,580 | 52.8 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Redcar | Mo Mowlam | 27,184 | 56.0 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Rhondda | Allan Rogers | 34,243 | 74.5 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Stoke-on-Trent North | Joan Walley | 30,464 | 56.7 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Wallasey | Angela Eagle | 26,531 | 48.9 | 1 |
| 1992 general election | Workington | Dale Campbell-Savours | 26,719 | 56.9 | 1 |

## Leadership

### General Secretaries

    1946: George Gibson
    1947: Cliff Comer
    1953: Jack Waite
    1958: Jack Jepson
    1967: Dick Akers
    1969: Frank Lynch
    1974: Albert Spanswick
    1983: David Williams
    1987: Hector MacKenzie

### Presidents

    1946: Claude Bartlett
    1962: Ron Farmer
    1965: Bob Vickerstaff
    1976: Eric Wilson
    1982: Sid Ambler
    1987: Colin Robinson
