Next week – let ’ s find our voice through the ballot box
In just one week, on Thursday 5 May, UNISON members across the UK will get a chance to cast their votes in elections.
Most of the council seats up for election were last contested in 2018. The political landscape of the UK has clearly undergone huge changes in the past four years.
From parliamentary gridlock around Brexit to the 2019 general election Tory landslide, from the pandemic to the cost of living crisis, it’s now a different and more challenging world for UNISON members.
Clearly many of the issues that can decide local elections remain the same, such as bin collections, the state of neighbourhood parks and pavem...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 26, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Martin Cullen Tags: Article News local elections Source Type: news
Health debates turn to equalities
A busy afternoon for health delegates debating in Liverpool yesterday saw them debate a number of motions covering equality issues.
Domestic violence
Motion 23, submitted by the national women’s committee, urged conference to address domestic violence as a workplace issue. The mover of the motion, Cheryl Perit, opened by telling delegates: “Too many women live in fear of violence.”
Ms Perit added: “Home and work issues cannot always be neatly separated. Violence can frequently spill over into the workplace.
“The best employers are introducing workplace policies on domestic abuse. And these policies make disclosin...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 26, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News 2022 Health Care Service Group Conference Source Type: news
‘ This is genocide, ’ Ukrainian union leader tells health conference
UNISON’s health conference rose as one this morning to applaud Iryna Shvets, the deputy leader of the Health Workers’ Union of Ukraine (HWUU), and the people of that nation.
Addressing delegates virtually, Ms Shvets, whose union organises 600,000 doctors, nurses and health support workers, in all regions of Ukraine and in more than 90% of health care facilities, said that she would like to have talked “about peaceful health care matters”.
However, for the past two months, Ukrainians “have been raging a heroic struggle against the Russian occupiers”.
She thanked UNISON members in London for organising a delivery...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 26, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News 2022 Health Care Service Group Conference Ukraine Source Type: news
Ambulance pressures taking a significant toll on staff, says UNISON
Increasing pressures on ambulance services are leaving workers “overwhelmed” and struggling to shake off work stress when they finally finish their shifts, according to a new UNISON survey published today (Monday).
Emotional breakdowns, sleep problems, mood swings and the use of anti-depressants are among the issues reported by staff who have been dealing with unprecedented demand for months, says the union.
The survey gives a snapshot of the colossal scale of difficulties the ambulance workforce is facing daily, with resources stretched to the limit and waiting times hitting record highs, UNISON says.
Staff shorta...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 25, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release 2022 Health Care Service Group Conference Ambulance Sara Gorton Source Type: news
UNISON welcomes asbestos report
UNSON has broadly welcomed today’s report from the work and pensions committee, which calls for a deadline for the removal of asbestos in all public buildings.
With cancers related to asbestos – including mesothelioma – remaining one of the biggest causes of work-related deaths in the UK, the committee highlighted the risk of disturbing the material and exposing workers to it when retrofitting buildings in response to net zero plans around energy efficiency.
It also reported on a woeful lack of inspection and enforcement activity by the Health and Safety Executive.
The committee made a number of recommendations...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 21, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News asbestos health and safety Source Type: news
Blog: Deal to send refugees to Rwanda is a ‘ cruel trick ’
Last week, the UK government signed a deal with the autocratic government of Rwanda that would see us pay money for every refugee we deport from our shores. It is not just a trade in vulnerable human beings, it’s trading away our moral, legal and humanitarian duties.
Rwanda will be paid to take on the UK’s obligations to provide safe refuge to those fleeing wars and persecution. The deal will include families, women and children.
It will include deporting LGBT+ people – who turn to the UK for safety – to a country where gay and transgender people say that security officials accuse them of “not representing Rwanda...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 19, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Christina McAnea Tags: General secretary's blog News refugees Source Type: news
Conservative MP must apologis e to health staff over Covid law break slur, says UNISON
A Conservative MP who suggested health staff regularly broke Covid rules should retract his comments and apologise, says UNISON today (Thursday).
Michael Fabricant has repeated the remarks on social media which he made in an attempt to defend lockdown law breaking by the Prime Minister and Chancellor.
In a letter to the MP for Litchfield, UNISON head of health Sara Gorton has admonished him for insulting health staff who helped get the nation through Covid.
The letter says that nurses and other NHS workers would not have behaved as Cabinet members did by socialising or drinking at the end of their shifts, as th...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 14, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Sophie Goodchild Tags: News Press release Michael Fabricant NHS staff Source Type: news
NEC hears how the cost of living is dominating the union ’s work
In a meeting dominated by preparations for the first in-person national delegate conference since before the pandemic, there were still plenty of opportunities to discuss the issues affecting members as UNISON’s NEC met today.
General secretary Christina McAnea highlighted the cost of living crisis and the union’s campaigning on it, together with ongoing pay disputes and the need for the union to mobilise at the big TUC march and rally in June.
In her report to the NEC, the general secretary said: “We’re campaigning on the cost of the living and the cost of working. Rishi Sunak’s sweeping promises don’t stand u...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 13, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article cost of living NDC NEC Source Type: news
It ’s right to celebrate diversity, but much more needed to tackle racism in the NHS
Commenting on NHS England’s race equality standard report published today (Thursday), which says the NHS workforce is more diverse than at any point in its history, UNISON deputy head of health Helga Pile said:
“While it’s good to see NHS staff better reflect the communities served by their hospitals, unfortunately the picture isn’t quite so rosy when it comes to their experiences at work.
“White applicants are still more likely to be appointed than black job seekers. Black staff are more likely to be disciplined and experience bullying or harassment from patients and other staff. They...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 7, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release Source Type: news
Energy strategy is a smokescreen that won ’t help squeezed consumers
Commenting on the publication of the government’s energy strategy today (Thursday), UNISON national energy officer Matthew Lay said:
“To call this a strategy is a complete misnomer.
“It does nothing to ease the pain people are feeling now, nor to bring Britain closer to meeting its net zero targets. It’s a smokescreen covering the mistakes of the past that have left us so dangerously reliant on fossil fuels.
“Lack of detail on how any changes will be funded is worryingly familiar. Already-squeezed consumers will likely have to fork out to make up for years of energy mismanagement.
“It’s totally unforg...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 7, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release energy sector Source Type: news
Blog: The chancellor should look again at the impact of NI tax hike
British households are facing a financial crisis, with living standards set to see the biggest drop in 50 years. But the cost of living is not the only thing on the up: the cost of working is getting more expensive too.
There are rising costs for simply doing your job – whether it’s the commute, childcare, using a vehicle for work, car-parking or taxes and, after more than a decade of real-terms pay cuts, public sector workers are being left seriously out of pocket.
Today, the cost of working will increase significantly for millions of workers across the UK. If you work and earn over £9,880 per year, you pay natio...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 6, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Christina McAnea Tags: General secretary's blog Christina McAnea cost of living Source Type: news
Government must get a grip on the cost-of-living crisis and increase public sector pay
Public sector pay must be increased and the government has to introduce new measures to give emergency help for hard-pressed people as calamitous new pressures worsen the cost-of-living squeeze even further today (Friday), UNISON says.
Without a pay rise to help workers meet soaring costs, vital public services will struggle to hang on to skilled staff which could put some services at risk. Failure to help public sector workers will push countless families into poverty.
The union is calling for urgent action as energy prices rise sharply today, on top of the 30-year high for UK inflation with fuel prices and household bil...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 31, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release cost of living energy bills national insurance Source Type: news
Education catch-up plans won ’t work if teaching assistants and other support staff are ignored
Commenting on the education white paper published today (Monday), UNISON head of education Mike Short said:
“School catch-up plans will fail if the concerns of teaching assistants and other support staff aren’t urgently addressed.
“They’re a key element in tackling the education backlog for every school. But without a clear plan to recruit and hold on to them, out-of-touch ministers are hobbling the chances of millions of pupils in need.
“Schools can’t function without the dedication of support staff – like teaching assistants, caretakers and cleaners. Often the lowest paid staff members, many put th...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 28, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release education white paper school staff Source Type: news
NHS facing stiff competition for staff from high street firms, says UNISON
The NHS risks losing thousands of low-paid staff including 999 call handlers, healthcare assistants, medical secretaries and cleaners to the private sector unless wages increase significantly, says a report published today (Monday) by UNISON.
Major names on the high street including supermarkets, coffee shops and logistics firms, are among those promoting wages that exceed the lowest hourly rates in the NHS.
Morrisons is offering a minimum of £10 an hour compared with £9.49 for a hospital porter or catering assistant, and Amazon’s basic rate is £11.10 for some permanent staff, according to the research c...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 27, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Sophie Goodchild Tags: News Press release NHS pay rise Source Type: news
Out-of-touch chancellor is sacrificing public services for personal popularity
Responding to comments by the chancellor today (Thursday) that two years of public spending ‘discipline’ will be needed to deliver his 1% tax cut in 2024, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“The chancellor’s mask has slipped. A tax cut two years away won’t help anyone struggling to make ends meet now. But it will mean cutting back essential public services and the wages of the hard-working people delivering them taking a pummelling.
“Healthcare assistants, teaching assistants and refuse collectors will suffer financial hardship and real pay cuts so Rishi Sunak can inc...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 24, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release cost of living public sector pay Source Type: news
