What does the budget really mean for you?
by Anna Birley from UNISON’s policy unit
While goings on in Westminster can feel a long way from normal day-to-day life, the decisions made at the budget by the chancellor have a huge impact on everybody’s work, household finances and the public services we all rely on.
This week’s budget was no different, so let’s break down what the budget means for you and the services you rely on, along with some helpful myth-busting on the way.
What’s happening with my taxes?
The biggest headline, which was trailed days before the formal announcement, was the 2p cut in National Insurance. At first glance, this se...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 7, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Martin Cullen Tags: Article News budget General election 2024 national insurance Tax Source Type: news
Care sector couldn ’t function without its migrant workforce, says UNISON
Commenting on new figures from the Home Office that show an increase in the number of health and care visas issued, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“The government has let social care get into such a dire state that the sector can no longer function without overseas workers to fill the huge gaps in staffing.
“Instead of grappling with the real problems by funding social care properly and tackling the exploitation of migrant staff, ministers now want to make matters even worse by stopping potential carers from bringing their children here with them.
“Major reform of care is long overdue. But until...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 1, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Dan Ashley Tags: News Press release care care workers national care service Source Type: news
NHS pay key to cutting waiting lists, says UNISON
Commenting on the publication of the government’s evidence to the NHS pay review body, UNISON acting head of health Helga Pile said:
“NHS workers should be getting this year’s wage rise in a matter of weeks. But because ministers were so late getting the pay review body process started and didn’t get their own evidence in on time, staff will now have to wait months. This simply isn’t good enough.
“Unless the government gets a handle on pay and gives health workers a fair wage rise this year, many experienced staff will continue to be lost from the service.
“It’s time ministers ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - March 1, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Dan Ashley Tags: News Press release nhs pay nhs pay consultation PRB Source Type: news
A significant pay rise is essential for local government and school staff, say unions
The three local government unions, representing 1.4m council and school employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have called for a significant wage rise as they submitted their annual pay claim today (Thursday).
UNISON, GMB and Unite say a decent pay award is essential as staff continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, while the value of their wages has plummeted for more than a decade.
Unless councils and schools can pay competitive rates, employees will find better-paid, less-stressful work elsewhere and new recruits will be thin on the ground, the unions say.
Their joint pay claim, which would apply...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 29, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release council and school staff NJC pay Source Type: news
UNISON opinion: Why could tribunal fees be on the way back?
by UNISON’s head of legal services Shantha David
The government is consulting on reintroducing fees in the employment tribunals (ETs). If this becomes law, employees and workers will have to pay a single fee of £55 – whether they are bringing the case by themselves or as part of a group – when seeking to enforce their employment rights against their employer.
An appeal to the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) by the party challenging an ET decision will also attract a fee of £55.
Employment tribunals – or industrial tribunals as they were known until 1998 – were set up in the 1970s to provide employees and w...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 28, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Martin Cullen Tags: Article Blogs employment tribunal fees legal services unison legal Source Type: news
Making a national care service – from roadmap to reality
Images: Marcus Rose
Industry leaders, care workers, service users and politicians came together yesterday to examine what it will take to make a national care service a reality in England.
The Fabian Society’s National Care Service Summit, hosted at UNISON Centre, gave nearly 80 care sector stakeholders the opportunity to discuss and debate the questions of what a national care service should look like and how to get there?
The event took the Fabian’s report, Support Guaranteed: A Roadmap to a National Care Service, which UNISON commissioned in 2022, as context and asked attendees to apply their experience and expertis...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 28, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article care care workers national care service Source Type: news
From lab to plate: a six-course banquet featuring no-kill dim sum and steak frites
Lab-grown meat could become a mainstay in restaurants if products win regulatory approval. Biologists and chefs share menu ideasWhether roasted, grilled, fried or stewed, the combination of fat, umami and texture in a premium cut of meat is difficult to recreate. With sales of plant-based meatstagnating, the hunt for cruelty-free, sustainable and meaty-tasting alternatives continues. Enter lab-grown meat. Fermented in tanks, using cells from long-dead donors, it promises a more climate- and animal-friendly form of meat for the carnivore with a conscience.Last week, researchers announced that they had created“beef-culture...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 25, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Linda Geddes Tags: Food Science Meat Biology Meat industry Source Type: news
The NHS workers in a Mitie fight for fair pay
It’s a classic case of David v Goliath, with part-time hospital cleaner ‘Dudley Denise’ facing up to Mitie CEO ‘Miami Phil’. But in Denise’s corner, she and her colleagues have UNISON.
And when a group of them visited UNISON Centre on Wednesday, general secretary Christina McAnea (pictured above) made sure they knew the union is proud of them and that they’ll get all the support they need.
The members, who are employed by private contractor Mitie at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, walked out on their first day of strike action at 5am this morning (Friday), along with colleagues in UNITE.
The company continu...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 23, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News Mitie NHS private contractors West Midlands Source Type: news
Good employers must do the right thing for menopausal women
Commenting on new guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to employers about their legal obligations to women undergoing the menopause, UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said today (Thursday):
“The emotional and physical changes of the menopause can be overwhelming. As can their effect on women’s ability to do their jobs.
“All good employers must ensure the best possible working environment for all their staff. Women should be able to do their jobs in comfort and not made to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
“A clothing workplace policy that helps stop women from overheating, including sui...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 22, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release Menopause Source Type: news
UNISON opinion: A better way is possible for social care
By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea
Social care is broken. Despite it being an essential service that should be the cornerstone of a compassionate society, the Westminster government has washed its hands of it.
It has been allowed to deteriorate into a fragmented, underfunded and privatised system that’s unfit to meet the needs of social care users. The inadequate pay and conditions for the workers propping up the system, fail to recognise their value and contributions.
UNISON knows that care workers are the beating heart of social care, and is proud to represent so many working in care homes and communities.
Ca...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 22, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Christina McAnea Tags: Article General Secretary's blog Christina McAnea General election 2024 national care service wes streeting Source Type: news
The government ’s plan to tackle polluting water companies is wide of the mark
Commenting on the government’s plan to tackle polluting water companies announced today (Tuesday), UNISON head of environment Donna Rowe-Merriman said:
“It’s encouraging to see the government recognise the challenges Environment Agency staff face, but ministers’ plan is still well wide of the mark.
“Despite the best efforts of the workforce, spills have caused irreversible harm to coasts and rivers. Adding a handful of inspectors will make little difference.
“The government’s failure to fund the Agency properly has put staff under mounting pressure. Many have quit their jobs, leaving those still in post o...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 20, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release Donna Rowe-Merriman environment agency Source Type: news
Government must double maternity pay so mothers can afford to eat and heat homes
The government must increase statutory maternity pay to £364.70 a week so new mothers are not forced back to work too early, say UNISON and Maternity Action today (Friday).
Both organisations are concerned some women are cutting short their maternity leave, skipping meals and making other drastic choices because they cannot afford to live on the current statutory weekly amount of £172.48*.
UNISON and Maternity Action are urging ministers to more than double the payment at the very least so women receive the equivalent of the national minimum wage of £10.42 an hour.
A recent survey by Maternity Action on ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 16, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Sophie Goodchild Tags: News Press release maternity pay Source Type: news
Women in the UK ’ s public services repeatedly denied flexible-work requests
Three in ten (30%) women working in schools, hospitals, care homes, town halls, police stations and other key services who have asked to work flexibly have had requests denied, according to a UNISON survey released today (Thursday).
The findings – based on responses from just over 44,000 women working in the public sector – suggest employers are being ‘inconsistent, rigid and unimaginative’ by denying individuals the flexibility needed, says UNISON.
The survey is released to coincide with the start of the union’s annual women’s conference in Brighton later today. A quarter (25%) of the women who were to...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 15, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release flexible working Source Type: news
Ambulance workplace culture needs to change
Commenting on the findings of the independent review of the culture in ambulance services published today (Thursday), UNISON acting head of health Helga Pile said:
“All too often ambulance workers are expected to be superhuman and put up with whatever is thrown at them.
“But the reality is that there’s a huge personal cost if employees are mistreated at work. Stress and burnout are rife, which prompts experienced staff to leave, worsening the situation for the colleagues they leave behind and the public.
“Trusts mustn’t lose sight of the way staff are treated, even at times of huge pressure on the service.
“...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 15, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release ambulance workers Source Type: news
Women in the UK ’ s public services repeatedly denied flexible-work requests, says UNISON
Three in ten (30%) women working in schools, hospitals, care homes, town halls, police stations and other key services have had requests to work flexibly denied, according to a UNISON survey released today (Thursday).
The findings – based on responses from just over 44,000 women working in the public sector – suggest employers are being ‘inconsistent, rigid and unimaginative’ by denying individuals the flexibility needed, says UNISON.
The survey is released to coincide with the start of the union’s annual women’s conference in Brighton later today. A quarter (25%) of the women who were told they cou...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - February 15, 2024 Category: Food Science Authors: Dan Ashley Tags: News Press release 2024 women's conference flexible working Source Type: news
