Survey reveals impact on families of low maternity pay
The cost of living crisis is affecting women and babies living on low levels of maternity pay and benefits, and affecting their health and wellbeing, warns national charity, Maternity Action, in its new report, A Perfect Storm, launched today.
A survey of 1,394 mothers who had taken maternity leave at some point between January 2021 and December 2022 reported that, while on leave:
half (49%) were buying less healthy food and one quarter had gone without food to feed their children
71% worried ‘a lot’ about money during pregnancy or maternity leave, an increase from 64% in an equivalent 2022 survey
...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 14, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Janey Starling Tags: Article News cost of living low-paid women pregnancy pregnancy and maternity rights Source Type: news
Financial wellbeing week – spaces still available
UNISON’s financial wellbeing week is offering four days packed with webinars and workshops from 27-30 November.
The week aims to help UNISON members to develop skills in financial planning, how to manage money and how to battle debt pressures.
There are still places at two events:
‘Making the most of your membership’, for members and non-members. (Monday 27 November, 12-1pm)
‘Credit, borrowing and debt’, for UNISON members only (Wednesday 29 November, 12-1pm)
See below for details of each session and when it will be running. All sessions will be delivered online via MS Teams or Zoom.
Sign up by completing the f...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 8, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News financial wellbeing learning Source Type: news
Thames Water announces it is to consult on axing 300 jobs
Thames Water, the UK’s largest water company, has announced the start of a consultation to remove over 300 roles in order to “reduce costs further and become more efficient”. This could mean over 140 redundancies, and many roles axed through the removal of vacancies.
As the largest union in the employer, UNISON is raising serious concerns about the proposals – for example, whether sufficient analysis has been done on the impact of the job cuts on workloads and whether there have been more vacancies removed over the past month than have been quoted.
The consultation also comes as the company is still working through...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 6, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News redundancy water Source Type: news
Donate to aid efforts in Gaza and Israel
UNISON is horrified by the devastating violence seen in Israel and Gaza in recent weeks.
General secretary Christina McAnea says: “I know that many UNISON activists are eager to respond to the crisis, so we are encouraging all our branches to support the critical work of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Red Cross.
“UNISON condemns the brutal and heinous attack by Hamas against innocent civilians in Israel, and the indiscriminate bombing and collective punishment of the people of Gaza. We are calling for a ceasefire, the immediate and safe release of hostages and for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza....
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 6, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News Christina McAnea general secretary international international aid NEC Source Type: news
Wirral hospitals strike paused as workers win back pay after lengthy campaign
A strike planned for next week by more than 500 clinical support workers (CSWs) at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been called off after the employer agreed to UNISON’s demand for five years of back pay, says the union today (Friday).
The development follows a UNISON campaign over several months, during which workers were on strike for 13 days ahead of the latest offer.
The staff are employed at Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge hospitals.
Clinical support workers on band 2 of the NHS’s Agenda for Change pay scale should only provide personal care such as bathing and feeding.
However, UNI...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 3, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release HCArebanding Source Type: news
New Environment Agency offer means strike suspension and pay talks
The four-day strike that had been due to take place from Friday 3 November involving hundreds of Environment Agency workers represented by UNISON has been suspended to allow pay talks to happen.
Staff working to protect communities from the aftermath of Storm Babet and the onslaught of Storm Ciarán were reluctantly due to walk out from 7am on Friday until 7am on Monday as part of their long-standing dispute over pay, says UNISON.
The decision to call off the strike was taken after the Environment Agency confirmed ministers had given it permission to negotiate a new offer* to give employees a long-overdue wa...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 2, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Dan Ashley Tags: News Press release environment agency pay talks Source Type: news
Poole education members strike over low pay
UNISON members at The Victoria Education Centre in Poole are taking strike action today, after their employer failed to deliver a pay rise for staff.
The special education school is run by disability charity Livability, but it has not made a pay offer that addresses historic low wages by comparison to other school settings across Dorset and nationally.
A membership recruitment campaign began in 2021 and saw a recognition agreement signed with the employer in March 2022.
Regional organiser Mike Cracknell said: “The strength of feeling was so high that a formal industrial action ballot generated a whopping 81% response rat...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - November 2, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article News education Industrial action Liveability low pay strike Source Type: news
Overseas nurses gather for ‘empowering’ day
Members of the overseas nurses’ network gathered at UNISON centre last week for their annual seminar. The network aims to connect overseas nurses for mutual support, to offer expertise to UNISON and to provide a safe space for individuals to share their experiences.
This year, the seminar allowed the nurses to engage with and question leaders in nursing organisations about their priorities for overseas nurses.
In other sessions, the event also gave attendees the opportunity to explore the ongoing impacts of the ‘hostile environment’ policies, discuss the work surrounding the Migrant Worker’s Charter and contribute ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 31, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article health nurses overseas nurses Source Type: news
‘Pay gaps exist because no one is looking,’ disabled members hear
Delegates at this year’s disabled members conference yesterday debated a range of issues that affect their members.
The motion ‘mind the pay gap’ noted that, even for those disabled people in work, the disability pay gap is growing and now stands at a shocking 17.2% or £3,700 less a year than non-disabled workers.
Looking also at the pay gaps across other equality strands, the motion notes that since gender pay gap reporting has been required, for organisations with more than 250 employees, there has been an improvement – from 18.4% in 2017 down to 14.9% in 2022.
And it states: “It is becoming clear that, until ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 31, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Demetrios Matheou Tags: Article News disabled members LGBT Source Type: news
Scottish Water staff to strike for four days in November
UNISON sent notices to Scottish Water this week, to inform it that members will be taking strike action for four days starting on 10 November.
The strikes come after UNISON members at Scottish Water voted overwhelmingly (78%) for action over a pay and grading dispute earlier this month.
The dispute comes after Scottish Water proposed changes to employment contracts without properly engaging with unions, causing anger amongst staff. The union says the proposals will cause years of wrangling over pay grades and push the lowest paid onto even lower wages and cause significant problems around equality legislation.
UNISON has ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 31, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News Scotland strike water Source Type: news
Disabled members look towards the general election
UNISON’s disabled members conference opened in Edinburgh at the weekend with a review of the union’s achievements over the past year in relation to disability equality, but also a disturbing picture of the problems that continue to be faced by members.
Amanda Sweetlove, deputy co-chair of the disabled members committee (pictured above), moved the annual report to delegates of what was their largest ever conference.
Ms Sweetlove reported that the committee had been “extremely busy” building on the successes of the 2022 year of disabled workers and embedding its focus on disability equality into all of UNISON’s wor...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 30, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Demetrios Matheou Tags: Article News disabled members Source Type: news
UNISON officer and activist recognised by health journal
Each year the HSJ (formerly the Health Service Journal) names the 50 most influential Black people in health policy in England over the upcoming 12 months.
The list is published to coincide with Black History Month which this year is themed Saluting Our Sisters. This year, the HSJ has recognised two UNISON women in the top10 – Helga Pile, UNISON’s deputy head of health, and May Parsons, a prominent health activist in the union.
Helga Pile
Helga was recognised partly for her key role in this year’s NHS pay dispute, noting she was often the public face of UNISON on TV and radio throughout the strikes (pictured a...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 24, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News awards Black history month health Source Type: news
Blog: Trade unions wouldn ’t be the same without Black Britons
Throughout history, the contributions of Black people have been overlooked and ignored. But Black History Month and UNISON’s Year of Black Workers are all about getting Black people’s achievements recognised and appreciated all year round.
Key Black figures have been at the forefront of fighting for social justice and equal rights in the UK. They’ve been instrumental in developing Britain’s culture, art and society as we know it now.
During this year’s Black History Month, we’ve been celebrating their achievements, but particularly those of Black women, as community builders, trade unionists, change makers and ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 24, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Christina McAnea Tags: General Secretary's blog News 2023 year of Black Workers Black history month equalities Windrush Source Type: news
UNISON appoints new regional secretary in the South West
Kerry Baigent has been appointed as the new regional secretary for UNISON in the South West, the union has announced today (Friday).
She started in her new role this week and takes over from Joanne Kaye, who retired earlier this year.
Kerry joined UNISON in 2014, initially working with the union’s health, local government and university branches in the Plymouth and Exeter areas. For the last five years, she has been managing UNISON’s Dorset and Somerset teams.
Prior to joining UNISON, Kerry worked as a firefighter for 21 years, and was also active in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
She was the first female ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 20, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release South West Source Type: news
Second Much More Than You Are exhibition fights ‘ bandism ’
The second annual Much More Than You Are exhibition was held at Newham University Hospital on Saturday to celebrate the full NHS team.
The event was launched last year by Newham Healthcare branch committee and, after its overwhelming success, has been turned into an annual celebration. According to branch secretary Chris Akaluka (pictured above), the idea of the event was to combat a culture of ‘bandism’.
Explaining the term, he says: “Bandism is a term I coined to describe the phenomenon where staff on higher bands may look down on those on lower bands.”
The day allowed people to demonstrate the diverse range of a...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - October 17, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News Greater London Region health One Team Day Source Type: news
