Testing increase welcome, but government must be careful not to overpromise, says UNISON
Commenting on the announcement by health secretary Matt Hancock today (Thursday) that the government is aiming to conduct 100,000 tests by the end of April, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:
“Testing is key in the fight against the virus. It’s clear the UK isn’t doing enough. We can’t waste another minute.
“But the government must be realistic about what’s possible and not overpromise. Delivering over the coming weeks will be crucial to how both frontline staff and the wider public view the government’s ability to manage the crisis.
“Many NHS and care staff at home in isolation want to be te...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - April 2, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release care workers coronavirus coronavirus testing dave prentis NHS Source Type: news
Promises of protective equipment alone won ’t keep people safe, says UNISON
Promises of personal protective equipment (PPE) alone won’t keep NHS, care, police and other essential workers safe, says UNISON today (Tuesday) as the union urges the Prime Minister to ensure all staff get the protection they need.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has written to Boris Johnson demanding he takes action to ensure all hospitals, care homes, police forces and council services have the sanitiser, gowns, masks and gloves needed to keep staff safe.
While supplies of PPE have clearly got through to parts of the UK’s public services, UNISON is concerned there are still many workers who have little or ...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - March 31, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: Article News Press release coronavirus dave prentis PPE public services Source Type: news
Don ’t push key workers and the vulnerable to the back of the queue, says UNISON
Ministers and supermarkets must work together to ensure key workers and the vulnerable get the food they need, says UNISON today (Friday).
The union says there must be co-ordinated measures to prioritise health staff and other public service workers who are unable to buy even the basics at the end of their shifts because of the widespread panic buying.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Sadly the time has come for ministers to take more decisive action to avoid key workers and vulnerable people being left without food after selfish and irresponsible stockpiling.
“Government calls for people not to hoard food ...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - March 20, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release coronavirus dave prentis NHS staff public services Source Type: news
12 Labour pledges for public services
When Labour published its manifesto for next week’s general election, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis welcomed it, saying: “I commend this manifesto to UNISON members because it’s a manifesto that reflects the priorities of our union. It shows why Labour is the best party for public services.”
But why does Dave think voting for Labour next Thursday is the best course for UNISON members?
Here are 12 instances where Labour has listened to UNISON – and included what we want in the party’s manifesto.
These are big wins for all our members, for their families, their communities and for our public services.
...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - December 4, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tony Braisby Tags: Article activists ge19 general election 2019 labour link Labour Party Source Type: news
Reserved (low pay) seat threshold for 2020
UNISON’s principles of proportionality and fair representation means that some seats on elected bodies, including the NEC, are reserved for women and low-paid members, so that the make-up fairly represents the wider union.
The definition of “low paid” reflects the median gross weekly earnings for all jobs (full time or part time) and is revised each year.
The median gross weekly earnings figure for 2019/20 has been calculated in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings at £479.10, a 4.2% increase on last year.
This means the cut-off wage for election to reserved (low pay) seats in the union is now £10.63 an hour
&nb...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - November 8, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tony Braisby Tags: News activists elections Source Type: news
Labour plans will transform working lives of women
Commenting on Labour’s proposals to improve the workplace for women, UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said today (Thursday):
“Balancing work with caring for children or elderly parents and running a home can be a struggle for many women.
“Good employers know that paying women fairly, offering them generous maternity leave and pay packages, along with flexible working, support through the menopause and a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment can significantly ease that burden.
“It also makes for sound business sense as motivated staff, who feel supported in the workplace, pe...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - November 8, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Charlotte Jeffs Tags: News Press release Christina McAnea labour women Source Type: news
Fighting sexual harassment and standing up for disabled workers
Delegates took part in an impassioned debate on sexual harassment in the workplace in the final session of national conference in Liverpool, while also voting unanimously for 2021 to be designated the Year of Disabled Workers.
Pat Heron (pictured), speaking on behalf of women’s conference, argued that, with over a million women members UNISON must lead the way on fighting sexual harassment. “We must lead the way,” she said, “encouraging our branches and our women to come forward.
“We are all complacent if we don’t speak out,” she said.
“Members need to know UNISON will support them so they can be confiden...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - June 24, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Martin Cullen Tags: Article disabled members National Disabled Members sexual harassment women members young members Source Type: news
Care staff forced to sleep in offices and not wash
This report demonstrates how much sleep-in staff are relied upon.
“They’re effectively keeping the care system on its feet. Yet workers are hugely undervalued by employers and paid poverty wages.
“It’s totally unacceptable to leave staff to sleep in offices, and not protect them from abuse.
“More staff could quit their jobs if employers don’t act, leaving care even more in crisis.”
UNISON is now calling on employers to improve sleep-in working conditions such as providing somewhere safe and clean to sleep, carrying out proper risk assessments, and for the government to fund the back pay owed to sleep-in shift...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - June 17, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Alison Charlton Tags: News Press release care homes dave prentis Source Type: news
UCL UNISON launches #BringThemIn campaign for outsourced workers
“Bring them in” is the cry echoing around the central London campus of University College London this year after the UNISON branch launched a campaign for members providing security, catering and cleaning to be brought in-house and directly employed by the university.
The work is currently outsourced to private companies Sodexo and Axis.
This means more than 800 staff working on the contracts have worse terms and conditions that colleagues employed by UCL itself, including less annual leave, less maternity and paternity leave, far worse pensions and little or no occupational sick pay.
“Our members deserve equality in...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - January 25, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tony Braisby Tags: Article News he higher ed higher education insourcing outsourcing private contractors privatisation universities Source Type: news
Energy unions call for talks on just transition
Energy unions are calling for talks with the government this year to help workers and communities adapt to the low-carbon economy needed to deal with global warming.
The four unions – UNISON, Unite, GMB and Prospect – represent 200,000 workers in the sector and launched a template for a “just transition” to low carbon over the Christmas holidays.
Now they want to hold discussions with business, energy and industrial strategy secretary Greg Clark to “chart a constructive way forward in the decade ahead”.
The template grew out of a conference of energy workers from all four unions, hosted and organised by UNISON ...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - January 3, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tony Braisby Tags: Article climate change Energy just transition renewable energy Source Type: news
The government should lower retirement age for ambulance staff, says UNISON
The government is being urged to lower the retirement age for ambulance staff to bring them into line with other emergency services workers, says UNISON today (Monday).
Paramedics will this afternoon travel to Whitehall to hand the health and social care secretary Matt Hancock a petition. It has been signed by more than 250,000 people and is calling for their retirement age to be reduced from 67 to 60.
Ambulance workers face extreme physical and mental pressures, says UNISON, including shifting from day to night rotas, lifting and carrying patients, and attending traumatic incidents.
But they currently retire seven years l...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - December 10, 2018 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Charlotte Jeffs Tags: Press release health Source Type: news
MP says we need to change how disability is reported
“People with disabilities are so much more than benefits!” That was how Emma Lewell-Buck MP responded to a question at UNISON’s disabled members’ conference this afternoon, about how much of the media represents disabled people.
The guest speaker – the Labour member for South Shields and shadow education minister responsible for children and families’ policy – said that much of the media coverage of disabled people is, too often, inextricably bound up with reporting about benefits.
That, she continued, was in large part because Parliament makes that link too – that disabled people are only seen in terms of ...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - October 28, 2018 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Amanda Kendal Tags: Article disabled members national disabled members' conference 2018 Source Type: news
Cuts to police and justice sector puts communities at risk, says UNISON
Rising crime rates can no longer be ignored by the government, warns UNISON today (Thursday).
Speaking at UNISON’s annual police and justice conference in Bournemouth, assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“The police and justice sector has been affected in the last eight years by unprecedented cuts and a massive re-organisation.
“Since 2010 police community support officer numbers across the country have been slashed by 40% and in Norfolk the provision has been cut completely.
“Overall, one in five police staff jobs have been lost, and there has been a 14% reduction in police officer jobs. The probati...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - October 11, 2018 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Anna Mauremootoo Tags: Article Christina McAnea police Source Type: news
Boosting our members ’ digital confidence
UNISON is supporting the Get Online Week – 15-21 October – to help build members’ digital confidence and remove barriers that prevent them fully taking part in an increasingly technical world.
The union’s learning and organising team will be rolling out a digital champions network next year and is encouraging members to #try1thing online during the week as part of programme to support members who need to get the right skills for day-to-day digital life.
The week comes after the government launched an essential digital skills framework in response to figures showing that more than 11 million people in the UK lack fu...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - October 5, 2018 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tony Braisby Tags: Article activists activists education digital learning learning and organising lifelong learning member learning members' learning online learning our activists support for learning Source Type: news
Justice restored
It’s one year since UNISON beat the government at the Supreme Court and forced an immediate change in the law.
The case made headlines. Now we can tell the full story of how David beat Goliath. It’s a remarkable, epic tale that spans over four years. And it’s all true.
We hear from the people who made it happen and the ordinary members who are currently fighting for what’s right, thanks to that famous win.
If you ever want to know what difference your union makes, you just need to read this…
The article Justice restored first appeared on the UNISON National site. (Source: UNISON Health and safety news)
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - August 1, 2018 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Rosa Ellis Tags: Article Source Type: news
