LGBT+ rights are at the heart of UNISON ’ s work
It’s international day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia (IDAHOBIT) – a day to commemorate the removal of homosexuality from the World Health Organisation’s list of mental disorders, and is a call to action as LGBT+ people are faced with new and increasing attacks.
As a proud ally to the LGBT+ community, I’m concerned about the rise of LGBT+ hate crime and hate speech. The lack of progress in protecting LGBT+ people against abhorrent practices like conversion therapy is deeply troubling.
The UK’s reputation on LGBT+ equality has taken a dive since the Tories took power in 2010. Each year, ILGA Euro...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - May 17, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Christina McAnea Tags: Article General Secretary's blog News LGBT Source Type: news
Strike-breaking legislation is unlawful, argues UNISON in High Court
General Secretary Christina McAnea (centre) with UNISON’s legal team outside the High Court this week
UNISON is challenging the government this week over regulations that allow employers to hire agency staff to replace striking workers.
Alongside the NASUWT and TUC, whose case is on behalf of eleven unions, UNISON asks that the High Court declares the government’s removal of regulation on agency workers unlawful. Together, the unions represent millions of workers in the UK.
Since 1976, it has been illegal for employers to introduce or supply agency workers to replace workers who are taking part in a strike or indus...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - May 5, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Janey Starling Tags: Article News agency workers judicial review unison legal Source Type: news
Cuts since 2010 have cost pupils £5,000 each in lost education
Government cuts to schooling mean a pupil who started school in England in 2010 has lost out on £5,384 of education funding by the time they graduate sixth form this year, according to new research published by UNISON.
Independent analysis, commissioned by the union from economic experts Landman Economics, shows the cumulative effect of Conservative cuts. It shows that, even with the increased money promised for each pupil in the 2022 Autumn Statement, funding remains significantly below 2010 levels.
Between 2010/11 and 2022/23, spending per pupil fell from £7,274 to £6,982 – a drop of 4%. This means many hundreds of ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - May 2, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article News cuts education education cuts Source Type: news
NHS workers must now get their money as soon as possible, says UNISON
Following the majority union vote in favour of accepting the government’s pay offer at the NHS staff council today (Tuesday), ministers and employers must ensure health workers get their money as soon as possible, says UNISON.
UNISON head of health Sara Gorton, who chairs the union group on the NHS staff council, said: “NHS workers will now want the pay rise they’ve voted to accept. The hope is that the one-off payment and salary increase will be in June’s pay packets.
“But health staff shouldn’t have needed to take action in the first place. Unions made clear to ministers last summer that ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - May 2, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: News Press release NHS NHS Agenda for Change nhs strikes Put NHS pay right Source Type: news
UNISON to challenge government strike-breaking laws at High Court
Tomorrow, UNISON will be challenging the government’s new strike-breaking laws in the High Court.
Since 1976, it has been unlawful for employers to introduce or supply agency workers to replace workers who are taking part in a strike or industrial action. For decades, it has been a criminal offence to knowingly supply agency workers on strike days.
However, in the heat of last summer’s rail strikes, the government rapidly removed this key regulation without consulting trade unions. Since July 2022, agencies have been legally permitted to supply temporary workers to replace striking workers.
UNISON argues that this is u...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - May 2, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Janey Starling Tags: Article News anti-strike bill Strike Action unison legal Source Type: news
Movement on pay needed to avoid delays and cancellations of CQC inspections, says UNISON
Staff at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will strike today (Tuesday) in their ongoing dispute over pay, says UNISON today (Tuesday)
Employees represented by UNISON, including those working in inspection teams, call centres and data analysis, will walk out along with colleagues belonging to PCS and Unite.
There will be severely reduced capacity at call centres to deal with reports from the public about serious concerns, emergency inspections may not take place and planned visits may be delayed or cancelled, says UNISON. The CQC is already under strain because of the huge demand on its services, the union warns.
Last month...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - May 1, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release CQC MAtthew Egan Source Type: news
Social carers in Liverpool secure living wage
UNISON North West has secured the Foundation Living Wage for all care workers commissioned by Liverpool Council. The wage increase will come into place in April 2024.
UNISON’s Stand Up for Social Care campaign began when the union conducted research to see which councils were paying carers above the living wage.
After securing the living wage for carers across the greater Manchester area, increasing pay for around 25,000 carers, the union’s organisers set their sights on Merseyside.
There are six councils within Merseyside: Liverpool, Wirral, Knowsley, Sefton, Halton and St. Helens. With Wirral already paying the liv...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 28, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Janey Starling Tags: Article care workers Foundation Living Wage North West stand up for social care Source Type: news
Joint UNISON, GMB and Unite statement on the outcome of their complaint against the NEU
In late 2022, having failed to reach an agreement informally, UNISON, along with the GMB and Unite unions submitted a formal complaint to the TUC about the NEU’s organising activities and recruitment of school support staff.
The complaint alleged that the NEU had actively sought to recruit school support staff and had intervened in pay negotiations (known as the NJC) between the three recognised unions and the local government employers.
This undermined a previous agreement between all four unions around two fundamental TUC principles that require unions not to recruit nor organise in areas already covered by other recog...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 28, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Martin Cullen Tags: Article education school support staff Source Type: news
Bank ’ s chief economist is “ living on another planet ”
Commenting on remarks made by Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill that British households “need to accept” they’re poorer and stop pushing for wage rises, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said today (Wednesday):
“Huw Pill is living on another planet. On his comfortable salary, he clearly has no idea of the impact soaring prices are having on working people and their families.
“Millions are barely getting by, unable to pay their bills or cover the astronomical rises in grocery prices.
“Holding back wages won’t help. If workers don’t have the cash to spend, the economy won&...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 26, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release cost of living inflation pubic sector pay Source Type: news
Ignoring the social care crisis will worsen the broken system, says UNISON
Commenting on the report by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) that calls on the government to reform the system of care and support in England, UNISON head of social care Gavin Edwards said:
“Ministers are choosing to ignore the social care crisis. Deep-rooted staffing problems will only begin to be resolved by addressing endemic low pay in the sector.
“A national care service with better pay and conditions would end the profiteering in care and turn around this broken system.”
Notes to editors:
-UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members provi...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 26, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Fatima Ayad Tags: News Press release Gavin Edwards social care Source Type: news
Recruitment, retention and registration discussed at health conference
Health conference closed yesterday (Wednesday) with a session focussing on the recruitment and retention of health staff.
Jonathon Whitney (pictured above) from University Hospitals Birmingham branch moved a motion calling on UNISON to campaign to reinstate paid training and raise public awareness of health student debt.
Speaking of his personal experience with the bursary system that was ended in 2016, he said: “In 2009 I found myself in an awkward situation. Having been made redundant, I was looking for a new career – and the bursary is the reason I am standing here now.
“It gave me hope that there was a ca...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 20, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article 2023 National Health Conference NHS staff recruitment Source Type: news
Health conference asks why ambulance staff aren ’ t an emergency service
The final day of UNISON’s annual health conference in Bournemouth opened with delegates standing in a minute’s silence to mark the upcoming International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April (above).
Moving to the business of the day, debates were heard on a variety issues.
Retirement age parity
A motion submitted by the ambulance occupational group highlighted the disparity in retirement age between police, fire service and ambulance staff.
Peter Steventon, South East central ambulance, opened the motion saying: “You would assume that NHS ambulance staff would be recognised as an ‘emergency service’. You ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 20, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article 2023 National Health Conference Ambulance ambulance strikes fighting cuts and privatisation in the NHS Source Type: news
Health workers and activists endure “unrelenting stress”
Delegates at UNISON’s health conference in Bournemouth this week shared harrowing experiences of how they and their fellow members are suffering the mental toll of their duties and workplace experiences, through and beyond the pandemic.
The persistent theme was of a workforce hellbent on protecting the public – and, in the case of activists, protecting their fellow members – while paying the price in their own deteriorating health and wellbeing.
Martin McKay, of Scotland region, summed up a health crisis within the health service, when he said: “Everyone in this room is carrying the trauma of the last three years. ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 19, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Demetrios Matheou Tags: News 2023 National Health Conference mental health Source Type: news
Health conference debates pay
Images: Jess Hurd
Pay talk dominated conference business this morning (Tuesday) at UNISON’s annual health conference in Bournemouth.
The morning started with general secretary Christina McAnea taking the opportunity to invite representatives from all health branches who secured a strike mandate in their pay disputes over the last year, to take to the stage, where they received an impassioned standing ovation from delegates (pictured above).
Conference business then started with an emergency motion on the recent NHS pay offer and the response of the health unions to it.
Moving the motion, Wilma Brown, chair of the health...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 18, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article 2023 National Health Conference one team Put NHS pay right Source Type: news
UNISON announces Green Week dates in run up to Earth Day
In the run up to Earth Day on Saturday 22 April, UNISON has announced the dates of the union’s popular Green Week, which will run from 15 – 22 September this year.
The union will once again be supporting and encouraging branches to mark Green UNISON Week, using it to celebrate, discuss and share how the union is working to green public services.
From Friday 15 to Friday 22 September inclusive, branches UK will be asked to consider organising a week of activities to call for urgent action to tackle climate change.
Speaking of the event, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The climate crisis could not be m...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - April 18, 2023 Category: Food Science Authors: Simon Jackson Tags: Article green Green UNISON Week Source Type: news
