Staff, students and members of the public will come together to help save the Southend campus of the University of Essex this weekend, UNISON says today. They will march and rally through the city on Sunday (8 March) urging the university to keep higher education in Southend. People will gather at 1pm at the top […]
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Operating theatre staff at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust could be thousands of pounds out of pocket each year after their overtime pay was scrapped this week, says UNISON today. Under nationally agreed guidance, employees have been paid time and a half for working beyond their contracted 37.5 hours a week. But the Bedfordshire trust […]
One hundred striking Essex school support staff will take their call for fair pay to academy chain Lift’s head office in London today, says UNISON. Classroom assistants and other frontline support staff from special education needs (SEN) schools Pioneer in Basildon and Columbus in Chelmsford will hold a lunchtime rally outside Lift HQ in White […]
New UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan will speak at a rally in Southend later this week calling on the University of Essex to scrap plans to cut 400 jobs, says UNISON today. Andrea will also urge the university to abandon proposals to shut down its Southend campus when she speaks on Thursday (5 February). UNISON […]
UNISON Eastern has unveiled two special activist awards for 2026 as it opens nominations for the One Weekend gongs. Nominations are invited for the social care active member of the year, open to anyone in UNISON Eastern who’s taken the pledge to be an active member in social care, and green activist of the year. […]
Kerry Baigent is taking over as regional secretary of UNISON in the east of England, the union announces today. She is swapping roles with Tim Roberts, who moves to become regional secretary in the union’s South West region. Kerry joined UNISON in 2014, working in Devon. But before that she was based in the east […]
Suffolk County Council must urgently fix a problem that means experienced staff could be paid as much as £6,000 less than new starters, says UNISON today. The glitch means some new joiners will end up earning more than their managers, says the union. The county’s libraries were brought back in house earlier this year as […]
Eleesha Kyriazis reports from the
Eastern region nominated Christina McAnea for re-election as general secretary. We’ve seen how she has delivered for members in our region — growing UNISON in strength and influence. She has often visited the region to support our members’ campaigns. She has the experience, skills, and commitment to keep improving how our union works for you, […]
Ballot papers are going out today to elect one of the most important jobs in the country: UNISON general secretary. Responsible for leading the largest union in the UK, the general secretary is a key voice for workers across the country, for public services and the people who staff and use them. They talk to […]
We’re on the hunt for a host of new organisers to join the UNISON Eastern team. Local organisers are our frontline organisers, getting out to workplaces and talking to staff one-on-one about why it’s best to be part of a trade union. They get stuck into local campaigns, recruiting, mapping, supporting and more. It’s great […]
Retiring from work doesn’t have to mean retiring from UNISON. Just ask Helen Forshaw, retired members officer at North West Anglia Hospitals branch. She joined UNISON is 1999, wanting the security that being in a union brings to hospital workers. She became a rep the following year. But upon leaving work in 2016, she was […]
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council has become the latest employer to sign UNISON’s Anti-Racism Charter. By signing the charter, the council has committed to a range of actions including introducing a clear and visible race equality policy, carrying our ethnicity pay gap monitoring and delivering anti-racism and equality training. UNISON West Norfolk Local […]
UNISON Eastern’s regional council met today to agree who to nominate in the union’s general secretary election. All candidates who had declared at the time of the meeting were given the opportunity to address regional council delegates and answer questions. Regional council members then voted: George Barber: 0 Votes Andrea Egan: 20 votes Christina McAnea: […]
Cambridgeshire Constabulary UNISON has wished branch chair Mish Edwards a happy retirement, though it’s come sooner than she wished. She’s been a trade union activist most of her working life. For the last nine years as a steward at Cambs Police. “I am passing on the baton and retiring,” Mish explains. “Sadly, it’s seven months […]