Articles
Essex Police should use extra government funding announced today to prevent the loss of its remaining police community support officers (PCSOs), says UNISON. All 99 PCSOs and 65 other police support staff were threatened with redundancy earlier this week, with the force saying it didn’t have enough funding from government. Cuts would pile pressure on […]
UNISON Eastern members are being asked to nominate the activists and branches who have most impressed them over the last year for a One Weekend award. The annual awards celebrate UNISON Eastern branches and activists across a range of categories, from health and safety to learning and campaigning to communications. Winners will be crowned at […]
Ambulance workers from across the east of England are heading to Parliament today to ask MPs to stop the closure of Bedford’s emergency call centre, says UNISON. The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (EEAST) currently runs three emergency operations centres (EOCs) — in Bedford, Chelmsford and Norwich — where trained call-handlers receive […]
We know that migrant care workers often face real struggles when they come to the UK for work. In order to better highlight the issues migrant care workers face and better support staff, UNISON is carrying out a migrant care workers survey. Winning better treatment for yourself, your colleagues and those yet to come is […]
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) has made the “reckless” decision to outsource hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other facilities staff, UNISON says today. Staff, who have already taken more than 30 days of strikes against the plans and are currently in the midst of a three-week walkout, have vowed to […]
Refuse, cleansing and grounds maintenance staff at Three Rivers District Council have won a massive increase to sick pay and annual leave. For years the council’s depot staff had been on second-class terms and conditions compared with office-based workers. Waste services staff were only getting statutory sick pay in their first year of service, rising […]
The more public service workers are in UNISON, the stronger UNISON is — meaning public service workers win better deals for themselves and their services. That doesn’t just mean recruiting new members, it means hanging on to the ones we’ve got. That’s why UNISON Eastern launched a regional retention strategy last year, laying out some […]
Eastern activists joined education support staff from across the country in Parliament last night for a celebration of 10 years of Stars in Our Schools. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards spoke about the inspiring work school support staff do and the imminent return of the Schools Support Staff Negotiation […]
Members in local government, health, schools and elsewhere across Cambridgeshire and beyond have been expanding their knowledge of all aspects of menopause through an online menopause café run by the Cambridgeshire County branch. Launched in January 2022, the café has covered a broad spectrum of menopause issues, including employment rights, exercise, diet, overcoming stereotyping, sex […]
University of East Anglia’s plans to cut another 170 jobs ‘are sure to hit the student experience’, UNISON warns today. The union, which represents professional services staff such as cleaners, caterers and admin says staff are already struggling after more than 400 posts went last year. The entire learning and teaching department is affected with […]
Healthcare support workers at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Foundation Trust will stage two three-day strikes from next week after years of being underpaid for their work, says UNISON today. More than 200 clinical support workers should be properly compensated for carrying out band 3 clinical tasks – such as blood monitoring, ECGs and patient […]
South Cambridgeshire District Council has pledged a commitment to tackling racism — and promoting equality — by signing UNISON’s Anti-Racism Charter. The charter aims to tackle racism in the public sector on a national level. It commits organisations and their leaders to having a clear and visible race equality policy, as well as programme of […]
Senior managers at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) have given themselves a discount on the hospital parking charges paid by all other employees, UNISON says today. The trust came under fire earlier this year for reintroducing staff parking charges, with more than 5,000 health workers and patients signing a UNISON petition branding […]
School support staff in Cambridgeshire are celebrating after settling a dispute with the Astrea Academy Trust over new-starters being offered better pay than existing staff. The trust had different sets of pay and conditions in Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Cambridgeshire, where it runs the St Ivo Academy in St Ives, Cottenham Village College and the […]
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) bosses put patient safety at risk by bringing in untrained strikebreakers during last month’s industrial action, says UNISON today. In a letter to ESNEFT chief executive Nick Hulme, the union highlights “serious concerns” about the trust’s “reckless” decision which saw staff brought in from as far […]