Articles
UNISON campaigning has pushed private ambulance firms providing NHS services to properly pay self-isolating staff. The union believes all NHS staff, whether working for contractors or directly employed, should enjoy the same terms and conditions, but reps were dismayed to learn that some firms were still only paying statutory sick pay to staff self-isolating because […]
Trade unionists at Bedford Borough Council have donated hand sanitiser, disposable gloves and other personal protective equipment to defend front-line workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bedford Borough UNISON branch bought the equipment to support staff still required to meet people face to face, such as carers, social workers and those in the 24/7 HUB, […]
With the covid-19 virus preventing us delivering our activist education programme face to face, we’ve begun looking at alternative ways to train our stewards. UNISON is now offering activists the opportunity to train online, with courses for stewards, health and safety reps and union learning reps stage one and two already available. Some of these have […]
Final year nursing students will be safely supported if they want to join the fight against coronavirus, thanks to UNISON negotiators. The government announced plans last week to allow nursing students to spend the final six months of their course on clinical placement. UNISON quickly surveyed hundreds of students to get their views. Most said […]
North West Anglia Hospitals is planning to outsource a raft of services, including logistics, patient services and catering, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, UNISON warns. The proposals would be risky at the best of times but are ‘downright reckless’ in the midst of a public health emergency, says the union. It would mean all ‘soft […]
Council workers from the East of England lobbied local government chiefs in Bury St Edmunds today, calling for a real pay rise after a decade of austerity. Since 2009, council and school workers’ real-terms pay has dropped by 22%. UNISON, GMB and Unite submitted a pay claim last summer, asking for a 10% rise and […]
REPRODUCTION, an exhibition on pre-conception, pregnancy, birth and childcare, has opened in the Guildhall, Cambridge. The exhibition by artist Emma Smith and supported by UNISON Cambridge City and South Cambs branch and Cambridge City Council. The exhibition is inspired by Maternity, a collection of letters by working women, brought together by the Women’s Co-operative Guild […]
Harlow Council leader Mark Ingall and Danny Purton, the councillor responsible for waste and recycling, expressed their support for outsourced refuse collectors today, who complain about bullying and harassment from local Veolia managers. The Labour councillors backed UNISON’s calls for action to stop the bullying at the Mead Park depot in a meeting with regional […]
Nearly half of NHS workers in the east of England are missing out on family birthdays and anniversaries because they are unable to leave work on time, UNISON research reveals today. UNISON polled more than 1,200 NHS workers, including both clinical and non-clinical staff, across the east of England* to find out how staff shortages […]
Advanced paramedics at the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) will enjoy a pay rise worth thousands of pounds thanks to the hard work of local UNISON reps. They will move up a band in the pay scales following an agreement with the Trust which also means they’ll be able to reach the top […]
Apprenticeship restrictions mean millions of pounds of Eastern NHS funds going to waste, says UNISON
More than £17m is lying unused by cash-strapped health trusts in the east of England because of restrictions in the government’s apprenticeship levy scheme, says UNISON today. New figures based on freedom of information (FoI) requests by the union, reveal three quarters (75%) of the money hasn’t been used, with funds now starting to be clawed back […]
Catering staff at the University of East Anglia have won a victory over a “blatantly unfair” clocking on system. Workers were having 15 minutes of their wages docked if they clocked in three minutes late or out three minutes early, despite not receiving any payment if they worker over their time. UNISON was spurred to […]
The government must replace hundreds of police community support officer (PCSO) and other police staff jobs axed across the east of England since the start of austerity, UNISON said today. The union warns that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pledge to recruit extra police officers is not enough on its own to halt the rise in […]
A year after opening its doors, UNISON’s Bedfordshire Resource Centre held a special open day to celebrate its first birthday on Friday. There were balloons, banners and a whole array of information displayed on the incredible work UNISON does for its members, public-sector workers and the wider community. New membership forms were given out and […]
National Delegate Conference is often referred to as UNISON’s parliament. It’s the place where thousands of our members come together from every branch in the country to debate the issues affecting public service workers and decide how UNISON will respond for the next year. First-time delegate Laura Wilkes (Suffolk Area Health) reports on an “empowering […]