Articles
Trade unionists in Norwich collected over £400 for striking homecare workers in Birmingham last week at a screening of inspirational new documentary Nae Pasaran. Nae Pasaran tells the true story of how workers in East Kilbride struck a blow against General Pinochet’s fascist regime by refusing to service Rolls Royce fighter engines for the Chilean […]
Preparations are well under way for our second annual Eastern Region ONE UNISON Weekend event. The weekend will consist of a choice between workshops open to all UNISON activists, training for newly elected branch officers or the new presentation and media skills course for more experienced activists and branch officers. The programme is hot off […]
Hundreds of people marched through Chelmsford on Saturday telling Essex County Council to scrap plans to dozens of libraries. The Council has opened a consultation into the future of its 74 libraries, involving closing 25 immediately and condemning a further 18 to closure if community groups can’t be found to run them for free. More […]
We’re offering school support staff in Essex the chance to do some one-day training courses with the Open University. If you’re interested please fill out this short survey and return it to our organiser Tom Hemmings, whose details are in the file, so we can find out how best to deliver the training.
Myles Cooper works as an assistant practitioner at Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich part of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. In February 2018, he started his journey on the Nursing Degree Apprenticeship. How long have you been working at the Trust? Coming up to nine years now. I first joined on a temporary contract […]
Workers at Stevenage Borough Council are getting ready to go back to the classroom this month to brush up on their education thanks to a project backed by UNISON learning reps. More than 50 people from the Council’s Cavendish Road waste depot will start IT and literacy classes in courses provided on-site by the College […]
UNISON Eastern is urging ambulance staff to make their voices heard over a bid to introduce a uniform fleet design for double-crewed ambulances across England. Following last year’s Lord Carter review into operational productivity in England’s ambulance trusts, NHS Improvement has opened a consultation on a specific van-conversion ambulance style to do away with “unwarranted […]
We joined Essex residents and campaigners outside County Hall in Chelmsford today to oppose the council’s plans to shut at least 1 in 3 libraries in Essex. UNISON Eastern’s Tim Roberts explains why libraries are so vital to communities in towns and villages across Essex. To keep up to date with the campaign visit the […]
***Time is running out – claim by 15 February for your Winter Fuel Grant*** With rising fuel costs and another cold winter many members are worried about how they’re going to pay this year’s winter fuel bills. But help is at hand. There for You, UNISON’s welfare arm, has set up a limited fund to […]
More than 350,000 health workers across the UK face a massive 18% rise in membership fees to their professional register. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has included proposals to increase annual registration fees – without which workers in 16 different health and care professions couldn’t practise – from £90 to £106 in a […]
Black members in UNISON work to improve equality in the workplace and challenge racism and discrimination. Black members have many of the same concerns as other members regarding access to employment, pay, promotion and training. However, racist discrimination can deepen the impact of problems faced in the workplace. UNISON Eastern spoke to some of the […]
Parents and pupils at schools across eastern England said a big thank you to all the teaching assistants, librarians, dinner ladies and other support staff who make their school a safe and happy place to learn. Staff at St Francis of Assisi RC Primary School in Norwich were presented with a special star-encrusted cake by Norfolk […]
Suffolk County Council has announced over £11m worth of new cuts to services for the 2019/20 budget. The news comes in the same week the council told staff it wants to force them to take two days of mandatory unpaid leave for each of the next two years – taking the money out of their […]
Essex County Council has announced plans to close a third of its libraries and draft in volunteers to keep others running. The council is launching a consultation, running for 12 weeks from 29 November on closing 25 libraries, handing 18 over to be fully run by volunteers, giving volunteers a greater role at 16 more, […]
Frontline ambulance staff are currently expected to work until they’re 67. UNISON doesn’t believe that’s right. We spoke to UNISON reps John Hammond and Graham Hillman about why. Sign the petition here.