2021 was a tricky time for recruiting and many branches across the union struggled to maintain the growth of the last few years. But our East of England Ambulance Service branch managed a bumper year, with a net gain of more than 150 members over 2021. Branch chair Glenn Carrington (pictured) explained how the groundwork […]
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The campaign for justice for care workers is one of UNISON’s top priorities, general secretary Christina McAnea told a Suffolk County branch public meeting on Monday evening. She was speaking alongside Kezia Pugh of the Living Wage Foundation, Labour Councillor Sandy Martin and frontline care workers Jacqui, Ewan and Amanda as part of the You […]
UNISON members can now apply for up to £200 towards their spiralling winter fuel bills. There For You’s Winter Fuel Grant, which has helped thousands of low-paid public service workers cope with the heavy costs of heating their homes over the years, reopens today. UNISON members on low income and with limited savings can apply. […]
Just because ministers are embroiled in a scandal over their covid duplicity, doesn’t mean they’ve stopped their harsh legislative agenda
Health workers have been pushed to the limit by Omicron, but bosses’ solutions won’t work in the long term, warns Tim Roberts
UNISON Eastern activist Charan Sekhon has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to charity, diversity and the environment, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Charan, the first Sikh Environment Agency officer to receive the honour, is the founder of Bedford-based charity SEVA Trust UK, as well as a UNISON branch […]
A New Year’s blog from regional secretary Tim Roberts
The cream of UNISON Eastern’s young activists are just back from Cardiff where they’ve been enthused by the first ever UNISON young members conference. Eastern was unmissable at conference, with our 11-strong delegation being the largest of any region. And our delegates weren’t just there to fill the room, with six of the 11 contributing […]
UNISON’s charity There for You has helped an incredible 4,000 members this year who have needed an extra hand over the pandemic. You can read about the amazing work over 2021 and what plans our welfare team has for 2022 in the December newsletter. From advice to filling in applications to information on our winter […]
Regional head of local government Sam Leigh guest blogs as our local government pay ballot opens
UNISON will today begin to ballot more than a third of a million council and school staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for strike action over their “inadequate” pay offer. The union is recommending employees – including refuse collectors, teaching assistants and social workers – vote ‘yes’ to strike action. These workers have kept […]
Local government workers in the Eastern region are holding rallies this week to launch a strike ballot against employers’ “insulting” pay offer. Council and schools workers are being urged to vote Yes to action against a 1.75% pay offer – 2.75% for the handful of staff on the very lowest pay band to keep track […]
More than two in five (42%) teaching assistants, caretakers, cleaners and other school support staff in the east of England are actively looking for better paid jobs because of the rising cost of living and persistent low pay in education, according to a UNISON survey released today. The survey responses paint a bleak picture of […]
UNISON Eastern activists were treated to an inspiring webinar last night, as leaders of the 2019 Northern Ireland NHS strikes told their industrial success story. Becky Tye, our regional convenor, welcomed Northern Ireland counterpart James Large and UNISON Northern Ireland health committee joint chairs Maura McKenna and Conor McCarthy for the webinar and Q&A. Attendees […]
It’s vital everyone plays in their part in the battle for a real pay rise for health workers, says Tim Roberts