UNISON Suffolk County has helped launch the Music Matters Coalition today to campaign to make music a priority for children and young people. The six-union coalition is conducting a survey asking school staff, music educators, parents, carers, pupils and the wider Suffolk community about which aspects of music education are important to them, particularly in […]
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We speak to some of the people hoping to represent public service workers after May’s elections
Families and individuals across the east of England are being urged by health unions to create colourful window displays in their homes and workplaces today to show support for NHS staff on the day they should have been getting a pay rise. Artworks designed by children’s illustrators and writers are part of a growing collection […]
Branches are the basic unit of UNISON, every member belongs to one. They are made up of groups of members working for the same employer or several employers in the same area. Have you thought about going along to a branch event to meet other UNISON members and find out what the branch is doing? […]
The Tories’ proposed new law is an assault on our basic democratic liberties, warns Tim Roberts in his latest blog
With a new man in the White House, Cuba has a real opportunity to ease the 60-year US economic blockade on the island, but it will take more international solidarity to press change. That was the message from Cuba Solidarity Campaign’s Natasha Hickman to UNISON Eastern international committee’s latest session on Tuesday evening. She explained […]
There must be a full public inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid crisis as soon as the worst of the pandemic is over, says UNISON today on the anniversary of the first lockdown. The union – which represents 1.3m NHS, care and other public service workers, including porters, midwives and refuse collectors – […]
Today’s Supreme Court judgment that social care staff are not entitled to the national minimum wage for every hour they work, including sleep-in shifts, is a huge blow for thousands across the country, says UNISON. The union says the ruling is a major disappointment, but that it increases pressure on the government to bring forward […]
Council staff made a direct plea to East of England local authority bosses today to boost funding and pay. Staff from across the region took part in a UNISON video shown to council chiefs attending the virtual East of England Local Government Roadshow. The workers explain that they have been keeping communities safe and clean, […]
Tim Roberts explains why UNISON will keep talking about – and acting on – poor pay in our public services
Nearly three in four school support staff in the East of England have been anxious about the return to classrooms this week, with many fearing measures to keep them safe are inadequate, according to a survey published today by UNISON. The findings provide a snapshot of the concerns of staff as schools in England reopen […]
Paying staff properly is a vital part of building the NHS for the future, says UNISON as it calls on the public to protest this evening about the government’s “pitiful” wage offer. Plans to recruit more staff are not enough to protect the health system and will only have an effect if experienced staff are […]
The NHS Staff Survey was published today, putting the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital bottom of the league for quality or care and revealing huge levels of staff disengagement. UNISON Norfolk & Norwich Acute Hospitals branch secretary Andy Campling said: “This survey must act as a wake-up call across the trust. Staff have spoken in huge numbers – the […]
Front line patient transport staff in Suffolk are only receiving statutory sick pay of £95 a week when they have to self-isolate. Private ambulance firm Ezec is contracted by the NHS to transport patients around Suffolk, including those discharged from hospitals to care homes. Workers say they are not given enough time between jobs to […]
Schools should avoid opening the floodgates to a new wave of Covid infections by staggering the full return to the classroom, UNISON says today. Schools across the east of England are due to fully reopen on Monday, with an enhanced testing regime and face coverings for secondary school pupils. But UNISON warns that this may […]