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 […]
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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 […]
UNISON Eastern Black members made a splash at the Bedford River Festival in July, proudly representing the union over the two-day event, writes Firdos Finch. Clad in eye-catching rainbow attire to celebrate Year of LGBT+ Workers, 17 members of the Black members group ran a recruitment stall over the weekend, aided by a couple of […]
Hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other Colchester Hospital support staff are to stage a week-long strike as they battle to keep their jobs in the NHS, says UNISON today. The walkout – from Monday 19 to Friday 23 August – will also hit several community sites run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS […]
We speak to Jo Bateman about becoming equalities activist of the year
Hundreds of cleaners, porters, caterers and other facilities staff at Colchester Hospital have voted to strike against plans to sell their jobs out of the NHS, UNISON says today. Workers voted 99% in favour of walkouts over the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust’s (ESNEFT) intention to outsource facilities staff, says the union. […]
More than 300 staff at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) have voted to strike after years of not being paid the full rate for the job, says UNISON today. An overwhelming 96% of clinical support staff backed strike action in a formal ballot, says the union. The workers, employed at the […]
We speak to UNISON Eastern young activist of the year Tyler Wythe
Job cuts threatened at eight Norfolk primary schools could force teaching assistants to strike, UNISON warns today. Wensum Trust, which runs the schools, wants to scrap all 75 teaching assistant posts, with staff expected to compete for 48 pastoral support roles, focussed on supporting children’s emotions rather than helping them to learn, says the union. […]
Hundreds of cleaners, porters, caterers and other facilities staff at Colchester Hospital are to vote on whether to strike over plans to take their jobs out of the NHS, UNISON has announced today. Facilities staff at several East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) community sites are also balloting on strikes. ESNEFT also […]
Eastern region is allowed to send two motions to national delegate conference. This year, regional council opted to send one on challenging the exploitation of migrant workers to the union’s highest decision-making body. Glenn Carrington, chair of the East of England Ambulance Service branch, raised the issue after his eyes were opened over a bank […]
Essex County Council has closed more children’s centres than any other local authority in England since 2010, UNISON research published today shows. The closures have devastated communities and left vulnerable families without access to vital education and health support, says the union. Freedom of Information (FoI) requests reveal that over a third (38%) of council-run […]
Huge cuts to youth services in eastern England risk creating a ‘lost generation’ of young people unable to access vital support at a crucial time in their lives, UNISON says today. New research conducted by the union has found that funding cuts have led to the closure of more than half of council-run youth centres […]
Tim Roberts marks Year of LGBT+ Workers in his latest blog
Hospital bosses want to let 150 staff go and mothball 150 beds across Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT), UNISON has warned today. The trust plans to launch a voluntary severance scheme* next week to cut the 150 ‘non-frontline clinical’ posts. In a meeting with union reps this week, trust leaders were not […]