Call UNISON direct on 0800 0 857 857.
Care workers, refuse collectors, social workers, teaching assistants, community workers, street cleaners and so many others go above and beyond every single day. Local government staff keep communities safe, clean and accessible, yet there is often little or no recognition for your hard work. With the cost-of-living skyrocketing to new highs every day, it’s time […]
Teaching assistants, caretakers, cleaners and other school support staff in Hertfordshire will no longer have their wages stopped when they go off sick, UNISON announces today. Staff in schools run by Hertfordshire County Council were having their pay stopped for two days when they were too ill to work after the council changed its contractual […]
Support staff at a Sudbury primary school have called off further strikes after accepting a new deal saving most of their jobs, UNISON announces today. Two dozen classroom assistants and midday supervisors at Pot Kiln Primary took three days of strikes in April and May after the school announced plans to sack 15 staff to […]
Southend school staff have fought off changes to holiday pay calculations that could have left them thousands of pounds a year worse off. Around 350 staff in community schools would have seen their pay drop by between £40 and £2,800 each year after Southend Council proposed changes to the formula for calculating holiday pay for […]
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea is to visit Ipswich later this week as council and school support staff vote on whether to strike over pay. Christina McAnea will speak at a rally on Friday outside Suffolk County Council headquarters Endeavour House as local government workers call for a pay rise of 2% above inflation. Staff […]
Striking Suffolk primary school staff will take their jobs fight directly to county councillors next week as they hand in a 600-strong petition at the council’s HQ. Hundreds of parents and Sudbury residents have signed the petition urging Pot Kiln Primary leaders and the council to abandon plans to sack classroom assistants and midday supervisors. […]
Redundancy-threatened Suffolk school staff have voted to strike to save their jobs, UNISON reveals today. The teaching assistants and midday supervisors at Pot Kiln Primary School in Sudbury voted 90% in favour of strikes. Pot Kiln wants to cut classroom assistant and midday supervisor numbers after running up a £75,000 deficit. School bosses say student […]
Nearly half of teaching assistants at Pot Kiln Primary School in Suffolk face the sack, UNISON reveals today. The Sudbury school plans to lay off up to 15 of its 36 classroom assistants and midday supervisors, blaming an “unforeseen” budget shortfall of £75,000 and flagging student numbers. Pot Kiln claims it has more teaching assistants […]
The findings reveal an overwhelming majority (95%) say the rate of pay for their school job isn’t enough for them to cope with increasing prices. One in three (34%) say […]
We speak to teaching assistant Sue Ryles about what it’s like to be a schools rep – and why more people should do it
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Tim Roberts looks at the shocking results of new TUC survey on the job retention scheme in his latest blog post
Schools advice This includes a model letter to send to your school, nursery or early years setting to assert your right not to attend an unsafe […]
