Workers in Colchester’s bin depots, leisure centres and crematoriums are voting on strikes over the city council’s refusal to offer a decent pay rise, UNISON warns today. Colchester staff had asked for an above-inflation pay rise to make up for years of wages failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living. But the […]
local government
Cambridgeshire County UNISON has unfurled a new branch banner for the first time in a demonstration outside the council offices. Emblazoned with the word “Solidarity,” it’s fitting that the banner’s first outing was at a Fire Brigades Union rally, with the branch showing UNISON’s support for a campaign against the dangerous watering down of safety […]
St Albans City and District Council is celebrating Black History Month by signing a charter aimed at combatting racism in the public sector, the council and UNISON announce today. UNISON’s Anti-Racism Charter commits the organisation and its leaders to a range of pledges designed to prevent racial bias. It includes championing a racially diverse workforce, […]
Industrial action in Huntingdonshire has been called off after the council agreed to implement the pay day UNISON settled last month. UNISON members were due to strike tomorrow, Friday 6 October. A joint release with the employer can be read on the Huntingdonshire District Council website. The background to the dispute can be read in […]
Councils across the Eastern region have a hole in their finances of £332m collectively for the coming financial year, making it extremely likely they will have to make huge cuts in essential services and jobs, says a report published today by UNISON. The figures, based on financial information gathered from local authorities across the region […]
Refuse, housing and customer service workers at Huntingdonshire Council will strike as bosses continue to refuse to implement an agreed pay deal, UNISON announces today. UNISON tried to end a long-running pay dispute earlier this month when its members voted to accept a 5% pay rise — one of three offers made by the council. […]
Strikes are off at Huntingdonshire District Council after workers accepted an improved pay offer, UNISON said today. Staff including refuse workers had been due to down tools last month, but suspended action to consult on a range of new offers from council bosses. They have now accepted a rise of 5%, backdated to April and […]
Government ministers should rethink their knee-jerk rejection of a trial into the four-day week at South Cambridgeshire Council and wait for the evidence, UNISON says today. Local government minister Lee Rowley has written to the council blocking an extension of the “experiment” into a reduced working week, according to media reports at the weekend. The […]
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 […]
A Norwich librarian has gained national recognition for her exceptional work in delivering council services, UNISON has announced today. Jo Foster-Murdoch is one of two runners-up for the union’s local service champions awards, which celebrate the incredible difference council staff make to the lives of people in their area. Jo was chosen for the support […]
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 […]
Nearly 25,000 council and school support staff across the East of England will begin voting today on whether to strike over pay, says UNISON. The wage offer made by employers to local government staff is nowhere near what’s needed to meet rising prices during the cost of living crisis, says the union. UNISON had called […]
UNISON is recognising unsung heroes for their contribution to the community
Councils across the east of England face a collective funding gap of nearly £240m in the next financial year forcing them to cut essential services, says a report published today by UNISON. Waste collections, leisure centres, nurseries and other vital services will all be hit according to the findings based on information* from local authorities […]