All eyes on the PM to give health staff a decent pay rise

Thousands of health workers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be looking to the Prime Minister to announce his decision on the long-awaited NHS pay rise in the coming days. Ministers have repeatedly said they will await the recommendations of the NHS pay review body (on which they have attempted to set a 1% […]

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“Disappointing” council pay offer ignores huge Covid effort of workforce

Unions representing 750,000 council and school support staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland criticised the 1.5% pay offer made by the Local Government Association. GMB, Unite and UNISON submitted a joint pay claim to the local government employers in February for a 10% pay rise. This would be payable from 1 April 2021. The […]

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Levelling up won’t mean anything without decent public services

Commenting on the Queen’s Speech today (Tuesday) UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: Levelling up “Hope and prosperity won’t come to forgotten communities without proper investment in public services. Years of scant resources have made it much harder for local councils to provide support to vulnerable families. “The government must mend the damage from a decade […]

Government must act over minimum wage laws affecting care workers, say UNISON and Mencap 

UNISON and Mencap have written jointly to the Prime Minister today (T​uesday) calling for immediate reform of minimum wage laws affecting thousands of care workers. The letter to Boris Johnson says “action is needed urgently” to amend current rules so sleep-in shifts – where staff have to stay overnight away from home – are defined as […]

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UNISON to step up campaigns on pay and social care reform

NEC agrees to ‘turn the temperature up on pay’, focus on public services in the lead up to the 6 May elections and maintain an international outlook

Decision to keep face coverings is the right move

Commenting on the government’s decision yesterday to extend the use of face coverings in secondary schools, UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “It’s the right decision to continue. Ministers have sensibly listened to school staff – the people who know what it’s really like to be around classrooms and corridors during the pandemic. “Wearing […]

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Supreme Court sleep-in appeal decision is blow for ​everyone in social care

Today’s ruling marks the end of a long-running UNISON-backed case taken on behalf of care worker Clare Tomlinson-Blake against her now former employer Mencap.

Guest blog: The demands of being a Social Worker during the pandemic – Guest Post by Juliet Giddins

The need to reach out and to encourage isolated workers to join UNISON and even become a UNISON rep to support their colleagues has never been more vital.

Public shows support for NHS staff over pay

Thousands of households have demonstrated their support for health workers this evening (Thursday) by taking part in a nationwide slow handclap protest against the government’s stance on NHS pay. UNISON, alongside other health unions and the TUC, organised the event so the public could show the chancellor and prime minister they back a fair deal […]

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At least £54.7m needed by councils in the North East to deliver basic public services    

Councils in the North East have a funding shortfall of at least £54.7m between them for this financial year, putting services at risk