Higher education pay ballot result

University workers in UNISON have voted for strike action to win higher pay, but did not pass the threshold on turn-out required by trade union laws.

Around 66% of members in England, Wales and Scotland who took part in the industrial action ballot voted for action, but the turn-out did not meet the 50% of all eligible voters required by the 2017 Trade Union Act before legal action can take place.

UNISON head of higher education Ruth Levin commented: “Yet again, the anti-trade union laws have stopped our members being able to take action in pursuit of an improved pay offer.

“With the real-term value of pay having fallen behind over the past 10 years, this is an unjust situation.

“University support staff are working harder and harder, yet their pay is failing to keep up.

“UNISON’s campaign will be on-going in defence of decent pay, terms and conditions and decent jobs.”

The union’s higher education service group executive will meet on 5 November to consider the outcome and future developments of this ballot and separate pension related ballots in some universities.

There is also a ballot on the national pay claim taking place in Northern Ireland, which closes on Tuesday 5 November.

The ballots opened on 9 September: see press release.

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A month of perennial change

Well, October was a month of change. And not just when it comes to clocks and seasons. It started off with the country due to leave the EU on Hallowe’en – “do or die”, deal or no deal. It ended with another Brexit extension and everyone gearing up for the third general election in four years.

But some things are perennial and they’re always on UNISON’s agenda.

The union’s month kicked off with our retired members and police and justice staff conferences in Southport.

The service group conference saw assistant general secretary Christina McAnea tell delegates: “We need to get the message out about the need to invest in public services.”

Despite a feeling of political chaos and nine years of austerity, she said, “UNISON is fighting back and the campaigns and the disputes we’ve been running are making a difference. We’re a union that isn’t afraid to take on difficult cases.”

It was a theme picked up by delegates as they called for investment in police staff to match proposals for more officers, for “one service, one pay scale and one bargaining structure” for a reintegrated probation service in England and  Wales, urged support for members’ wellbeing and mental health and much more.

When it comes to supporting and celebrating our members, we stepped up the theme in the middle of the month with our first Local Service champions day on 17 October.

This had a straightforward message message: local government workers are true local champions. Working as a team, both on the frontline and ‘behind the scenes’, they encourage our communities to thrive and help the most vulnerable in our society.

As general secretary Dave Prentis declared: “We will always fight for local services.”

On the day, we also launched our Local Service Champions awards – so why not nominate your champion? Just make sure you do it by 15 November.

Celebrations and awards are fine, but our members in local government still need a decent pay rise.

Late October saw members travel from Birmingham to Downing Street, where they urged the government to fund councils so they could meet their pay claim for a 10% pay rise and £10 an hour minimum wage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

But as is becoming regular this year, we also had victories to celebrate. In London, low-paid and outsourced university workers at UCL celebrated after UNISON secured them the same pay, pension and annual leave rights as directly employed workers.

And in North West England, outsourced social care workers in the  won statutory recognition for their union – UNISON naturally.

Of course, when it comes to defending and championing our members, a bigger union is a stronger union.

So it was that October’s meeting of the UNISON NEC set the stage for another month of union-wide campaigning on recruitment and retention as we Go for Growth again.

And then, just as the month dragged itself to the end, came more Brexit manoeuvring, which saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced to ask for the Article 50 extension he swore he wouldn’t have. The EU granted it, until 31 January 2020.

With the threat of a crashing out without a deal on Hallowe’en removed, Labour agreed to vote in favour of a general election.

So we’re going to the polls again on 12 December. And UNISON promptly kicked its voter registration drive into action – especially urging to people to apply for a postal vote and counter the effects of cold dark nights on voter turnout.

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Our members’ experience of racism in the NHS

Equality is at the heart of everything UNISON does – which is why our healthcare group launched the Race for Equality campaign during Black History Month in October.

To prepare for it, the service group asked members for their experience of ‘unacceptable behaviour’, including their experience of racism in the workplace.

In all, 10,362 people completed the survey, with 8,047 answering the question of whether the unacceptable behaviour they experienced related to race.

Of those, almost 11% – 879 in total – reported experiencing racist behaviour in the workplace in the last year. This compares to 15% of Black staff (and 6.6% of white staff) reporting that they experienced discrimination in 2018, in that year’s NHS workforce race equality standard.

The discrepancy can be explained by the fact that the NHS data reflects a systemic issue – discrimination – where we asked about behaviour by a range of people healthcare staff deal with.

This included:

• being treated as inferior or less skilled – 58%;
• name calling, ‘jokes’ or ‘banter’ – 37%;
• unwarranted criticism – 32%;
• being given unfair or inappropriate work – 30%;
• being mocked for appearance, mannerisms or speech – 28%;
• being blocked from promotion or training – 21%.

Of those 879 UNISON members who reported experiencing racism, 34% said the racism was frequent or regular, while 10% said it occurred daily or weekly.

And 66% said the behaviour in question came from colleagues, 43% said it was from other staff, and 38% said it was from patients.

The health service is already experiencing a staffing crisis, with many employees quitting because of increasing workloads. UNISON is concerned that incidents of racism are adding to the mental strain that workers are facing.

Worries about not being believed or taken seriously can mean that, instead of making a complaint, many suffer in silence ­or ­leave for a job outside healthcare.

Some 26% of our respondents who experienced racism reported the incident to management or the HR department, while 4.6%% reported it to external authorities such as the police.

Just over 21% reported their experience of racist behaviour to their union rep. Members were more likely to talk to a colleague about an incident (46.1%) or a family member or friend outside work (39.5%). At the same time, 27% of people spoke directly to the perpetrator(s) about their behaviour.

And a little under 33% of members who experienced racist behaviour just kept quiet about it.

Worryingly, for an NHS already experiencing staff shortages, 72 people (8.8%) of those who answered left their jobs as a consequence of the racism they experienced.

When we asked why people didn’t report racist behaviour they experienced, the answers revealed a lot about why UNISON felt the need to launch a campaign on the issue:

• 60% felt nothing would be done;
• 37% feared retaliation;
• 31% felt they’d be dismissed as oversensitive;
• 29% felt it would harm their career;
• 14% did not want to relive the trauma;
• 10% felt ashamed.

Many of those who experienced racism at work said it had a damaging effect on their lives.

Around 65% said it made them want to leave work and look or for another job, 62% isolated themselves or avoided some colleagues and situations, 57% felt less confident, 47.5% reported that it had affected their mental health and nearly 28% had to take time off work.

So we asked members who reported racism whether their employers had a policy on harassment or provided training.

Some 32% said their workplace had delivered training, 46% said it hadn’t and 22% said they didn’t know. But 72% reported that their workplace had a policy on harassment, 5% said it didn’t and 24% didn’t know. However, only 16% said the policy was implemented or had teeth, 38% said it didn’t and 46% didn’t know.

Who did we ask and how representative were they? Well, we surveyed healthcare staff, including ambulance workers, occupational therapists and pharmacy staff, from 7 to 31 May.

Overall, they were fairly representative of the NHS workforce –  if slightly older. Most of the health workers who took part in our survey, 60%, were aged between 35 and 55. This compares to 52% in that age range, according to the official workforce figures from NHS England.

Above and below that age range, the categories differ slightly: the UNISON survey included 14% aged between 27 and 34 (and 4% under 27); NHS England’s workforce data shows 23% aged between 25 and 34, with 6% under 25.

On gender, when it came to the 794 people who gave information on this and experienced racism, 76.6% identified as female, 23% as male and 0.4% identified themselves in another way. The NHS data says 77% of the workforce is female and 23% male.

Unsurprisingly, UNISON members who reported experiencing racist behaviour were more likely to be Black than the healthcare workforce in general.

More than 60% of the members who said they had experienced racist behaviour in the past year identified as Black – using the categories of the 2001 census. This compares to just under 20% of the NHS workforce, using the same categories.

This is only a snapshot and UNISON believes that incidents of racism in the workplace are more widespread.

Racial discrimination is against the law, but above all it is simply not right – it wastes talent, damages staff, hurts patients and holds the NHS back.

We want everyone who works in the NHS to be part of the conversation, helping to recognise and challenge racism in the workplace and supporting each other to fight for equality.

Find out more about the Race for Equality campaign 

The campaign pages include a range of downloadable resources, including a Race for Equality leaflet, an action plan for branches and briefing on bullying and harassment, disciplinary action and race, and recruitment, career and race.

• Many of the percentages on specific questions don’t add up to 100%. The questions concerned had non-exclusive answers and members were asked to let us know all that

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Don’t let the weather silence your voice: apply for a postal vote

So, 12 December: 12 days before Christmas Eve – and general election day. And one thing we know is certain: it’s going to be cold. And dark: in London, the sun won’t rise until 7:56am – and it will set again at 3:51pm; in Inverness, sunrise will be 8:49am with sunset at 3:31pm.

Oh … and it might well be wet. Or even snowing.

On top of that, the run-up to Christmas is a busy time: presents to buy, decorations to put up, cards to send …

And all of that is likely to mean people are less willing to trek to their nearest polling station and cast a vote in their third general election in four years. Especially if they are getting on in years, aren’t very mobile to begin with or they’ve just got home after a full day at work.

But that doesn’t mean you, your family, your friends or your fellow UNISON members need to lose your voice to the weather when it comes having a say on who governs us until the next general election!

Just ask for a postal vote. Anyone can apply to vote by post – you don’t need to give a reason. And it’s relatively simple. All you need to do is fill in a form.

Download a postal vote application (England, Scotland, Wales)

Download a Welsh language postal vote application

Once you’ve filled in the form, send it to your local electoral registration office – you can find out where that is using the link below.

Find your local electoral registration office

Just enter your post code and you’ll be directed to the relevant page on your local authority’s website.

So don’t delay. Make doubly sure that your voice is heard on election day – along with those of your family and friends – by applying for a postal vote today.

The situation is slightly different in Northern Ireland, and you will be required to give a reason.

Find out more about applying for a postal vote in Northern Ireland

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The UNISON member rebelling against extinction

UNISON member and charity worker Amanda King – a former Herts county councillor – was inspired to join the recent Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests in London. Here, Amanda (pictured above, in the red beret) tells us about why she was there and how she and others were arrested

I’ve been a member of Extinction Rebellion since it was formed, a year ago. I joined because, for over 40 years, promises have been made about the environment, resolutions passed, agreements drawn up – but woefully little action taken.

Normal politics and campaigning is clearly not working and, according the UN report of 2018, we have 12 years to get to grips with our climate crisis: this is from cautious, data-driven UN experts.

I’m motivated by outrage that our government has betrayed its first duty to us – to keep us safe – and also by deep sadness that so much time has been wasted, and is still being wasted, while our beautiful blue Earth, home to all, is under attack.

My arrest took place on Lombard Street in the City of London.Two other XR protesters and I were holding hands, laying in the road and obstructing traffic.

I was arrested with 75 other XR rebels, including a 77-year-old rabbi from London, a plasterer from Nottingham and a chef from Welwyn Garden City, and taken to Brixton police station, where I was detained in a cell for seven hours.

All of us fully co-operated with the police. The police were professional at all times, aware that each of us were being arrested for the first time and likely to be confused, emotional.

I was shaking but determined when arrested. Cold, wet, tired and overwhelmed by the experience. But I did the right thing and, just like in the trade union movement, played my part in a just and greater cause.

I informed my employer of the arrest: they appreciated my honesty and have been concerned and supportive.

I continue to be active in XR. I’ve given interviews to local media to try to inform people about the climate emergency and invite them to join the local XR group I’m helping to set up.

I’m proud to be a member of UNISON and the Labour Party, both becoming more aware of the emergency facing us, even as our (current) government isn’t taking urgent action.

So I urge comrades to join Extinction Rebellion.

Trade union history shows us what we can achieve when we come together!

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UNISON celebrates the Amos Bursary

UNISON was the proud host of the Amos Bursary’s 10 year celebrations last Friday.

The Amos Bursary, a UNISON partner, supports young black men to reach their full potential through mentoring, sponsoring and advocacy.

Assistant General Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “I’m happy that UNISON is able to support the Amos Bursary. I want young black men and women to see the trade union movement as something for them. Not to just join, but to be leaders of.”

Founded by Colleen and Baroness Valerie Amos in 2009 after their parents died, the Amos Bursary supports talented students from challenging environments, in Year 12 for a total of five years: through their University experience and into the world of work or further study.

Colleen Amos, who was awarded an OBE earlier this year, said: “We started with just seven young men. Ten years later we’ve got 100 young men who are on the programme currently, around 60 of them have now graduated.

“And we’ve got 40 associates who are young men who didn’t make it onto the programme but we give them access to any opportunities we’ve got that they can engage with. The selection process is painful. Last year we had 195 young men apply for just 15 places.

“The reality for gifted and talented young black men in the UK, is that it really doesn’t matter which social class is used to define them because they have the same challenges: they don’t have the networks and opportunities and they don’t have the ‘in’.”

The Amos Bursary has established a network, which its members describe as a brotherhood. The Bursary community not only opens up professional opportunities, but is a source of emotional resilience and mutual support too.

Gabriel Amida is a 20 year old politics, philosophy and economics student in his third year of the bursary. He described its impact on him: “Its been a process of empowerment and learning to believe in my own self-worth a lot more, but also relying on the brothers around me.

“We all support each other and lift each other up and pull each other up when we need help and support, it’s so important to have that fallback.”

Another bursary student, Jesse Williams, attributed the completion of his degree on the Amos Bursary community: “I went to university in Lancaster, where there weren’t many people like me at all. I was racially abused and went through depression.

“The bursary is the reason I stayed on to finish university. I kept coming down to every event that was on, even though it was a two and a half hour journey each way, just to be around the brotherhood and be around people willing to support me no matter what.

“I spoke through it all with them, and it was a safe space where I could explain what I was going through without being judged. Through the bursary I found my grounding and it was still tough, but I ended up finishing and graduating with a 2:1.”

By running regular skills and networking events, as well as providing financial support, the Amos Bursary is rapidly developing young black mens’ confidence and opportunities.

Colleen Amos described the careful structure of the mentoring on offer: “Our students get two mentors. A peer mentor who’s a young person, or young at heart, who can really connect with them and who will understand the journey they’re about to go through.

“Then they’ll get a very senior person to help them with opening the doors with regard to the career. Role models are really important but the real role models for young men are those men in the bursary who are just qualified – the ones who they can see and almost touch, and they can speak to them and know their challenges and see where they were five years ago.”

George Imafidon, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student at UCL described the ‘Amos Bursary mindset’: “It’s about seeking opportunities. The phrase I use is ‘show up and follow up’. Every time there’s an event, I’ll be there.

“If I meet someone there that I think is super interesting or inspiring, I follow up within 24 hours to say thank you. I might not need anything, I might not have any angle, but I’m just intentional about showing that I care. Or if I do want an opportunity, I’m very intentional about that as well.”

As the Amos Bursary celebrates its tenth year, the community continues to proliferate. Kwabena Osei, one of the youngest members at 17, is in the 2019 cohort and after just a few months has already felt its impact: “The Amos Bursary has really opened me up to the professional world, and that’s something that’s missing in education.

“A lot of people go into school thinking ‘I have to do this to get a good grade’, but if you’re doing A-levels, it’s not just for uni, it’s for your career.

“The Amos Bursary helps you understand what it’s like to be in the professional world as opposed to just being in school and moving to the next stage. It gives you a sense of purpose, especially when you’re meeting people who are at the top of their profession. It’s inspiring they see potential in you, to change the world, and they see you as bigger than your circumstances.”

Find out more about the Amos Bursary here.

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Speaking out about sexual harassment

UNISON has welcomed the new guidance from the  Equality and Human Rights Commission on confidentiality agreements, also known as non-disclosure agreements and more commonly referred to as ‘gagging clauses’.

Employers have a duty to provide a safe working environment for all staff.

Safe workplaces are those in which workers feel able to discuss their experiences and expose sexual harassment, and confidentiality agreements should not prevent people from speaking out.

UNISON women’s officer Josie Irwin said: “Our members are often required to sign confidentiality clauses – NHS staff are required to preserve the confidentiality of any information regarding patients.

“However, if a nurse is sexually harassed by a patient, her legal rights under the Equality Act mean she can speak out about the abuse without worrying about disciplinary action for a breach of confidentiality”

“People are often coerced into signing NDAs without realising that this may prevent them from talking about sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment occurs when an individual engages in unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. It violates a person’s dignity and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the individual concerned

The new EHRC guidance is designed to help employers understand how and when they can use confidentiality agreements legitimately, and when these agreements will not be enforceable.

The full guidance is available here

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UNISON signs TUC’s Dying to Work charter

UNISON has signed the TUC’s Dying to Work charter on behalf of its 1,200 employees. The charter aims to protect the rights of individuals at work with a terminal illness.

The charter was signed this week by general secretary Dave Prentis, chief operating officer Emilie Oldknow, chair of staffing Maureen Le Marinel, trade union side secretary Keith Libetta and TUC regional secretary Sam Gurney (pictured above).

UNISON director of HR and staff learning and development, Alan Farmer, said: “UNISON is proud to be signing the Dying to Work Charter alongside our trade unions on behalf of our 1,200 employees.

“Every person battling terminal conditions deserves the choice of how to spend their final months. When staff are faced with such a tough diagnosis, we are committed to ensuring that they are treated with respect in a supportive work environment.

“We also recognise that, if staff want to continue working, safe and reasonable work can maintain dignity and offer a therapeutic distraction.”

The charter is part of the TUC’s wider Dying to Work campaign, which is seeking greater security for terminally-ill workers, where they cannot be dismissed as a result of their condition.

It was taken forward by the TUC after the case of an area sales manager from Derbyshire, Jacci Woodcook, who was forced out of her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The Dying to Work campaign works to providing terminally ill employees with greater job and financial security and peace of mind. 

The TUC now has close to a million workers covered by the Dying to Work charter across the country and will continue to campaign for more employers to commit to the charter.

You can see if your employer has signed by visiting www.dyingtowork.co.uk/whos-signed/. If they haven’t, you should encourage them to do so and involve your union representatives to help. You can follow the five steps to signing the charter here.

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Academy chain’s plan to axe staff could risk school safety

The safety of pupils and staff could be at risk if Ormiston Academies Trust – which runs primary and secondary schools across England – follows through with plans to cut caretaking and maintenance jobs, says UNISON today (Friday).

The trust, which operates 38 schools across the country, has announced plans to axe or relocate vital support staff roles across its network. Ormiston is also proposing to cut a number of information and communication technology (ICT) jobs, with affected staff due to learn their fate just before Christmas.

More than 130 posts in schools across the East of England, East Midlands, North West, South East, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside will be affected.

UNISON is concerned not enough thought has been given to the health, safety and welfare impact of cutting caretaking and maintenance roles.

The union is urging the trust to pause its plans until a full assessment and proper consultation can take place. Yet Ormiston has set aside barely a month to decide the future of staff, which is not enough says UNISON.

The threatened workers are responsible for conducting fire safety checks and ensuring fire alarms and escape routes are up to scratch. They also carry out regular building checks to make sure they’re safe and free of hazardous materials, such as asbestos. Staff are also on site to deal with maintenance emergencies, so they can limit the disruption to teaching and learning in the classroom.

But from next April, Ormiston Academies Trust plans to replace on site caretaking and maintenance teams with a slimmed-down force working across multiple sites.

UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “Employees crucial to the smooth running of schools are being pushed out of their jobs so a trust, which paid its chief executive £184,160 in 2018, can save on the salaries of caretakers, maintenance workers and ICT staff.

“Time and time again we’ve seen large organisations impose cost-cutting measures that sound good in the boardroom, but in the real world lead to poorer services, low morale, unemployment and, in this case, safety risks.

“Ormiston must halt its plans now and set aside a more realistic amount of time to consult with unions about a plan that affects the lives of hundreds of workers, and many more pupils and parents. That’s the very least it can do.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes T: 0207 121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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Four Seasons sale failure shows why ministers must act on social care, says UNISON

Commenting on the announcement today (Thursday) that the proposed sale of care home provider Four Seasons has fallen through, UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said:

“The government is failing to fund social care properly. The absence of a proper strategy for the sector means the lives of thousands of vulnerable patients and staff are at the mercy of private companies motivated by profit, rather than providing quality care.

“The Prime Minister promised he’d fix the broken care system but all his attention has been on Brexit. This complete inertia has left the country’s second largest residential care provider in administration for months. Today’s failure to secure a buyer leaves residents and staff fearful for their futures.

“Without ministerial action and substantial investment, care homes will continue to be prey to private equity firms and hedge funds, which excel at extracting profit from those in need.

“The welfare of the vulnerable, the elderly and the workforce must be protected with more public sector provision of care, especially as the situation would get much worse with the economic chaos of a no-deal Brexit.”

Notes to editors
– UNISON is the biggest union representing health workers. It is also the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes T: 020 7121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Five new Mary Seacole scholars are unveiled

Five nursing and midwifery specialists were inducted as scholars at this year’s prestigious Mary Seacole awards today (Thursday 24 October) at a ceremony at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

UNISON co-sponsors the awards, which offer an opportunity for healthcare workers to undertake a project, educational or development activity that benefits and improves the health of people from BME communities.

Recipients have been working on their projects for the past year, funded by Health Education England, and today is the culmination of all their hard work.

The awards are in memory of Mary Seacole, the Jamaican Scottish nurse, who bravely nursed soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-1856).

The new scholars are:
– Dr Obrey Alexis, Oxford Brookes University
Leadership Award: A qualitative study examining black African and black Caribbean men’s experiences of prostate cancer and their perceived needs.
– Alis Rasul, Moseley Hall Hospital Birmingham
Leadership Award:  Approachable Parenting: A realist evaluation of the health visitor role in co-delivering a culturally sensitive early intervention programme to support the mental health of Muslim families.
– Sarah Chitongo, Middlesex University
Development Award: Preventing deaths in high risk black minority ethnic (BME) groups in maternity services.
– Kanta Kumar, University of Birmingham
Development Award: Perceptions of Doppler ultrasound scan among Black and minority ethnic patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
– Dorcas Gwata, Clinical Lead, Integrated Gangs Unit, Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Leadership Award:  Improving leadership in Mental Health interventions for adolescents from African and Middle Eastern backgrounds who are affected by gang culture (vulnerable, violent and exploited) in Westminster.

UNISON assistant national officer for health Val Johnston, vice chair of the awards, said: “As a member of the steering group, I have become aware of the unique collaborative approach that not only supports the recipients with mentorship while they carry out their projects, but also supports them in their wider development, offering them exposure to development and networking opportunities relevant to their subject area.

“The importance of these awards can’t be underestimated. They are highly regarded and have a direct impact on the service and patient care. The personal impact on staff has been inspiring to observe, as they champion efforts to tackle health inequalities and encourage others to do so.”

Chair of the Mary Seacole awards committee Obi Amadi said: “Once again, the panel members were presented with very high quality projects that will benefit and improve the lives of those from the BAME communities.

“Today’s scholars have spent the last year working hard and refining their projects. It is wonderful that they have now completed them, following vigorous scrutiny from their mentors. They are now proudly inducted into the rollcall of Mary Seacole alumni.

“We hope that their individual efforts will act as a spur for those thinking of coming forward to participate in the Mary Seacole awards in the years to come.”     

Notes to editors:
– The Mary Seacole awards are staged annually and jointly organised by four unions – Unite, UNISON, Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives.
– UNISON national officer for nursing Stuart Tuckwood will take over as chair of the steering group.

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Members travel to Downing Street to demand living wage

UNISON members travelled from Birmingham to  Downing Street this morning to call for fair pay for local government workers.

They delivered a letter calling for £10 per hour minimum wage and a 10% pay rise across all other pay points in 2020/21.

Joined by Birmingham MPs Jack Dromey, Liam Byrne, and Birmingham city council leader Ian Ward, representatives from the UNISON Birmingham branch and colleagues from the GMB and Unite delivered the letter on behalf of council and school workers in the city.

The three unions submitted a joint national pay claim in July for the pay rise  as part of negotiations with employers for for the next pay round, due to be paid in April 2020.

“Some of our members are using food banks,”said branch secretary Caroline Johnson. “That’s not acceptable. If you do a day’s work you should be paid fairly for that. We can’t stand by as local government workers are having to rely on food banks to keep going”

Birmingham branch secretary Caroline Johnson and assistant branch secretary Carol Garfield stand outside 10 Downing Street with Birmingham city council leader Ian Ward.

Birmingham council agreed the pay claim motion in September, and is now joining forces with unions to ask central government to fund it.

Council workers have borne the consequences of almost a decade of public spending cuts, but with the government adamant that austerity is over, it is now time to end years of local government pay restraint.

Council leader Ian Ward said: “Increasingly local government staff are struggling to make ends meet.

“For Birmingham’s local government staff to have to turn to food banks is an absolute disgrace in a first world nation in the 21st century. The government needs to bring it to an end by funding a realistic pay increase for local government staff.

“Local government staff up and down the country have suffered a 22% cut in real terms in their pay since 2009.

“And since then, 900,000 local government staff have lost their jobs. So staff today are having to work twice as hard as they were ten years ago.

“An increase in pay that redresses the cut that local government workers have suffered in the last ten years is long overdue, and we’re calling on the government to fund that pay increase.”

National pay claim: Unions call for a 10% pay rise (24 July 2019)

Campaign: Pay up Now! for council and school workers

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Universities must do more to tackle shocking levels of racism, says UNISON

Commenting on a report published today (Wednesday) by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into the scale of racial harassment at UK universities, UNISON head of education Jon Richards said:

“This report is shocking and details some horrific incidents. It’s clear racial harassment is rife throughout the whole higher education system, but it’s not just students – staff suffer too.

“It is disgraceful and more must be done to stamp out racism from all institutions. Universities must improve the way they handle complaints, make it easier for people to come forward and emphasise that racism and abuse have no place on any campus anywhere.”

Notes to editors:
– The EHRC report Tackling Racial Harassment: Universities Challenged is available here.
– UNISON is the biggest union representing health workers. It is also the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes T: 020 7121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Compass hospital workers take fair pay protest to company’s Surrey HQ, says UNISON

A coachload of striking Compass workers is today (Tuesday) heading 200 miles south to the company’s Chertsey headquarters to urge their employer to pay them the same as their NHS colleagues, says UNISON.

The staff – who work for the contractor at NHS trusts in St Helens and Blackpool – are on the penultimate day of their latest strike action. They’re hoping the doorstep protest will persuade company bosses to end the dispute, which began this summer.

The hospital cleaners, caterers, porters, receptionists and security workers have been striking on alternate days since last Monday (14 October) over the company’s failure to match health service pay rates and working conditions.

Most of the Compass employees are on the minimum wage (£8.21 an hour), yet work alongside colleagues employed directly by the NHS, where the lowest hourly rate is £9.03.

This difference of 82p an hour is worth around £1,500 a year for full-time staff, says UNISON.

As well as earning less, Compass staff don’t receive bonuses for working weekends or bank holidays, and only get statutory sick pay – unlike their directly employed colleagues, says UNISON.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “All these hospital staff are after is fairness. They give their all day in and day out, which is hard to do when they’re working alongside colleagues being paid significantly more.

“Compass could easily afford to pay its staff a better wage – it made more than £1.5bn of profit last year. Yet it’s ignored staff, has given conciliation service ACAS the runaround and refused to get around the table to bring this dispute to an end.

“Hopefully the trip to Chertsey will persuade Compass to see the error of its ways, and start paying staff the NHS rate they well and truly deserve.”

UNISON St Helens and Knowsley health branch secretary Tony Lockhart said: “We’re travelling all the way from St Helens to Compass’ Surrey headquarters because the company simply won’t listen to its staff.

“These dedicated hospital workers have been forced to take four rounds of strike action, that’s 12 days in total. This is not a decision any take lightly.

“Compass bosses say they don’t know what the strikers want but they’ve clearly not been listening. That’s why we’ve come down to head office.

“The striking staff want a pay rise to bring them in line with NHS colleagues, plus occupational sick pay and unsociable hours payments. That’s surely not too much to ask of a company that pays its CEO more in a day than a hospital cleaner makes in a year.”

Notes to editors:
– A striking Compass worker said: “I do the same job as colleagues who are paid more than me. We wear the same uniforms, are subject to the same rules, have the same job descriptions – yet we’re paid and treated differently. It’s simply wrong.
“At weekends and on bank holidays, my colleagues on NHS contracts can be paid more than double. What’s more, if we’re ill, we have to choose between going without wages or working while we’re sick. A colleague arranged chemotherapy around their shifts because they couldn’t afford to be off work. Compass can end this cruelty – I hope they listen today.”
– This is the fourth round of action taken by the Compass hospital workers. It follows a one-day strike on 31 July, a two-day strike beginning on 27 August and a three-day strike starting on 19 September. A further planned strike at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was called off on the eve of the action after the trust – rather than the company – agreed to fund the pay parity with NHS colleagues.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors. 

Media contacts:
Conor McGurran M: 07817 120903 E: c.mcgurran@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Low-paid UCL workers celebrate UNISON-brokered pay deal

UniversityHundreds of outsourced UCL staff are celebrating after UNISON secured the same pay, pension and annual leave rights as directly employed workers doing the same jobs.

From 1 December 2019 – as part of a phased retreat by UCL – porters, security and catering workers will receive the same holiday entitlement as directly employed staff, says UNISON.

By autumn 2021 the pay, overtime, pension options and sickness allowances of the 900 outsourced staff will be brought in line with directly employed UCL workers, ending years of unfair treatment, the union said.

UNISON negotiators are working with university managers to speed up the process so staff can benefit before 2021.

UCL will join other London universities – including King’s College London, the London School of Economics, and Goldsmiths, University of London – in employing outsourced and directly employed staff on the same rates.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “This is a sensible and humane decision. For far too long hundreds of hard-pressed workers have been forced to watch as colleagues doing the same jobs get better pay, more leave and more generous pensions.

“UCL’s rethink shows the determination of workers to fight for what any fair-minded person can see is natural justice.

“Although we’re nearly there, UNISON will continue to work with university bosses until the final document guaranteeing fair pay and conditions is signed, sealed and delivered.”

UNISON London regional organiser Boyana Petrovich said: “UNISON is committed to seeing all outsourced workers brought in-house. However, we’re pleased outsourced UCL staff will begin to feel the benefits of our campaigning as early as this December.

“This is a fantastic first step that will make a massive difference to staff and their families, just in time for Christmas.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Garfield Myrie T: 0207 121 5546 M: 07432 741565 E: g.myrie@unison.co.uk
Sophie Goodchild T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk

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Health service workers in Northern Ireland must be paid fairly in line with rest of UK, says UNISON

UNISON is balloting health service workers in Northern Ireland from today (Monday) over possible industrial action in its campaign to close the unfair pay gap with NHS staff in other parts of the UK.

The union has been in discussions with the Department of Health (Northern Ireland) and Northern Ireland employers for the past eight months to bring staff into line with the NHS pay deals operating in England, Scotland and Wales.

However, progress has stalled and staff are stepping up their efforts to be rewarded fairly, says UNISON. They will be voting over the next three weeks on whether to take industrial action and action short of a strike.

Pay increases were not always awarded at the same level as the rest of the UK by the devolved government in Northern Ireland, says UNISON.

NHS workers in Northern Ireland have only had a one-year deal of between 1.5 – 3% imposed last year, while other parts of the NHS were awarded three-year pay deals.

A nurse or paramedic in Scotland for example takes home £24,670 a year and £24,214 in England or Wales. This compares with £22,795 for an NHS worker in Northern Ireland doing the same job.

The Department of Health has said it does not have enough money to pay NHS employees. But UNISON says millions are being spent on agency staff so there is money to give staff the pay rise they are long overdue.

UNISON Northern Ireland head of bargaining Anne Speed said: “Employees in Glasgow, Birmingham or Cardiff shouldn’t be valued more than those in Belfast, Newry or Ballymena. Health staff in Northern Ireland shouldn’t be left behind.

“The failure to maintain decent pay is causing a crisis in the health service. The workforce needed to deliver proper care simply can’t be recruited or retained.

“The Department of Health is being penny wise and pound foolish. They’re spending millions on agency staff, which could be used instead to pay permanent staff fairly.

“The health service’s future will only be secure when there’s the investment in pay that is so badly needed.’’

Notes to editors:
– Around two thirds of UNISON’s 40,000 members in Northern Ireland work in health and social services.
– The ballot opens on 21 October and closed on 11 November.
– Health and social care workers in Northern Ireland are the lowest paid under the Agenda for Change system which sets NHS pay grades UK-wide. This has been as a result of the devolved government not implementing the pay awards received in England, Scotland and Wales.
– Examples of the deficit (annual pay rates)
Porters and cleaners
England & Wales   £17,652
Scotland                £18,383
Northern Ireland    £16,943

Health care assistant
England & Wales   £18,813
Scotland                £19,945
Northern Ireland    £17,406

Administrative worker (e.g. medical secretary)
England & Wales   £21,089
Scotland                £22,152
Northern Ireland    £19,951

Nurses and paramedics
England & Wales  £24,214
Scotland               £24,670
Northern Ireland   £22,795

Senior nursing staff
England & Wales £30,401
Scotland              £30,401
Northern Ireland  £27,772

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Sophie Goodchild T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Apprenticeship restrictions mean hundreds of millions of pounds of NHS funds going to waste, says UNISON

More than £200m is lying unused by cash-strapped health trusts in England because of restrictions in the government’s apprenticeship levy scheme, says UNISON today (Monday).

New figures based on freedom of information (FoI) requests by the union, reveal four fifths (79%) of the money hasn’t been used, with funds now starting to be clawed back by the government.

Hospitals are not able to spend the cash because they’re too hard up to take on apprentices and the levy money can only be used for apprentice training, not wages, says the UNISON research.

If this trend continues, substantial funding will be lost to the NHS over the next few years, according to the UNISON report It Doesn’t Add Up.

Under the government’s apprenticeships scheme, any levy money not spent after two years is reallocated to a central pot.

This can then be used to subsidise apprenticeships for smaller employers – who don’t have to pay into the levy – in other parts of the economy. This means cash from NHS budgets could be diverted to the private sector, says UNISON.

For its research, UNISON gathered data for the two-year period following the introduction of the levy in May 2017. More than half of the 244 health trusts in England responded to the FoI request.

The results showed they had paid out £256m for the levy, yet only used £54m (21%) for apprenticeship training and assessments. However, UNISON believes the true figure for unspent NHS cash is likely to be much higher when the trusts that didn’t provide data are taken into account.

In the FoI, UNISON also asked NHS trusts how much their apprentices are paid. The responses showed that two thirds (65%) are paying apprentices less than the lowest NHS pay rate of £9.03 per hour. Just under a third (30%) of the trusts are paying £3.90 per hour, the statutory minimum apprentice rate.

It Doesn’t Add Up includes a sample of apprentice vacancies in NHS trusts, which show they’re expected to perform a wide range of responsibilities for these low rates of pay.

UNISON believes such low salaries are making it harder for trusts to attract and hold on to apprentices. The absence of a standard approach between English NHS trusts on apprentice pay is also leading to exploitation, says the union. It would like to see the national pay system for NHS staff extended to include apprentice pay.

UNISON says the government should change the rules so levy funding can also be spent on apprentice salaries and the wages of staff employed to cover for apprentices when they are training. Any money not used could then go towards funding a new extensive apprenticeship programme across the entire NHS for nursing and all the other health professions experiencing shortages.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “These figures are a shocking wake-up call showing the extent of the levy’s failure. Hundreds of millions of pounds are sitting idle at a time when budgets are stretched and there are 100,000 vacancies across the NHS.

“There are real concerns about the standard of training apprentices receive, with many carrying out administrative and clinical support roles for peanuts.

“The NHS must be better equipped for the future. Ministers must reform the system to ensure money allocated to the health service stays within the NHS and invest properly to ensure apprenticeships play a full role in solving the growing staffing crisis.”

Notes to editors:
– The levy is a payroll tax applied to larger employers and is designed to finance the training of apprentices and encourage more vocational training. It Doesn’t Add Up is available here, as is a short campaign film on NHS apprenticeships.
– UNISON is the biggest union representing health workers. It is also the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes T: 020 7121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Menopause workplace guide launched by UNISON

Guidance aimed at improving workplace conditions for employees who are experiencing the menopause has been published today (Friday) by UNISON.

The Menopause is a Workplace Issue is aimed at supporting employers to create a working environment where female staff feel supported. The guide highlights how symptoms – from migraines to panic attacks – are an occupational health issue and can have a significant effect on staff.

However, these are often trivialised or treated as embarrassing by bosses and colleagues, says UNISON.

The Menopause is a Workplace Issue has been sent to UNISON branches and union reps and covers topics including awareness training for line managers, flexible procedures for sickness absence, and encouraging employers to introduce a workplace menopause policy.

The guide also outlines examples of good practice. These include the Norfolk and Suffolk police forces which have developed a ‘menopause passport.’ This helps staff identify their own symptoms, and is useful for those who struggle to discuss the issue with line managers.

UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “For too long talking about the menopause has been taboo, subject to jokes about hot flushes and whispers about competence.

“Yet menopause affects most women and some trans and non-binary people too. Symptoms can force women out of the workforce and contributes to the gender pay gap.

“That’s why it’s a priority because women are working longer following the raising of the state pension age. The menopause is most definitely a workplace issue and should be taken more seriously by employers.”

The document is being issued on World Menopause Day by the union which is the UK’s largest organisation campaigning on behalf of working women.

Notes to editors:
– The guide can be accessed here.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Sophie Goodchild T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

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Making the NHS a positive and friendly place for everyone

Dr Syed Mujtaba Hasnain Nadir was recognised for his work in challenging bullying and harassment experienced by Black staff, when he received the UNISON-sponsored Workforce Innovator award at the inaugural national BAME health and social care awards.

The awards ceremony took place at the UNISON Centre in London last night. Dr Nadir was presented with his award by Carol Sewell (above left), of the union’s NEC and national Black members’ committee, and Maria Alberts (above right) from the UNISON healthcare service group executive.

Dr Nadir, of the Pennine acute trust, has also been key in improving induction and training support for overseas staff, changing a toxic environment to one that is positive and friendly for everyone from any background.

Presenting the award, Ms Alberts recalled that when she started working in the health service in Gateshead 25 years ago, she was the only Black member of staff.

Now 25% of the workforce is Black.

She said UNISON was proud to sponsor the award, which “couldn’t have come at a better time for us in the week that we launched UNISON’s Race for Equality campaign to give a fresh focus to our work in the health sector.”

The campaign aims to help UNISON representatives champion equality and tackle workplace racism in all its forms; challenging employers to do better and empowering staff to use their voice and lead the change.

UNISON knows that too often Black staff feel nothing will be done if they raise issues like bullying and harassment or exclusion, she said.

The union is working to try to turn that around, “giving members confidence that together we can do something about it and that sponsoring this award is a fantastic opportunity to support and celebrate individuals and teams who can show us successful ways to achieve real change”.

Find out more about the Race for Equality campaign

The national BAME health & care awards

Read the full list of winners

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We will always fight for local services

As the biggest local government union in the country, we will always fight for local services – and for the funding that’s needed to provide them. So it was fantastic to see so many people getting behind the heartbeat of our local communities, local government workers, on our first Local Service Champions Day yesterday.

There’s so much to celebrate about local government and the amazing people who work there – it touches every part of our lives – but all too often the hidden army of people who support our communities are overlooked.

UNISON refuses to let that happen – because we know what a difference local government workers make. As I’ve said before – they back us quite literally from the cradle to the grave.

That’s why we’ve launched the Local Service Champions awards, another chance to celebrate the incredible things that local government workers do each day across our country. So if you know someone who deserves recognition for going above and beyond – make sure you nominate them.

Nominate your champion

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New deal is a ‘huge leap backwards’ says UNISON

Commenting on the new Brexit deal announced today (Thursday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:

“This deal isn’t a step forward, it’s a huge leap backwards. It would risk every workplace right and leave public services exposed and vulnerable.

“The only quick free trade deals to be had would involve the UK paying a heavy price, with the US only interested if the NHS were handed over lock, stock and barrel.

“Protecting peace in Northern Ireland is paramount too. All communities should have a say in their future, not just the DUP.

“There is nothing here for any Labour MP to vote for.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

Anthony Barnes T: 0207 121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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“I felt like stabbing people – the emotions were that intense”

Most women experience the menopause between the ages of 45 and 55 – in other words, while they’re working. Given that women make up more than 70% of UNISON’s 1.3 million members, it’s clearly a workplace issue and therefore a union issue that we should be leading the way on.

The menopause is a natural transition stage in most women’s lives, usually lasting between four and eight years, although it can be longer. It’s primarily marked by hormonal changes and the end of periods, which can also trigger a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms.

The menopause can also occur earlier for medical reasons and it also affects trans, non-binary and intersex people. In the workplace, the impacts can be exacerbated for disabled women by their disability and, for Black women, by racism and the prevalence of less secure working conditions among Black workers.

In 2017, the UK government’s equalities office published a review of the extent to which the menopause affects women’s economic participation. It reported that “significant numbers of working women experience problems at work as a result of individual symptoms …

“The evidence also paints a consistent picture of women in transition feeling those around them at work are unsympathetic or treat them badly, because of gendered ageism.”

For some UNISON members, menopause issues will cause difficulties at work and may even lead to discriminatory action by employers – so it’s something we need to start talking about before this happens. By agreeing good policies with employers, it’s likely that we can help reduce the number of cases requiring union representation.

Tracy Cunningham, a PCSO with Devon and Cornwall Police, says that the menopause made her feel as though she was ‘having a nervous breakdown’.

“I wasn’t sure what was going on,” she says. “I was struggling to concentrate and work was all getting too much. My sergeant at the time was a very young man who I had to try and talk to.

“At first, I made up a reason for going sick, but soon realised I needed to tell him the real reason why I was off work. I sat in his office sweating and feeling like I was old enough to be his mother.

“He was struggling to understand what I was talking about so I suggested that he go home and speak to his own mum and ask her about the menopause!”

“I went to my GP who was happy to prescribe HRT, which has helped a great deal.

If her manager already had this information, things may have been easier for Tracy, and she’s now working with UNISON to share more information with line managers in Devon and Cornwall Police.

A good model policy will highlight how UNISON values its members and recognises the specific problems that menopausal symptoms may cause. This is vital to recruitment, retention and activism – something worth remembering as we prepare to Go for Growth this November.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development says that it shouldn’t be regarded solely as a female issue: “Organisations have a responsibility to create a stigma-free environment that encourages open discussion and disclosure; this will encourage women to not suffer in silence and [to] discuss the practical steps needed to support their full engagement and productivity at work.”

Jane Grebbie is the branch secretary for the Ysgrifennydd Cangen branch and, in recent years, has been heavily involved in work to spread awareness and understanding of the menopause and how it impacts on women in the workplace.

Jane had a medically induced menopause at 32 after having a hysterectomy for her endometriosis and the symptoms were so severe that she felt in danger of “stabbing people”.

“I’m a residential care officer and I work with the most vulnerable children in Wales, so I was regularly restraining children, in very hot environments, so having a hot flush in that environment wasn’t brilliant.

“I was very lucky, because of the environment I worked in, my staff team were more like my family than my own family were, so I was very lucky as I could get someone to change with me.

“I was lucky that they wrote a risk assessment – specifically for me – to get me out of situations where I was going to get heated, to give me the extra five minutes to go and cool off.”

But the menopause is rarely a fleeting experience.

“I’m still suffering menopausal symptoms,” explains Jane. “But they have now made a HRT that I am able to take, luckily enough, because it stops me stabbing people – and I mean that. Really. It was that intense, the emotions.”

Jane got involved with doing some work around the issue via the Wales TUC, when it had just begun some research and describes herself as lucky to have been involved from the start.

“Today, I’m lucky that we have menopause policies that fit in line with our sickness policies in Neath Port Talbot – and it’s something that I’m raising in Bridgend as a council member.

“I keep promoting it wherever I can and I deliver awareness sessions and try to impress on people that not everybody’s experience of the menopause is the same: some can sail through it, but for others, it can be particularly disadvantageous to work situations.”

On the work she’s done, Jane says that, perhaps counterintuitively, “some of the worst reactions I have are from young females, who don’t believe that it’s going to have so much of an impact.”

“However, some of the most surprising – and delightful – reactions I have in delivering sessions is from the men, who say they can see their partners, their mums or somebody suffering, but it was never discussed; it was never talked about; it was ‘one of those things’”

For Jane, that makes it all worthwhile. And further, “the male managers are the most proactive in getting me into their workplaces to deliver sessions to all of their staff,” she notes.

“The biggest session I’ve had was with schoolteachers – we offer the session, whether you’re a UNISON member or not, because we need to raise awareness across workplaces.

“We’ve had teaching assistants, on an inset day. And they’ve been giving me time on an inset day now and go into schools and deliver sessions and my last session in a school, I had 50 people in there  and we were in a classroom and it was very, very much over-subscribed and I had people sitting on tables around the edges ‘cos they just wanted to be there.”

Jane is proud that, across the UK, her union, “is supporting this work and promoting it. The more we can raise awareness for various conditions, in relation to our health, the better outcomes we’re going to have in all our workplaces,” she concludes.

UNISON is preparing guidance for branches that will include a template for a workplace policy and also developing training on menopause awareness.

To read more and access resources, visit www.unison.org.uk/menopause

Other information and support

NHS

www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause

www.nhs.uk/conditions/early-menopause

NICE guidelines on ‘Menopause: diagnosis and treatment’

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/ifp/chapter/About-this-information

Menopause Matters

www.menopausematters.co.uk

Women’s Health Concern

www.womens-health-concern.org

Daisy Network

www.daisynetwork.org

The Menopause Exchange

www.menopause-exchange.co.uk

CIPD guidance: ‘The Menopause at Work: a guide for people professionals’www.cipd.co.uk/Images/menopause-guide_tcm18-55426.pdf

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Blog: A backwards step

Today Boris Johnson has unveiled a new deal on Brexit – and our unions’s position is clear, it’s a bad one for working people. here’s the statement I’ve put out on it:

“This deal isn’t a step forward, it’s a huge leap backwards. It would risk every workplace right and leave public services exposed and vulnerable.

“The only quick free trade deals to be had would involve the UK paying a heavy price, with the US only interested if the NHS were handed over lock, stock and barrel.

“Protecting peace in Northern Ireland is paramount too. But all communities should have a say in the country’s future, not just the DUP.

“There is nothing here for any Labour MP to vote for.”

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New deal is a ‘huge leap backwards’

Commenting on the new Brexit deal announced today (Thursday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:

“This deal isn’t a step forward, it’s a huge leap backwards. It would risk every workplace right and leave public services exposed and vulnerable.

“The only quick free trade deals to be had would involve the UK paying a heavy price, with the US only interested if the NHS were handed over lock, stock and barrel.

“Protecting peace in Northern Ireland is paramount too. But all communities should have a say in the country’s future, not just the DUP.

“There is nothing here for any Labour MP to vote for.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes T: 0207 121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

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