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It’s a quarter of a century since UNISON was born. The merger of COHSE, NALGO and NUPE created the UK’s public service union. The UK’s biggest and most accomplished union.
In our anniversary year (beginning 1 July), we’ll be celebrating in various ways.
At our national delegate conference we kicked off the celebrations, and showed this film to delegates.
It’s hard to capture all of UNISON’s achievements over the last 25 years, so watch above to get a gist of the glory of UNISON members.
The article Watch our film about our glorious members first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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First off, as someone probably hasn’t ever said, history is just the same things happening with different people.
So a Conservative government led by a weak Prime Minister who had come to power on the back of an internal Tory election seemed to be on the brink of losing office and led a party obsessed with, and riven by, divisions on Europe. Replace Brexit with Maastricht and you get the drift.
But good news was that the “longest recession since the 1930s” was officially over and the economy grew by 0.2% in the first three months of the year. Meanwhile, unemployment hit three million and the Bank of England lowered interest rates to 6% in January, the lowest they’d been since 1978. It was all going swimmingly.
And then in October, John Major introduced his Back to Basics campaign. Years later it would emerge he was also having an affair with Edwina Currie at the time. Which gave Back to Basics a new meaning.
Northern Ireland dominated the headlines with the IRA responsible for two massive bombs in Warrington and Bishopsgate in the City of London. In December, the UK and Irish governments signed the Downing Street Declaration, a precursor of the Good Friday Agreement.
Then as now, the future of the NHS was a cause for debate as waiting lists hit one million for the first time. Two horrific murders shocked the nation; Toddler James Bulger was killed by two children on Merseyside and teenager Stephen Lawrence was murdered for being Black in south London.
And we can always rely on the Royal Family to cheer up the nation. Errr… But back then they weren’t getting married. Charles and Diana announced their divorce. A nation shrugged.
She then withdrew from public life (in a manner of speaking). And the Queen opened up Buckingham Palace for the first time to the public to have a good nose around and raise some readies for the repair of Windsor Castle.
Elsewhere, the Observer newspaper was bought by the Guardian; Bill Clinton succeeded the first George Bush as president of the US; Grimethorpe Colliery in South Yorkshire closed; Ford replaced the Cortina with the Mondeo, the World Wide Web was born and the Child Support Agency started chasing errant fathers for money.
As for sport, it was an odd year.
The England football manager was branded a turnip as the national side failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. There wasn’t a winner of the Grand National as it was declared void after two false starts.
If the news was largely depressing in 1993, the music was cracking. C’mon mega-selling number ones: Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You and Meat Loaf’s I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)? Elsewhere there were the classics that were Boom! Shake the Room by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, No Limit by 2 Unlimited and Take That got their first number 1 with Pray. And the number 1 on the day UNISON was formed? The highly apt Dreams by eyepatch-wearing Gabrielle (who has new music out now, btw).
The nation was glued to their static television sets. Streaming? Netflix? You what? Although a sign of things to come is the launch of Sky Multichannels in December and shopping channel QVC.
Anyway we watched Casualty, EastEnders, Coronation Street and on Brookside a wife stabbed her abusive husband to death… Roy Hattersley was replaced by a tub of lard on Have I Got News for You and the IRA caused Noel’s House Party to be cancelled, but just for a week.
And on the big screen, Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, Mrs Doubtfire, Philadelphia and Schindler’s List were all big box office.
We said goodbye to, amongst others, Audrey Hepburn, Bobby Moore, Bernard Bresslaw, Anthony Burgess, River Pheonix and Les Dawson.
And finally these people are as old as UNISON: singers George Ezra and most of One Direction (Zayne, Liam and the Irish one); Spurs footballer Harry Kane; Olympians Jade Jones (taekwando), Max Whitlock (gymnastics), Johnnie Peacock (athletics and Strictly Come Dancing) and the marvellously named Katarina Johnson-Thompson (athletics).
The article 1993 and all that… first appeared on the UNISON National site.
25 years ago, public service workers came together to form UNISON. Many people said that a public service union was the right idea, but at the wrong time. Others said that NUPE, COHSE and NALGO were too different and that bringing them together was doomed to fail.
A quarter of a century on, 1.3 million UNISON members like you know how wrong the naysayers were, how much we have to celebrate together and how wrong it is to ever count out UNISON members like you. As the people who heal us, educate us, keep us safe and ensure that we receive care, support and vital services every single day, UNISON people are special people, and the union we have built together is a special union.
Our birthday is a great opportunity to remember the values of our special union which have guided us throughout – inclusivity, tolerance and caring. A union led by members and where everything that happens starts and ends with your lives and your experiences. That’s why we’re not just the biggest union, we’re also the best.
And we have so much to be proud of.
Your union stood by the Hillsborough families in their fight for justice, and continues to do so today. We campaigned with the Lawrence family – and made Doreen and Neville part of our UNISON family – as they fought for the justice denied to their son Stephen.
Your union was at the heart of the peace movement in Northern Ireland – and our union will fight on for the Good Friday agreement against those who would trash it.
Your union, pioneering and ground-breaking, was the first union to advertise on TV and radio and the first to have our own website. We were the union that took the first stress at work claim and – through our Blue Light campaign – we’ve continued to put mental health at work on the agenda.
Without your union, there would never have been a National Minimum Wage – benefitting millions by creating a legal floor for pay. Yet we know that floor was set too low, so it’s your union which fights for a living wage of at least £10 for every single worker. Your union – aiming to make poverty pay a thing of the past in our public services.
Likewise on equal pay. Your union took almost 50,000 individual equal pay claims and fought to end sexist, racist and discriminatory pay policies. A union of more than a million women, fighting for fairness and equality. That’s why your union is the only union which has always guaranteed that women hold the majority of the positions in our democratic structures at every level.
Your union – the union that took on the government over the grotesque injustice of employment tribunal fees, and won. That wasn’t just a victory for UNISON members like you, it was a victory for anyone who’s been treated unfairly at work, giving them a chance to stand up for their rights.
Your union took on the BNP and beat them. Your union challenges the extremism and hate of UKIP. And your union always stands up against racism, Islamophobia and anti-semitism in our union and our society – because that fight has always been part of us, deep within our DNA.
1.3 million members, calling out together for fairness and decency. When we are together and united, our union is so powerful. We use that collective strength to fight for every single one of our members, we can shape public services in the image of those who provide and protect them – UNISON members like you.
All of this and so much more should be an immense source of pride to all UNISON activists, because these are your campaigns, your energies and your victories.
In the years ahead, we must continue to work together, united by a shared purpose to build that better union – not of a million members but millions of members. A union that always goes the extra mile. A union that is always working towards our next milestone. A union that cares about every single member.
Happy birthday UNISON – here’s to decades more achievements to come, by and for public service workers.
The article Happy birthday UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.
Bright and early Tuesday morning, we were ready and raring to get stuck into UNISON conference and proudly represent our private contractor members. Despite a long journey down from the north, with lots of big issues on the agenda, we were excited to be in Brighton.
We both plucked up the courage to get up and speak on the conference floor. It’s nerve wracking but we both knew it was really important for the voice of private contractor members to be heard loud and clear.
Richard ‘proposed’ the private contractors motion and spoke about the appalling pay and conditions private contract workers face. He spoke about the need to bring services back in house and cited the Carillion collapse to show the risk such companies pose to important services. Margaret spoke in another debate about inclusive organising and the need to make private sector members feel welcome in their branches. We got a great reception and we were really pleased.
Conference passed the private contractors motion with an overwhelming majority. This is just the first step but we look forward to working with branches and regions to make sure the commitments are put into action on the ground.
But it wasn’t all about us! We heard from passionate and moving speakers throughout the four days. Whether it was Grenfell or the horrors of universal credit, we felt proud to be involved and take a stand on such important issues. It feels genuinely moving to be on the conference floor and see the union come together as a voice against injustice.
We loved the UNIZONE – a campaigns drop-in area, with staff and activists on hand to chat through all the things UNISON are doing to support members. It was also the centre of UNISON’s 25th anniversary celebrations. It was really fun and interactive, with loads of games and even a dressing up box! Do you recognise us…?
It’s important to note, conference is also about all the incredible people you meet. As first time delegates, we were made to feel very welcome. And the sun even came out for us all on Thursday.
We would encourage all members in private contractors to think about applying to come to conference. Either via our forum or your branch. We need to be visible at all UNISON conferences. We’ll hopefully see you at our seminar in November too!
Wishing you well,
Richard and Margaret
The article Blog: Richard and Margaret represent… first appeared on the UNISON National site.
At UNISON we know that many members deliver public services but are employed by private contractors. If that’s you, you may be wondering how recent pay deals for the sector you work in will affect you.
Be assured, UNISON negotiators have not forgotten you. We are fighting to get you the same benefits as your colleagues in the private sector. Read on for the latest update on pay for health workers and local government workers.
UNISON have recently negotiated with the government to get a new three year pay deal in the NHS in England. UNISON members working for the NHS in England voted overwhelmingly to accept the three year pay deal and it was ratified at the NHS Staff Council on the 27 June.
UNISON led the negotiations on a deal for England that sees a pay uplift of at least 6.5% over three years at the top of bands, with more for those below. The deal brings all low paid workers up to at least the real living wage. UNISON fought for an end to the damaging 1% cap and the Treasury has agreed to find £4.2bn of new money to fund the new deal. More detailed information can be found here.
In Scotland an offer has been made and Scottish members are currently voting on whether to accept the deal. More information can be found here. In Scotland the offer states that “this deal will also apply to private contractor staff covered by the Scottish Two Tier agreement”.
Over the upcoming months we will see pay negotiations taking place for NHS workers in Wales and Northern Ireland.
However we are aware that for members working in wholly owned subsidiaries, private employers or social enterprises, pay is often more complicated. Some of our members will be contractually entitled to the uplift, whereas others may have different bargaining structures. UNISON will argue that the new deal should be implemented across all outsourced contracts and call for the appropriate funding from employers.
In July private contractor reps, heath activists, and regional and service group delegations will meet to discuss how we move our campaign forward. We will also be holding regional briefings, ensuring further discussion and coordination across all levels of our union.
In local government a new pay deal will also be implemented locally. Earlier in the year local government employers made a two year pay offer for council, school, academy and other staff on NJC pay scales. Following extensive consultation with members, the UNISON NJC Committee decided to accept the offer which sees an uplift of 2% at the highest salary points, with higher percentage increases for those lower down the scale. More detailed information can be found here.
As in health, UNISON will be campaigning for the NJC pay deal to be honoured for all contracted out staff. For more information or to get involved in local campaigns please contact your region or your branch.
We are also aware that many workers in private contractors have pay arrangements that aren’t linked to national health or local government deals. If you are interested in finding out more about any aspect of pay in outsourced contractors please contact your region or email private.contractors@unison.co.uk
The article How recent pay deals affect staff at private contractors first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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UNISON’s in-house legal team have won yet another award for its landmark victory in the Supreme Court last year, when the union defeated the government over its introduction of employment tribunal fees.
It was voted Litigation Team of the Year in The Lawyer magazine’s prestigious annual awards on Tuesday, for “great tenacity and perseverance and a result that makes a real difference to a great many people.”
In 2013 the then Lord Chancellor introduced tribunal fees that effectively denied members their access to justice in the employment courts.
UNISON’s single-handed, four-year legal battle to reverse that decision spanned six unsuccessful hearings – three in the High Court and three in the Court of Appeal – before the Supreme Court unanimously found in the union’s favour.
As one awards judge commented: “This case changed the law at the highest level and rolled back a change that was denying workers access to justice.
“The approach by UNISON shows real grit in developing evidence where there was none and getting the case re-heard on new evidence.”
The judges noted the determination shown by UNISON legal officer Shantha David, who ran the case, in seeking evidence through Freedom of Information requests and a “dogged pursuit” of the Lord Chancellor’s team.
UNISON’s head of legal Adam Creme, who collected the award with Ms David, said today: “This award is given not by faceless bureaucrats but is judged by the UK’s legal profession. All lawyers want desperately to win it.
“I am proud to work with and for the UK’s best legal team, bar none, and to serve our members.”
In 2014 UNISON won The Lawyer’s Best Employment Team award, for bringing the claim against the government. Then in 2016 there was another employment team gong, from The Solicitor’s Journal. And after the Supreme Court victory Mr Creme was named Lawyer of the Year by Liberty.
The article UNISON’s legal team win top honour for employment tribunal fees court case first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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Susan Ratchford, Michael Purcell, Hazel Leatherbarrow and Jeanette Alcker are four UNISON health members who are on strike today.
More than 500 UNISON members are in dispute with Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust over the outsourcing of their jobs to a ‘wholly owned subsidiary’.
At last week’s UNISON conference they chatted to Sara Gorton, UNISON’s head of health, about why they’re going on strike, their passion for the NHS and their determination to protect our health service from privatisation by the back door.
Sara Gorton: Tell me about what has happened in your trust.
Susan Ratchford: The trust underestimated the strength of staff’s feeling about their jobs being transferred out of the NHS.
Staff want to remain in the NHS. They believe it to be a family and they want to protect the NHS for future generations.
They feel they are being separated from that.
Sara Gorton: But your employer is acknowledged as a good employer – they win awards. And the services that are currently under threat are services that have won countless awards.
Hazel Leatherbarrow: Yes, we’ve won cleanest hospital for four years running.
Sara Gorton: And catering services have won awards too. How do people feel about working at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh?
Susan Ratchford: People feel so passionate about working for the NHS. They’re long serving staff. People who didn’t enjoy their job wouldn’t stay somewhere for so long. It’s truly a passion for them.
Hazel Leatherbarrow: I’ve just got my 20 year service award and I am proud to work for the NHS.
Sara Gorton: What are people worried about when they’re faced with being moved out of direct NHS employment?
Michael Purcell: Although they’ve had promises from the trust about their terms of conditions, their biggest concern is the uncertainty in the long term and what happens when this current trust board moves on.
They want the identity of working in the NHS. A cleaner said to me they would not do their job working for a private company – they do it because they work for the NHS.
They have that sense of pride and they know they contribute to patient care.
Susan Ratchford:Can you explain what members have done and what’s planned? And how many people are affected?
Hazel Leatherbarrow: We’ve had four strike days so far and we’ve got action planned for five more days, starting on 28 June.
Susan Ratchford: 900 staff could potentially be transferred across and well over 500 are UNISON members.
Sara Gorton: Tell me about how this feels. You’re not a branch that’s been in dispute with your employer before, are you?
Jeanette Alcker: Really upsetting. The communication with the chief executive is usually really good – it’s a family so this has come as a complete shock.
Sara Gorton: What are you wanting to achieve with this industrial action?
Hazel Leatherbarrow: We want to stay in the NHS. Not just for ourselves, but for future generations.
Jeanette Alcker: Also, we want to be part of the solution and we’ve proven we can be useful in helping the managers achieve some of their cost savings.
I’m a housekeeper on the ward and we work closely with procurement – going through the different needles, syringes, all sorts – to see what’s cheaper.
It’s something really simple, but it’s saved £5,000 just on the medicine ward. Just little things like that, we’re all taking note.
And we all care – this is people’s jobs. It affects everyone. We’re all in it together.
Susan Ratchford: We need to find a way forward. All staff would want to be involved in helping the trust save. The people who can make the changes are the people who do the jobs.
____________________________________________________
More and more NHS trusts are seeking to set up arms-length companies, or ‘wholly owned subsidiaries’ to save money. One reason is to exploit a VAT loophole.
But UNISON believes staff will be vulnerable to future attacks on their terms and conditions, and new staff may be employed on inferior terms.
The five-day action from 28 June at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust follows an 89% vote for strike action in a ballot which saw 73% of eligible members cast a vote.
UNISON believes that the creation of wholly owned subsidiaries is NHS privatisation by the back door and we are stepping up our campaign against them.
Key issue: Wholly owned subsidiaries in the NHS – how you can help
Press release: Outsourcing is bad for staff and bad for patients (26 June 2018)
National delegate conference: UNISON escalates campaign against outsourcing (25 June 2018)
Earlier story: North-West hospital workers set for strike over outsourcing (5 June 2018)
Health conference: UNISON vows to step up fight against wholly owned subsidiaries (18 April 2018)
The article ‘We want to stay in the NHS: for ourselves and future generations’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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New data shows bovine TB is on the rise in England, proving that independent meat inspectors are needed more than ever.
The government has just published data showing 4,288 cows had to be slaughtered because of TB in March this year, up from the 3,900 in February, and continuing the general upward trend.
Since 1996 – when the data goes back to – there has been a massive 980% increase in cows slaughtered because of TB.
The disease is on the rise in England and Wales, but not in Scotland, which is considered ‘bovine TB free.’ But why does bovine TB matter?
It is possible for humans to catch TB if they consume unpasteurised milk or dairy products from an infected cow. According to the government website the risk of infection is “very low,” though a recent trend in unpasteurised milk is causing some to worry that the disease could pass more easily to humans.
Where bovine TB is having a big impact is on our economy. Slaughtering cows costs farmers time and money, and because the government compensates farmers when they have to kill their stock, it also costs the taxpayer.
The average number of cows slaughtered because of TB each month in 1996 was 336, while the average so far in 2018 is 4,094 per month. That means the average in 2018 is 12 times the average in 1996.
In 2017 there were 43,564 cows slaughtered because of TB, and so far this year there has already been 12,284 slaughtered. This huge rise is worrying, and according to the government no one is quite sure why it has happened.
In 2013 the government launched a long-term strategy to reduce bovine TB, and on the front line of that strategy are UNISON members.
Our members are independent meat inspectors for the Food Standards Authority (FSA), the organisation responsible for identifying contaminated meat. After an ‘on farm TB test’ has been carried out, if any cows have been identified as possibly having TB, then our members go in an inspect and sample the animals.
If any cattle do react they’re taken to abattoirs where our members take samples and send them for analysis to confirm if the herd has bovine TB. It is a hands-on job that many people would not want to do. As one member told us, “bovine TB lesions are yellow in colour and… can feel almost gritty when a knife is passed through the affected tissue.”
It is essential that trained, experienced people undertake this inspection as it involves differentiating between abscesses and lesions caused by other things.
The rise in TB is just one of the many reasons the government should increase the number of independent meat inspectors, not decrease them. In a recent report published by UNISON, 96% of meat inspectors thought that staff directly employed by the meat industry couldn’t be trusted to recognise and remove diseased sections of meat.
For more data stories about public services and the people who work in them visit UNISON’s public service data blog.
See how we analysed the data here.
The article The shocking rise of TB in cows first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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The planned outsourcing of staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust is not in the interests of staff nor patients, says UNISON.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has written to the head of the north west NHS Trust outlining some key concerns about the proposal to establish a wholly owned subsidiary. Around 900 staff, working as porters, cleaners and caterers, would be transferred to the new company, WWL Solutions.
UNISON research finds that the case for outsourcing is based almost entirely on tax advantages, and not on service improvement. It also finds that wholly owned subsidiaries are creating a two-tier workforce, where new staff are likely to be far worse off in terms of their pay and pensions. There is also no evidence that these new companies improve efficiency or productivity.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “There’s no good reason for this outsourcing – it’s bad for patients and bad for the staff that support them.
“As the NHS approaches its 70th birthday, it deserves better than being salami-sliced into different organisations. The NHS is the envy of the world, but it won’t stay that way by breaking up its staff and services.”
A 5-day strike by staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust starts at 6am on Thursday 28 June. This is the third strike by employees in protest at the proposals.
On 27 June, the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust board will make a final decision on the setting up of a wholly owned subsidiary.
Notes to editors:
– UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis will be on the picket line of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust in the morning on Thursday 28 June.
Media contacts:
Clare Santry T: 0207 121 5546 M: 07944 191479 E: c.santry@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad T: 0207 121 5255 M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
The article NHS outsourcing is bad for staff and bad for patients first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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— Playground Markings (@playareamarking) June 26, 2018
Thermoplastic Markings Removal in Barrow-In-Furness #Removal #of #Playground #Markings #Barrow-In-Furness https://t.co/D1Di0OlNtJ
— Playground Markings (@playareamarking) June 25, 2018
Nursery Playground Markings in Armagh #Outdoor #Nursery #Games #Marking #Armagh https://t.co/YZugrCGcAN
— Playground Markings (@playareamarking) June 25, 2018
KS2 Play Area Designs in Lydiard Plain #Key #Stage #2 #Playground #Marking #Lydiard #Plain https://t.co/Q08Igg17ds
— Playground Markings (@playareamarking) June 25, 2018
Thermoplastic Markings Removal in Appledore Heath #Removal #of #Playground #Markings #Appledore #Heath https://t.co/vStP46gSWR
— Playground Markings (@playareamarking) June 25, 2018
External Playground Marking Designs in Crookham #Outdoor #Play #Surface #Design #Crookham https://t.co/EzlUX74Fx8
— Playground Markings (@playareamarking) June 25, 2018
