Speaking up for our members

UNISON is speaking up for our members with a second round of national and local newspaper ads this week thanking our members for the extraordinary work they are doing to fight coronavirus.

As the public continues to pay tribute to health, care and essential workers, UNISON is saying thank you to those leaving their loved ones to care for ours. Watch out for our full-page ad in the Daily Mirror tomorrow (Thursday 16 April).

We’re highlighting just a few of the many jobs  our members are doing in the frontline and beyond.

You can download the ad here to share on social media or print out as a poster.

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Work on protecting members continues across all UNISON service groups

UNISON’s bargaining, negotiations and equalities departments are working hard to campaign and negotiate for our members so that they’re able to work and provide vital services in the safest way possible in these difficult times.

There are continuing negotiations across governments in the UK and with employers to demand adequate and safe personal protective equipment (PPE) for all workers, and access to testing for essential workers.

Assistant general secretary Christina McAnea, reporting to the union’s NEC, said: “We are all working in a fast-moving environment and so keeping advice and guidance updated for our members is vitally important.

“We have been keeping the UNISON website updated daily with information as it emerges from the government and with specific additional advice on all key issues relating to COVID-19.”

PPE remains the single most critical issue for UNISON members. The union has set up a PPE Alert on the website asking members from all sectors to report their PPE issues.

The information from this and the care hotline are being used to raise issues directly with government departments in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, to demand that members are not putting themselves and their families, or the people they care for, at risk because of a lack of safe equipment in the workplace.

The union is also raising this issue with the Health and Safety Executive and highlighting issues in the media on a daily basis.

The main workforce issues for UNISON members remain:

• access to PPE across all sectors for relevant staff and prioritisation for key groups;
• increasing COVID-19 testing;
• getting full pay for staff who have been furloughed;
• impact on benefits eg working tax credit/universal credits on staff taking on additional hours during this crisis;
• access to pay for low-paid and zero-hours workers taking leave or sickness absence due to COVID-19 related issues;
• access to schools/childcare for key workers;
• free parking for key workers.

The union has produced lists of frequently asked questions on the website and this is being regularly monitored and updated.

In the past week, several meetings (by phone or video) have been held between senior union officers and government ministers and senior civil servants from different departments to discuss COVID-19 workforce issues.

Following pressure from UNISON, Public Health England has issued new guidance to include specific advice on PPE in social care and community settings. This has now become advice across the UK.

The union’s work continues across all service groups and we will continue to update advice and information as soon as possible.

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Frontline staff need real protection

Frontline staff must be properly equipped to protect lives during the COVID-19 crisis, says UNISON, after ‘last-resort’ proposals on safety equipment were leaked.

General secretary Dave Prentis said that the proposals from Public Health England contain “desperate measures” and “are a shocking indictment of the lack of proper planning and preparation for supplies in the pandemic.

“The situation in care homes is nothing short of an emergency and there will be preventable deaths if staff aren’t properly equipped.“

The proposals include re-using gowns and masks designed to be used just once, as well as using lab coats, patient gowns and off-the-shelf non-medical eye protection.

NHS staff, care workers, frontline council staff, education workers and police staff are just some of the workers risking their lives to help the public during the coronavirus crisis.

The union also called on the government to clamp down on profiteering to stop some firms inflating prices for life-saving kit – and to immediately suspend VAT duties payable by care homes for imported safety equipment during the pandemic.

Tell us your PPE story

As UNISON prepared to ramp up campaigning to keep members safe, Mr Prentis said that Office for National Statistics figures showing more than 200 COVID-19 related deaths in care homes are “a national scandal”.

“Elderly and vulnerable residents face a death sentence because staff lack personal protective equipment,” he warned.

The care home figures came as total CORVID-19 deaths recorded in hospitals passed 10,000 over the Easter weekend.

UNISON continues to press the government, and ministers directly, to urgently make sure frontline workers have the personal protection equipment (PPE) that they need.

Members report PPE shortages

“Our members are telling us of shortages across pubic services,” says Mr Prentis. “We have passed on their testimony to government ministers for action.

Apologies and assurances that the UK has all the PPE it needs are of no comfort to staff whose workplaces are running low, says the union.

More than 3,500 workers in hospitals, care homes and local council-run services have contacted the UNISON PPE alert hotline to express their fear and anger about the lack of gowns, masks and visors where they work.

“No-one doubts the pressures the government is under,” says Mr Prentis. “But the time for excuses has passed.

“Ministers have been saying for weeks that the PPE situation is in hand; that there’s enough to go around and it’s just a matter of logistics. But it isn’t good enough.

“NHS, care and other key workers are falling ill in huge numbers. Some have already died – including nurses, doctors, care workers, healthcare assistants and porters. Staff fear for their own health, that of their families and those they care for and look after.

“Getting the necessary PPE to every workplace in the country that needs it – and ensuring the supplies keep coming so staff aren’t filled with dread as they watch stocks run low – must be the number one priority.”

Health, care and frontline council staff have told UNISON that  shortages in their workplaces have meant they’ve resorted to buying their own equipment. Others speak of colleagues who are seriously ill in intensive care and of being terrified about going into work.

UNISON points out that, in order to keep their staff safe, care providers – some of whom are struggling with the financial pressures of the outbreak – are seeing costs driven up as they have to pay VAT on imported protective equipment, which is the only source available at the moment.

Neither the NHS nor individuals buying masks and gloves for personal use have to pay VAT.

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Last resort safety equipment plans are ‘desperate’, says UNISON

Commenting on a leaked document drafted by Public Health England outlining “last resort” plans to deal with shortages of personal protective equipment for health workers, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said today (Wednesday):

“These desperate measures are a shocking indictment of the lack of proper planning and preparation for supplies in the pandemic.

“The situation in care homes is nothing short of an emergency and there will be preventable deaths if staff aren’t properly equipped.

“The Health and Safety Executive shouldn’t be complicit in signing off these measures.

“It must protect the health of workers who are risking their lives to do their jobs.”

​Notes to editors:
– The draft plans are detailed in a BBC story 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:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Sophie Goodchild M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk

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Boost to testing for care workers is welcome, says UNISON

Commenting on a government announcement for a major increase in testing for care workers and care home residents, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said today (Wednesday):

“With the virus spreading through care homes at a terrifying rate, widespread testing for staff and patients is vital.

“This increase is welcome but should have happened much sooner.

“Care workers are on the frontline, tending to the most vulnerable people, and they need certainty and reassurance about their health.

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:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Sophie Goodchild M: 07767 325595 E: s.goodchild@unison.co.uk

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Streamlined interim electronic CASE form

UNISON has produced an interim electronic CASE form for use by branches. The form is one of the most important documents in the union, designed to be completed by – or for – members if they require help  from the union in dealing with a workplace problem.

But the current situation with coronavirus and COVID-19  means members cannot necessarily have face-to-face contact with reps, access branch offices or post the forms in. Similarly members may not be able to physically sign the form.

So the interim electronic document is  a Word document where the fields can be completed electronically.

CASE forms contain a large amount of personal and sensitive information. This poses substantial challenges relating to how this information can be securely passed between relevant parts of the union.

This electronic form is greatly reduced and simplified, compared to the previous paper one, mitigate any risks in the short term until a fully online version is available.

Branches should note that this is now  the ONLY form which must be used, with immediate effect.

Branches and reps should also make sure that members understand and consent to UNISON representation by completing the relevant tick boxes at the end of the electronic form, which have replaced the signature fields. We anticipate that this form may mean that reps have to clarify some additional pieces of information by correspondence.

Union staff are working on a fully online solution which should hopefully meet branches’ and members’ requirements better in the longer term.

Download the new CASE form

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Government must up its game on PPE to protect health and care workers’ lives, demands UNISON

NHS, care and other frontline staff whose lives are on the line need immediate government action to fix inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies, UNISON is demanding today (Sunday).

Government apologies and assurances the UK has all the PPE it needs are of no comfort to staff whose workplaces are running low, says UNISON.

Over the weekend workers from hospitals, care homes and local council-run services have expressed fear and anger to UNISON’s PPE alert hotline about the absence of gowns, masks and visors where they work.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “No-one doubts the pressures the government is under. But the time for excuses has passed.

“Ministers have been saying for weeks that the PPE situation is in hand. That there’s enough to go around and it’s just a matter of logistics. But it isn’t good enough.

“NHS, care and other key workers are falling ill in huge numbers. Some have already died – including nurses, doctors, care workers, healthcare assistants and porters. Staff fear for their own health, that of their families and those they care for and look after.

“Worrying that they don’t have what they need to keep them safe is adding to an already stressful and difficult situation. Staff cannot keep going into work scared out of their wits.

“The government must go the extra mile this bank holiday weekend and sort the PPE problems that are the source of such anxiety.

“Getting the necessary PPE to every workplace in the country that needs it – and ensuring the supplies keep coming so staff aren’t filled with dread as they watch stocks run low – must be the number one priority.”

Health, care and frontline council staff have told UNISON shortages in their workplaces have meant they’ve resorted to buying their own equipment. Others speak of colleagues who are seriously ill in intensive care and of being terrified about going into work.

Staff also complain of being sent masks and other equipment whose expiry dates have passed. UNISON says health and care workers understandably don’t feel safe. It is calling on ministers to ensure every box is marked with stickers explaining the equipment has been retested and that it’s safe to use.

Some of the stories sent to UNISON’s PPE alert hotline include:

“My employer has refused to allow us to wear face masks, saying it frightens the residents and that no-one has Covid-19. But they are allowing a resident’s family in every day, despite us raising concerns. I have been threatened with the sack if I report this to my union.”

“My care company has now issued staff with face masks. We have been told to use one a day for every visit, regardless of the number of calls we have. We’re being asked to save them up and take them back to the office to be sanitised once a week.”

“We have no masks. We visit patients in their own homes with mental health conditions. Many don’t understand the virus and aren’t complying with lockdown rules. This puts us community mental health staff at risk. There are already suspected cases and we don’t feel safe. Our managers are desperately trying to source masks and appropriate PPE but they can’t get any.”

“I work in social care and provide intimate care to elderly residents daily. We have access to aprons and gloves but no masks. We were given five paper masks and told we were not getting any more. I was told to reuse these and wear them for many days at a time. The company has watered down the hand wash to make it go further.”

“I’m a staff nurse. We are being asked to wash our visors and reuse them as there’s not enough stock. We’re buying our own or trying to source donated supplies. This isn’t acceptable.”

“I’ve been redeployed to an essential care team looking after end of life and Covid-19 infected patients. We have surgical fluid resistant masks and visors along with the usual PPE gloves and plastic aprons. But nothing to cover our arms, hair or uniform. It’s impossible to give end-of-life care without our arms and uniform touching the patient’s body, clothes and bed. Patients are coughing repeatedly. I feel completely exposed. A cheap paper hat and gown is all I’m asking for to protect myself and my family.”

“My care home has five confirmed cases and 100 masks that have to last until Wednesday. We’re going through nearly 50 masks a day, before the end of the weekend there will be none left.”

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 M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk

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