General secretary Dave Prentis speaks at funeral, recalling Eric as ‘a man who inspired happiness, loyalty, good memories and love’
The article Remembering our president and friend Eric Roberts…Read more…
Cold comfort
Worried about heating costs this winter? Looks like it will be worse for pensioners in Northern Ireland – the UK’s only region where older persons are unable to access the £140 discount towards home…Read more…
Tap pump and your pint is ready…
To most people the phase “pay at the pump” is associated with the necessary evil of petrol stations, where motorists use their bank cards at the pump to pay for their fuel. But now the phrase…Read more…
In perilous times
It’s short. It’s sharp. Fits a hashtag. A headline. It’s genius. And the remainers don’t have an equivalent to a single word that sums up the biggest decision we’ve undertaken – Brexit….Read more…
Draft Scottish Budget – read with care!
If you are struggling with the different interpretations of the Scottish Government’s draft budget, don’t panic, it is confusing!
My briefing for UNISON branches attempts to cut through the spin and…Read more…
What we talk about when we talk about insecure work
Today sees the launch of a new TUC report mapping insecurity at work in Britain today, and how key risks associated with work have been transferred to working people, while the financial rewards from flexibility accrue to employers. We find that 3.2 mi…Read more…
Working holiday
While most people will spend time with their friends and family over the Christmas season, nearly a million workers will have to work. Among these are faith workers, many of whom do not have…Read more…
Ian Allinson to stand against McCluskey and Coyne for Unite General Secretary
Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE …Read more…
Blog: If the government really wanted to solve the social care crisis, they’d provide the necessary funds
The government should be using the growing surplus of centrally-collected business rates to ease the pressure on councils, not encouraging them to shift the care burden onto hard pressed local…Read more…
No Mr Grayling, the #SouthernStrike is very much about safety
Chris Grayling and Southern Rail are trying to convince us that the Southern strike is not about safety. They insist that extending driver only trains, which is at the heart of the dispute between…Read more…
Government refusing to take responsibility for social care crisis, says UNISON
Responding to today’s (Thursday) announcement by the government on social care funding, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Government cuts to council budgets helped cause the crisis in…Read more…
Women pay for austerity
While almost every group outside those on the top end of the income distribution have suffered immeasurably under nearly a decade of austerity, it is women who are footing the largest bill. …Read more…
Budget lobby of the Scottish Parliament – 15 December 2016
UNISON Scotland branches joined the trade union lobby of the Scottish Parliament today. Calling for a budget that defends public services.Mark Ferguson, Chair of UNISON Scotland’s Local Government Committee addresses the lobby.Read more…
Poor students frozen out
Unite community members from Durham University held a festive campus demonstration on Tuesday (November 13), to protest against accommodation costs and price increases that are leaving poorer…Read more…
Working over Christmas? This is for you
The public have a message for those of you working over the holidays
The article Working over Christmas? This is for you first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
For the last two years London per capita income was DOUBLE the rest of the UK
Despite all the rhetoric about rebalancing and powerhouses, new regional figures show how far London has moved from the rest of the country. In 2014 and 2015 gross value added (GVA) per capita was more than double in London compared to the average over the rest of the UK. In cash terms: £43,600…Read more…
Second affiliate says it is checking Newham mayoral vote
Check out latest report in the “Newham Recorder”. Tonight at my Councillor surgery I had angry and upset residents coming to see me about what they believe to be a “rigged” Mayoral trigger ballot.
“A second affiliate organisation has confirmed th…Read more…
The strange death of municipal England – the role of the trade unions?
Your blogger, as someone who was a student of local government even before I was an employee, can do no better than recommend this free essay in the London Review of Books on “the Strange Death of Municipal England”. Seriously, go and read that now. Even if you don’t come back here.Before starting…Read more…
Trying not to read too much into today’s employment figures
The latest employment figures show that the labour market recovery hasn’t reversed, but the story of the last six months hasn’t changed much either: little improvement and some worrying signs of weakness. The latest figures, for August to October, show the employment level down 6,000 and the…Read more…
School funding cuts could deny children a decent future says UNISON
Responding to government plans to reform school funding UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “Schools that are already underfunded will get much less than they’d hoped for….Read more…