Off message but last week Gill and I spent a wonderful week in a static caravan, located in an isolated small holding in mid Wales. The weather was marvellous and we managed to go on a number of lovely walks locally (despite a many blocked right …Read more…
HGV drivers in pay parity dispute
The national shortage of HGV drivers is behind a forthcoming ballot for strike action that could impact on deliveries to more than 1,500 convenience stores in London and the south east, Unite the…Read more…
‘Wonderful news’
This week, it was announced that the beleaguered steel engineering firm Sheffield Forgemasters would be taken into public hands, after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) bought out the firm in a £2.6m…Read more…
From a Mural a Monument
Did you watch it?Did you spray beerall over your mates?Shout at the telly.Leap out of your seat.Throw open your armsin the champion position? Did you feel the ecstasyof freedomthe excitementof…Read more…
‘Have your say on NHS pay’
Unite the union is strongly supporting its health service members who will be marching on Downing Street tomorrow (July 30) to vent their anger at the ‘grossly inadequate’ three per cent pay…Read more…
Doctors in Unite in PPE protest
Doctors in Unite (DiU) staged a protest on Tuesday (January 27)over the failure to offer proper PPE protection against airborne transmission to health and social care staff during the continuing…Read more…
Double Rainbow over Newham Dockside (Is there really a pot of gold buried in East Wing?)
This evening I came out of Newham Dockside after a “in person/blended” Pension Committee meeting and was stunned to see a double rainbow across the skyline.
I have seen double rainbows in the past but I have never seen the rainbow being re…Read more…
Gloucester UPS strikes off
The immediate threat of severe delays to parcel deliveries in the Gloucestershire area have been temporarily averted as negotiations between UPS and Unite, the UK’s leading union, have made some…Read more…
PPE ‘not fit for purpose’
Doctors in Unite held a demonstration on Wednesday (July 27) to highlight the urgent need for all health workers to be issued with FFP3 masks. DiU chair and GP Dr Jackie Applebee explains why this…Read more…
Lambeth’s shame – and its misreporting
For anyone associated with Lambeth Council (by whom I was employed for 33 years from 1987 onwards) yesterday’s publication of the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is a significant moment. The report sets out a litany of the mos…Read more…
Major win at Sheffield Forgemasters
Unite has celebrated a major victory after it was announced today (July 28) that the Sheffield Forgemasters steel engineering plant would be brought into public hands in a £2.6m deal. The Ministry of…Read more…
Police staff unions angered by employers’ offer of a pay freeze
A freeze would mean a pay cut in real terms, as inflation is rising by all measures
The article Police staff unions angered by employers’ offer of a pay freeze first appeared on the UNISON National…Read more…
From Vostok to laughing stock: Billionaires in space
On 12 April 1961, the first human blasted off into space. It was an amazing achievement and was a display not only of the remarkable technological prowess of those who designed and built the…Read more…
Meeting up with Stroppy Bird & Dave
It was great to meet up this evening with Yvonne and Dave at the Evin Restaurant in Dalston. It has been at least 2 years since we last met up (due to you know what). I had forgotten where the Overground platform was at Stratford station.
Yvonn…Read more…
Council staff who kept local services and schools running deserve a real pay rise
Increased offer of 0.25% is “insignificant”
The article Council staff who kept local services and schools running deserve a real pay rise first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
NHS under renewed pressure
The NHS is just as overstretched and under pressure as it was at the height of the pandemic in January, health service leaders have warned. NHS Providers, which represents hospital and ambulance…Read more…
‘Stark warning’ over Universal Credit cut
Millions of Britons will face the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War, if the government pushes through with slashing Universal Credit payments as…Read more…
UNISON launches consultation over NHS rise that meets neither expectations nor real living wage
Rise doesn’t fulfil government’s own pledge to level up
The article UNISON launches consultation over NHS rise that meets neither expectations nor real living wage first appeared on the UNISON…Read more…
Rethink ‘pingdemic’ exemptions now call
Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing, has today (Tuesday 27 July) called for the government to urgently rethink its decision not to exempt the automotive and steel…Read more…
UK rail policy in transition
One of the many things I enjoyed about working for UNISON was the range of issues we covered. While some days I wished I worked for a single industry union, it was rarely dull! However, I have always…Read more…