All the union news that's fit to blog...
In the third of a series of articles, UNISON Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby lays out UNISON’s plan to get our members’ issues at the centre of the election debates.
"This is the Public Services Election. The outcome will have a huge impact upon UNISON members, their families, communities and the public services in which we work, to protect the disadvantaged and provide a better quality of lifeRead more…
Monday 30 March 2015Seventy workers in Glasgow Council’s Homeless Service will walk out on Tuesday 31 March in a dispute over their pay grade.
The workers are all members of the trade union UNISON and will take all out, indefinite strike action in a dispute over the application of the council’s job evaluation scheme to the role of Homelessness Caseworkers. Three out of every fourRead more…
We’ve put the lights out on our website to prepare for Earth Hour 2015 tonight at 8.30pm. See the website at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/ and see why at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/greenworkplace/earthhour15.htmlRead more…
UNISON Scotland today welcomed the decision by the Court of Session that the conduct of social workers in Edinburgh City Council did not amount to contempt and that the decision of the Sheriff is quashed.
John Stevenson of UNISON’s City of Edinburgh Branch said:
"The court has recognised complex and difficult decisions social workers have to take in their work in protecting the welfare ofRead more…
#decentwork @ScottishTUC is asking all political parties to support its Manifesto for Decent Work and this weekend it is the turn of the SNP to be lobbied at its conference in Glasgow. The event follows previous lobbies of the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems. Leafleting and the lobby will start at 12.00 at the SECC. More details at http://ajustscotland.org/events/8/snp-campaign-conferenceRead more…
Earth Hour 2015
takes place next Saturday, 28 March, and is a reminder of the importance of a
global climate deal in Paris in December.
UNISON Scotland
is a strong supporter of WWF’s Earth Hour campaign.
Each year Earth
Hour sees the lights go out on countless famous buildings and in
ordinary homes around the world to raise awareness of the need for action on
climate change.
UNISON Scotland today commented on a new opinion poll which shows that public services are the number one issue for the majority of Scottish voters.
The poll was undertaken by Survation, for UNISON Scotland, and asked voters to explain their priorities. Scots said that public services, welfare, jobs and pay were the most important issues for them in the coming general election.
Scottish votersRead more…
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There is a story in today’s Sunday Herald that highlights UNISON Scotland’s ongoing campaign against austerity and the impact it is having on Scotland. It describes some of the methods we are using to promote that campaign in the coming months.However, the newspaper has spun this into an initiative aimed at attacking Labour. It is nothing of the sort. In fact the campaign starts by highlightingRead more…
Friday 6 March 2015
UNISON welcomes interim report from the Scottish Government’s Taskforce for Sustainability and Seven Day Services. This taskforce is considering how we provide round the clock care for patients who need it the most, with a genuinely seven day service for acutely ill patients.
The taskforce met for the first time in April 2014 and this interim report (released today) providesRead more…
More than 8 in 10 (84%) of
mental health staff say that their workload has increased, more than 7 in 10
(76%) say they have experienced cuts, with the quality of patient services in
decline, in the last three years.
Those are the findings of a
new report into working in Scotland’s Mental Health Services, by public
services union UNISON. The report See Us was compiled by the trade unionRead more…
March’s Scotland in UNISON is now online: Stories on Council Cuts; Jane Carolan on Women Demanding Change; Mike Kirby on UNISON and the General Election; Comhairle Living Wage; Gordon McKay on Mental Health Nurse Freeze; Conduct pack for Nurses; Stornoway Jobs Saved; STUC Party Conference Lobbies; Skills Devt Pensions; Communications Awards and much more in this edition. http://Read more…
Aberdeenshire UNISON has warned that the council’s planned cuts over the next five years will hit jobs and services hard and will continue to have a devastating impact on the quality of life in Aberdeenshire, especially for our most vulnerable.
The branch has called on Aberdeenshire councillors to minimise job losses and to keep their commitment to no compulsory redundancies and to maintainRead more…
UNISON’s Western Isles Local Government Branch has welcomed the Comhairle’s recent agreement to backdate payment of the National Living Wage to its lowest-earning staff to April 2013.
Back in November the Comhairle, following an intensive campaign by UNISON, agreed to pay the Living Wage for 2014 exclusive of Distant Islands Allowance. However, the council disagreed with the union over itsRead more…
Friday 13 February 2015
UNISON, the public-sector trade union, has helped to ensure the retention of 27 jobs at the Consumer Advice Direct (CAD) call-handling centre in Stornoway after members were issued with redundancy notices early in the New Year.
Flora Somerville, UNISON Branch Organiser, met recently with local politicians and senior management from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) – whichRead more…
Mike Kirby, Scottish Secretary: ‘During the election campaign we will strive to keep UNISON policies and objectives fore and centre of the political debate. UNISON priorities of an end to Tory austerity, fair employment and trade union rights, pay and public services… by challenging all political parties on what they will do for our people.’
Four months of potential political campaigning awayRead more…
Love is in the air this week…love for everything that climate change threatens.
And Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) is asking us all to tell First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that we believe a new global climate deal must be agreed at United Nations talks in Paris in December this year.
In the new Show the Love campaign, members and supporters of SCCS members across Scotland, includingRead more…
The judges this year were Danny Phillips, Communications Officer, Jane
Carolan NEC and John Stevenson, Chair of the committee. They found the awards enormously difficult to judge.
So difficult that the judges couldn’t agree and for some categories we had to
go to that thing we don’t tend to do much in Scotland – A vote!
This was because the difference between the entries was so close withRead more…
We have recovered from the Financial crisis. Yes we have –
it’s official. Well sort of, we currently have employment levels back at 2008
levels – 73%.
Whoopee, let’s celebrate, let
joy be unconfined amongst the masses pop the champagne corks and…ehh hang on.
If we have recovered why are so many of us so much worse off?
Well the reason is that while jobs numbers haveRead more…
Fri 23 Jan 2015
UNISON Scotland conducted surveys amongst staff working in waste management across Scotland’s local authorities. The results revealed a workforce under pressure facing increasing targets and declining budgets.
In a report Dumped On – Working in Scotland’s Waste Management Servicesthe union details the experience and expectations of a workforce trying do their job in an aRead more…