All the union news that's fit to blog...
Thursday 15 January 2015
NHS union UNISON Scotland is advising staff to be more vigilant than normal after two separate incidents of sexual assault at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) in recent weeks.
The union has also contacted employers demanding that specific advice about personal safety and relevant details are shared with local staff to ensure that they are aware of the issue and canRead more…
Tuesday 13 January 2015
UNISON Scotland, the public services union with many members working in Criminal Justice services has urged the Scottish Government to scrap their plans to build a new Women’s prison.
The union has written to Justice Secretary Michael Matheson saying that a tendering exercise for the construction of a new jail near Greenock should be halted.
The plans go against expertRead more…
UNISON, Scotland’s public service union tells MSPs that Scotland’s public services are living through a lost decade as a consequence of austerity economics and we can do more to protect public services.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 13 January 2015) the Scottish Parliament will debate protecting public services. UNISON Scotland’s briefing to MSP’s draws from our recent report ‘Austerity EconomicsRead more…
2014 was a significant year and we should be rightly proud of the role UNISON played in the independence referendum. We led the debate for a fairer and just Scotland. Thank you to UNISON members, activists, staff and supporters for the way you conducted yourselves throughout. We showed, once again, the importance of trade unions in shaping the country we live in
Public services remain a keyRead more…
Welcome to UNISON Scotland’s Education Programme for 2015. Our courses continue to prove very popular, particularly for new UNISON Stewards. We offer training to ensure new Stewards are accredited by law and, more importantly, feel confident in their role. Click here for full details on the website
All our regional courses are held in large cities/towns and, with the exception of specialisedRead more…
Wed 17 Dec 2014
NHS Porters are under pressure and their workloads are going up while the value of their wages are going down. The report also concludes that their training is patchy and there are reports of lack of equipment to allow them to do their job properly.
These are the conclusions of a study UNISON has conducted among NHS porters. This report also suggests a growth in zero hourRead more…
December’s Scotland in UNISON is now online: Stories on engaging people in devo plans; Bhopal reports; GAMH campaign; SNP conference lobby and police cuts; OTs under stress; Lanarkshire Health PFI fight; Homelessness costs; FE colleges; Holiday pay and much more in this edition. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/siu/index.html
IBM workers who deliver ScottishPower’s outsourced £20m IT services, face an uncertain Christmas after being told that they face further restructuring. Staff are worried that this may mean further job losses.
IT staff maintain customer services systems and infrastructure which engineers rely on when tackling power cuts.
Staff say more restructuring will further disrupt customer serviceRead more…
UNISON has issued an urgent call to councillors to cease plans to cut a charity’s funding by 40 per cent without any prior consultation.
Councillors are expected to make their decision at a council meeting today (Thursday) based on a report that remains unseen by Glasgow Association for Mental Health.
The charity was notified late Tuesday evening that commissioners want to hold an urgentRead more…
#Bhopal30 This is the day 30 years ago when the Union Carbide industrial disaster claimed 25,000 lives, left 120,000 chronically ill and continues to maim subsequent generations.
The anniversary rally took place along with a march by all the families and supporters to the Bhopal plant walls.
An excellent rally was planned and policed by the Bhopal group and supporters and this was achieved withRead more…
#Bhopal30 From Sam Macartney and Scott Donohoe in Bhopal: Tuesday began with a national solidarity meeting with families and NGOs who support the campaign.Then a visit to the workplace of the women who have taken the fight to the courts and the Indian government. They have their own trade union now but they still haven’t received justice for the disaster. Next we visited the new Bhopal People’sRead more…
UNISON’s Sam Macartney will be joining friends and families of the Bhopal disaster on a 30 hour hunger fast from midnight on Tuesday until 6.00am on Thursday. "It is the least I can do after what we have seen", reported Sam. Clearly moved by what he had seen, Scott Donohoe commented: "The levels of poverty in Bhopal are truly shocking."
UNISON Scotland’s Sam Macartney and Scott Donohoe are partRead more…
Update from Sam Macartney in Bhopal: Yes I was on a demo in India, and I and all the trade union delegates to Bhopal were honoured and and very pleased to walk with familyies and friends of the Bhopal campaign. We had joined the demo after being shown around the Bhopal Sambhavna medical aid clinic and the great facilities they have and the excellent work they are doing to support the victims ofRead more…
From Sam Macartney and Scott Donohoe in Bhopal leading up to the 3 December anniversary of the disaster:
Many events have been organised over the next three days to remember the victims of this disaster. Proceedings started on Sunday with the Mela of alternatives, an event looking at the way forward to aid the victims in the campaign. This was followed by a seminar on the medical aid issuesRead more…
UNISON Scotland’s analysis of the impact of austerity economics on Scotland’s public services is highlighted in a column in today’s Scotsman.
Dave Watson argues that, "Our public debt continues to rise, productivity is low, wages are dropping, inequality is increasing and youth unemployment is high.The idea that our present economic woes are a crisis stemming from out-of-control public financesRead more…
“While there are certainly positive elements in these proposals, the package as a whole falls short of our aspirations contained in our submission to the Commission, with particular regard to job creation,
employment regulation, equalities and minimum wage. These are areas required if inequalities in society are to be addressed. We will continue to press for this”, said Mike Kirby, UNISONRead more…
Wed 26 Nov 2014
Mike Kirby, Scottish secretary of UNISON, said ‘UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union and we welcome the First Minister’s programme for government. There was much in Nicola Sturgeon’s statement to commend.
We welcome her commitment to protect public services and to increase NHS funding; her commitment to the living wage and to mitigate the problems of welfare reform; andRead more…
Wed 26 Nov 2014
UNISON, the trade union for police civilian staff, has condemned the statement by the Chief Constable of Police Scotland that more police staff will be made redundant.
George McIrvine, secretary of UNISON police staff Scotland branch said:"This shows UNISON is right. Civilian police staff are facing big job losses and are the victims of the Scottish Governments policy toRead more…
Share your best practice, your innovative ideas and most of all your enthusiasm and enter the UNISON Scotland 2014/15 Communications Awards. Help build a stronger union and get some well-deserved recognition for all your hard work.
Closing date is Wednesday 14 January 2015 and an entry form, poster and all the details are on the website at http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/comms/competition/Read more…
Commenting on the long-awaited independent inquiry into patient deaths at the Vale of Leven Hospital which was published today (Monday) UNISON regional organiser, Matt McLaughlin, said:
“The outbreak of C difficile at Vale of Leven in 2007/08 was tragic and, even this long after the deaths, our thoughts must be with the people who lost relatives and friends because of the failures set out inRead more…