Unite is calling on the government to reverse the cuts to mental health nursing as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, published (July 20), finds that 25 per cent of core mental health services…Read more…
Workers stranded in diplomatic stand-off as Qatar and Saudi Arabia square up
As wealthy Gulf states face off over long simmering diplomatic differences, foreign workers in both countries are at risk of bearing the brunt of the dispute. An ongoing row in the Gulf over Qatar’s…Read more…
‘Roaring’ forties
Millions of workers in their forties will be forced to work an extra year before retiring, after the Tories announced they are raising the state pension age seven years earlier than planned. …Read more…
Govt ‘scramble’ for medics
Thousands of patients have had to move doctors in the last year due to the widespread closure of GP practices in England, shocking new statistics reveal. Some 202 practices were closed or…Read more…
‘Bribing’ crew attempts slammed
Members of Unite working for British Airways’ mixed fleet yesterday (July 19) announced a further 14 days of strike action amid warnings that the airline’s attempts to bribe people into not striking…Read more…
5 reasons why a “dependent contractor” test is a bad idea
One of the more curious suggestions to emerge from the Taylor Review is the proposal to replace the concept of “worker” in employment law with that of “dependent contractor”. This proposal might sound interesting, but here’s 5 reasons why it may not be such a good idea. All working people…Read more…
Follow the money: How do the tax and social security proposals in the Taylor Review measure up?
The rise of insecure work has had real consequences for both personal budgets and the national exchequer. The lower earnings and lower tax paid by the self-employed and those on zero hours contracts means the rise in insecure work has come with a £5bn price tag for the exchequer. But the cost of…Read more…
UNISON “There for You” appeal (collective self help for workers by workers)
Show your support for UNISON There for You by doing something magnificent today!
I am delighted to attach our review for 2016 illustrating just how, There for You, UNISON’s own charity, helped members and what we achieved.
Many of those …Read more…
The Taylor Review – should the Low Pay Commission be given more to do?
The Taylor review of modern working practices contains some important recommendations on low pay, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the Low Pay Commission (LPC). Taylor’s broad aim of empowering the LPC to do more to promote decent work is the right one, so the short answer to the question in the…Read more…
Pension age change another blow to public sector workers, says UNISON
Wednesday 19 July 2017 For immediate release Commenting on the government’s announcement that it plans to bring forward the rise in pension age from 67 to 68 by seven years, UNISON general secretary…Read more…
After seven years of pay cuts, I’m not proud to be a prison officer anymore
I started working for the prison service in 2005. Back then I was proud of what I did. I enjoyed the job and loved working with troubled teens. I had time to spend with the lads and could share my…Read more…
‘Out in the cold’
Members of Unite will be joining campaigners and concerned families in a march to save 19 Sure Start children centres and up to 50 staff from the axe by Medway Council tomorrow (Thursday July 20)….Read more…
May – help hungry kids plea
With the schools breaking up for the long summer holidays, Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden appealed to the prime minister to do more to help families worried about how to feed their children during…Read more…
Construction chaos on cards
Construction union Unite has begun balloting its members at HTC Wolffkran for strike action in a dispute over pay. Unite has taken the ‘regrettable’ decision to seek a mandate from its members…Read more…
‘Cruel illusion’
A 0.3 per cent drop in inflation is “cold comfort” for working people whose wages continue to fall in real terms, Unite said yesterday (July 18). The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) June…Read more…
High Court permanent ban on industrial action by prison officers:
Prison officers permanently banned from striking after Home Office win High Court bid ‘It’s only a matter of time before a member of staff gets killed,’ warns deputy…Read more…
When the race to the bottom becomes the race to the robots
Dear Colleagues,
Just read a fascinating article in today’s FT which covers in detail an emerging picture of new technologies impinging upon the established ‘race to the bottom’ (R2B) phenomena in accounting for how the global industrial shift, under-…Read more…
Taylor Report consolidates a race to the bottom in employment standards
The Taylor report into ‘Employment Practices in the Modern Economy’ does little to help workers being exploited in the workplace.
The appointment of Matthew Taylor was always likely to be a…Read more…
Extra NHS funding welcome but staff need to be paid properly, says UNISON
Responding to the government announcement today (Wednesday) of £325m for NHS transformation projects, UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “Any investment in the NHS is welcome as spending on…Read more…
Care companies must pay back pay to staff who do sleep-ins, says UNISON
Charities and care companies that have paid staff one-off payments for overnight sleep-ins should not be exempt from paying the national minimum wage, says UNISON. Claims for back pay could cost the…Read more…