July’s GDP figures reveal that the government needs to take urgent action to avoid a wave of job losses.Read more…
“Health inequality and the impact on Newham”
Join the Newham Fabian Society this Saturday for debate and discussion on health inequalities. We’ll be joined by Dr Martin Edobor and Cllr James Beckles who, along with Newham Fabians Vice Chair Cllr Mumtaz Khan, will lead a discussion on health inequ…Read more…
Council outsourcing firms told to ‘come clean’
Companies with council outsourcing contracts are being urged to open their books so that Unite the union can check that they won’t be using Covid-19 as a smokescreen to shed jobs, and cut pay and…Read more…
Take action govt before ‘it’s too late for West Mids’ call
Unite is demanding political support for businesses and workers striving to stem the West Midlands jobs loss tsunami, that has seen at least 8,000 jobs vanish from the region in the past week…Read more…
‘There must be no delay’ in crane accident investigation
Unite has written to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) demanding answers after a Wolffkran crane in east London collapsed onto two terraced houses last week, killing one person and leaving four…Read more…
‘Losing a lifeline to the outside world’
For many there’ll be a choice. The TV, paying bills or putting food on the table. We’re talking about a generation here that fought in the war, that built our NHS. People that have paid taxes all…Read more…
UNISON over the past twenty years – neither growing nor (our members) prospering
The announcement yesterday of the forthcoming retirement of Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary for the past twenty years, will be the occasion for much praise. You won’t be reading this blog expecting to see more of that. Those who want to consider…Read more…
‘We must demand better’
Chancellor’s £10 a head ‘meal deal’, VAT cut and £1,000 bonus is a gift to hospitality bosses. Now they need to stop the sackings and invest in staff to address the sector’s long term future. The…Read more…
The struggles of rural poverty
Every year, or at least every normal year, the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival takes place in the village of Tolpuddle, in Dorset, where trade unionists from across the UK gather to commemorate…Read more…
UNISONdirect re-opens
UNISONdirect’s member support team has returned to the office as phone lines reopen
The article UNISONdirect re-opens first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
UNISON reports 40,000 calls to members during lockdown
In three months, UNISON has already reached over 40% of the record numbers of people who have joined during lockdown
The article UNISON reports 40,000 calls to members during lockdown first appeared…Read more…
Dave Prentis – A personal message
This morning UNISON NEC members received this email from our General Secretary, Dave Prentis, announcing his retirement.
“Dear Colleague
I’ve been so proud to serve as your General Secretary for 20 years. It has been the honour and privilege of my li…Read more…
Dave Prentis retires – how should we elect his successor?
It is official then. Having served four terms as UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, now in his 70s, will not seek a fifth. There’s a fair bit to be said about Dave’s time at the helm, but that is not the purpose of this post. Nor do I intend …Read more…
Review: The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin
Rightly considered a classic, this short book was published in the year of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We should have been able to read…Read more…
‘A disaster waiting to happen’
For many months Unite’s food and agriculture activists have been extremely concerned over the way workers are being packed into factories and field, many of them migrant workers often living in…Read more…
Immigration changes “a disastrous mistake”, says UNISON
Christina McAnea warns hiring staff will become harder in a sector already ‘desperately’ short of workers
The article Immigration changes “a disastrous mistake”, says UNISON first appeared on the…Read more…
Universal Credit ‘should be safety net people rely on’
Ahead of Unite Community’s national online #UniversalDisCredit day of action on Wednesday (July 15), we are calling for an end to the most punitive measures of the Universal Credit system…Read more…
Universal ‘discredit’
The continued use of benefit sanctions just as the country is entering a period of heavy and sustained job losses is ‘unnecessary and particularly cruel’ and must be stopped, Unite said today (July…Read more…
Dave Prentis to stand down as UNISON general secretary
Serving public service workers for two decades has been ‘honour and privilege’
The article Dave Prentis to stand down as UNISON general secretary first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
A meal out at Aromas (at long last)
Last night Gill and I went for a meal out in our favourite local restaurant. “Aromas” in Forest Gate, (opposite the station). This was our first meal out since lock down. It was a little surreal but the food and service was as usual excellent (we have …Read more…