All the union news that's fit to blog...
2 March 2016
Dave Watson, UNISON head of policy and public affairs said,
‘UNISON welcomes any progress on the council tax freeze. However after 8 years we had expected more than tinkering with the present system. This will not ensure that local government is properly funded, nor will it ensure a fair funding for local government. Scotland needs a fundamental review local tax funding for localRead more…
Scotland’s largest trade union will lobby the Scottish Parliament on budget day (1pm, Wednesday 24 February 2016) to call for a fair funding settlement for local services.Local government has taken the brunt of cuts in Scotland. Scottish Government funding is down by 0.8%. Yet funding for local government is down by 4.5%. This is a £500m cut from local services this year. The cumulative costRead more…
Date: Wednesday 10 February 2016
Talks between Falkirk Council and Joint Trade Unions broke down today (9 February) after trade unions could not accept the new package of terms and conditions being proposed by Falkirk Council.
Talks broke down after the Joint Trade Union informed Falkirk Council that following a ballot they felt they could not agree the package put forward.
Falkirk CouncilRead more…
Date: Saturday 6 February 2016
On National Libraries Day (6 February 2016), UNISON is warning that more local government cuts will have a drastic impact on libraries across Scotland, decreasing opportunities for all, and increasing poverty and inequality.
Library services have been undergoing massive change, yet staff numbers have been going down, buildings are closing, opening hours areRead more…
Date: Tuesday 2 February 2016
UNISON Scotland is calling for the Scottish Parliament to use its powers to put more money into local services. By 2020 expenditure on public services will be 12.5% lower in real terms. That is on top of the £2.5bn cuts since 2010.
This next round of cuts will mean at least another 15,000 job cuts for local councils. Of the 50,000 jobs that have been lost inRead more…
Wed 27 Jan 2016
Public services union UNISON has today (Wed 27 January 2016) urged the Scottish Government to push ahead with proposed new financial powers for Scottish councils to relax the rules for borrowing, lending and the repayment of loans. These proposed changes to Scottish councils’ financial powers should now be used for greater flexibility to deal with the funding crisis in ScottishRead more…
Date: Friday 22 January 2016
UNISON hails historic pay deal for further education support staff in Scotland
UNISON has led negotiations to achieve the first ever national pay rise for over four thousand support staff in Scotland‘s Further Education Colleges. Support staff deliver a range of vital student services and are key to the running of the 25 new colleges in Scotland.
The deal wasRead more…
Date: Monday 21 December 2015UNISON Scotland has called on councils and Scottish Government to do more to protect school librarians. UNISON says the evidence is that local councils are seeing school library services as a soft target to meet budget cuts and are cutting school library services across Scotland. UNISON has made a submission in support of School Libraries Petition PE 1581 to theRead more…
Date: Friday 18 December 2015
UNISON, Scotland’s biggest trade union, has written to the Scottish band Simple Minds asking they speak out for migrant workers rights in Qatar.UNISON supports the TUC Fair Play for Qatar campaign which is highlighting the poor working conditions of migrant workers who are building football stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.Simple Minds areRead more…
Date: Wednesday 9 December 2015
UNISON members working at Robert Gordon University have written to the Principal, Professor Prondzynski, calling on him to remove Donald Trump’s honorary degree because he is reported to have called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" UNISON believes this to be unacceptable. Colin Jones, Robert Gordon UNISON steward said: “Read more…
Date: Monday 30 November
2015
A UNISON Scotland report Disconnected,
published today, 30 November 2015, claims that ICT services should focus
on better services. The report highlights that ICT systems are all too
often seen as a way of providing cheaper rather than improved public
services.
This UNISON report is qualitative research ofRead more…
Wed 25 Nov 2015
Nearly three million working families countrywide have breathed a collective sigh of relief, says UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis.Commenting on the announcement today (Wednesday) that the Chancellor is to reverse his planned cuts to tax credits, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said:“Nearly three million working families countrywide have breathed a collective sigh ofRead more…
Tue 10 November 2015
UNISON has welcomed the HMICS Independent Assurance Review: Police Scotland – Call Handling Final Report published today (10 Nov) and calls on Police Scotland to implement all its recommendations.
HMICS has taken into account the high level of pressure that UNISON police staff members work under in the Contact, Command and Control (C3) division of Police Scotland. WeRead more…
Date: Saturday 31 October 2015
UNISON Scotland has pledged full support for a resolution at the Scottish Labour conference today (Saturday 31 October) which demands a halt to the continued closures of local Control Room / Service Centres across Scotland. The resolution, tabled by Aberdeen Central Labour Party at the conference in Perth, highlights the ongoing crisis in Police Scotland’s ControlRead more…
Date: Wednesday 28 October 2015
UNISON has reached a multi million pound settlement with Fife Council for over 1400, mainly low paid women UNISON members, for their equal pay claims.
UNISON members will now be properly recompensed for historic discriminatory pay practices within Fife Council. It is a deal worth £millions and will include compensation for members back pay in some cases toRead more…
Friday 23 October 2015
UNISON media release, with Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS)
The Westminster Government faces a series of awkward human rights questions following action by the United Nations. The UN has directed the Government to address a ‘list of issues’ ranging from welfare cuts and reliance on food banks to blacklisting and the erosion of trade union rights.
Members of theRead more…
Friday 23 October 2015
UNISON Scotland is publishing today Violence at Work: A Survey of UNISON employers and Staff in Scotland 2015. It shows an increase of 1,227 assaults compared with 2014.
The total recorded assaults on public sector workers in Scotland in 2015 was 38,279. This compares to 20,000 in 2006.
UNISON report included a survey, to ask what staff had suffered, how they had feltRead more…
Thursday 22 October 2015
John Young, UNISON North Lanarkshire Council steward said,
“This is devastating for everyone living in North Lanarkshire and once again it is the low paid and vulnerable, including children, elderly and disabled people who will be the worst affected. North Lanarkshire Council are proposing to cut 10% of the workforce which will cause chaos in our vital public services;Read more…
Thursday 22 October 2015
UNISON Labour Link Media Release – Launch of Commission on Health Inequalities report will take place at 22 October, 9.00am UNISON Scotland, 14 West Campbell St., Glasgow
The report of the Commission on Health Inequalities for the Scottish Labour Party calls for national leadership and community hubs to tackle health inequalities.The Commission for Health InequalitiesRead more…
Date: Wednesday 23 September 2015
UNISON Scotland is launching a campaign today (23 September 2015) calling on the Scottish Government, local authorities and public bodies to do all they can to mitigate UK government austerity.The public services trade union is calling for a range of financial and industrial policies to create investment in Scottish infrastructure, green energy production andRead more…