The government has refused to listen to calls from anti-poverty campaigners, unions and even many of its own ministers after it announced it would plough on with a devastating cut to Universal Credit…Read more…
‘Leave that £20 well alone’
A growing number of Tory ministers have joined the chorus of calls to permanently maintain the extra £20 a week to Universal Credit payments that is due to end in September. This week, six Tory…Read more…
‘Give us a social security package’
As the furlough scheme is about to end, so will the £20 Universal Credit ‘uplift’. With double the number of claimants since onset of Covid, Unite demands the UC rise becomes permanent
The post…Read more…
Budget ‘must unite the whole country’
Ahead of the Budget on Wednesday (March 3), Unite is reiterating its calls to chancellor Rishi Sunak to take urgent and decisive action to protect health, jobs and incomes. The Budget will be the…Read more…
‘Difference between heating and eating’
The pressure on chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the £20-a-week uplift in Universal Credit (UC) indefinitely in next week’s budget has been reinforced by a new survey from Unite. Unite said the…Read more…
‘I don’t know how I will cope’
Unite has reiterated its call for the government to cancel a proposed cut of £20 a week to Universal Credit payments after a new survey has revealed the depth of suffering of low-income families who…Read more…
‘Into the clutches of poverty and hunger’
Pressure on chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift continues to mount as the next budget on March 3 nears. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is the latest…Read more…
‘It’s a really tough balancing act’
Earlier this week, Labour forced a vote on stopping a £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit payments. With 278 votes in favour of the Labour motion after a majority of Tory MPs abstained, the government…Read more…
‘Give families certainty’
The Labour party will force a vote today (January 18) on keeping the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit to help millions of struggling families from falling into further…Read more…
‘Now I can open the curtains’
Sometimes it take a full-blown crisis to reveal just how badly our institutions are failing those who need them most. First introduced in 2013, Universal Credit, the Tory government’s flagship…Read more…
Video of the year – ‘My one wish this Christmas…’
Every day on UniteLIVE during the festive period, we highlight our videos of the year. Today we feature a film promoting Unite Community’s Universal Credit online day of action earlier this month,…Read more…
‘Do the decent thing’
When chancellor Rishi Sunak listened to trade unions and announced in April, at the height of the pandemic, that he would increase Universal Credit payments by £20 a week, millions of families – many…Read more…
Join our Universal Credit campaign call
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner today (December 9) calls on everyone to join Unite’s campaign to keep the £20 increase in Universal Credit. The government has said it will scrap…Read more…
‘My one wish this Christmas…’
On Unite Community’s Universal Credit online day of action today (Wednesday, December 9), the union is urging the government to maintain the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift. As the it stands…Read more…
Gov’t must keep £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift
“I’ve been able to get broadband for the first time. It’s already made a huge difference. I’ve been able to search for work much quicker and my kids have been able to study.” This is just one of the…Read more…
Young people ‘consigned to the scrapheap’
Nearly 2m young people fear they will become homeless if they lose their jobs, new research has shown, adding to the growing evidence showing the coronavirus crisis has had a major impact on the UK’s…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…
‘Pick up and carry forward Sean’s work’
“We will mark Sean’s passing properly when it is possible to do so,” said Len McCluskey, “but the greatest memorial to his life and work must be to pick up and carry forward the cause of the rights…Read more…
Universal Credit chaos
The devastating economic toll the coronavirus crisis has taken was thrown into sharp relief when it emerged this week that nearly a million people have signed on to Universal Credit. About…Read more…