Women’s conference tackles a raft of business, with the general election result as a common thread
The article UNISON women steady themselves for the fight first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
Steepest rise ever
A major spike in food bank use has prompted the nation’s leading supplier of emergency food parcels to call on politicians of all parties to ensure they pledge to protect people from hunger —…Read more…
‘Beacon of hope’
The announcement on Saturday (September 28) that a Labour government will abolish the ‘cruel and miserable’ Universal Credit (UC) system has been warmly welcomed by Unite. Unite has been…Read more…
‘Unite, fight and win’
Mary Callaghan, Unite delegate, moved a motion on Universal Credit. She said she was “proud and honoured to be moving this motion on behalf of all of those women at Labour Women’s Conference…Read more…
‘I’ve thought about killing myself’
When Unite Community member Pat’s* husband Peter* died, she refused to leave his side for 17 hours as she held his hand for the last time. As his full-time carer for over four years – she was…Read more…
When hungry children cry themselves to sleep
When a Unite Community holiday hunger project in Norwich also started a pop-up food bank this summer, branch secretary Brian Green said the desperation was unmistakeable. “They simply charged…Read more…
Universal Discredit
On one day in May, the free paper, Metro, gave readers a surprise. ‘Universal Credit Uncovered’ announced the headline in all caps, the ‘o’ in ‘Uncovered’ designed as detective’s spy glass. …Read more…
‘You have to fight back’
Susan Kemlo was still mourning her daughter, Victoria, when benefits assessment firm Capita decided to drag her through the courts over supposed “reputational damage” – sustained because a judge…Read more…
Benefit assessors’ challenge withdrawn after tragic death
The climbdown by Capita, which tried to reverse the ‘reputational damage’ it claimed to have suffered after a benefits’ claimant died, should herald a new and more sympathetic way for assessing…Read more…
School holiday hunger hell
Thousands of people across the country took part in a Unite-organised day of action yesterday (August 2) to stop Universal Credit (UC). In 63 separate events in England and Wales, campaigners…Read more…
Holiday hunger
Universal Credit (UC) is causing thousands of children to go hungry this summer according to a survey by Unite. More than four fifths (79 per cent) of parents in a survey of over 1,000…Read more…
‘Universal Credit has broken me’
A disabled Unite health care worker, who is a survivor of marital rape and psychological coercion, has spoken out about the inhuman way domestic abuse victims and other vulnerable people are treated…Read more…
‘Hugely detrimental’
Massive cuts to Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) staff have fuelled caseworker errors and further pushed Universal Credit claimants into debt. Universal Credit, the controversial welfare…Read more…
‘The whole thing is a nightmare’
Universal Credit is forcing families into debt as they struggle to feed their children and cover the costs of childcare, MPs this week were told. In a parliamentary hearing on holiday poverty…Read more…
Conference sets campaigning tasks on universal credit
Speakers talk of the devastation caused by Conservative attacks on benefits and the most vulnerable in society
The article Conference sets campaigning tasks on universal credit first appeared on the…Read more…
Food bank use up – again
Food bank use has skyrocketed by nearly 20 per cent over the last year, fuelled by Universal Credit delays, benefits cuts and low incomes. The largest food bank provider in the UK, the…Read more…
Chancellor should ditch the two-child limit to universal credit and tax credits, says UNISON
The chancellor should use tomorrow’s spring statement to scrap the rules that penalise low-income families applying for universal credit and tax credits, says UNISON today (Tuesday). Any parents…Read more…
Blog: Five weeks is too long
It’s difficult to see how Universal Credit can continue to deliver anything but misery for many. It’s difficult to see how any government – even this one – can justify ploughing on regardless in the…Read more…
Admit the truth call
Under increasing pressure to change tack on Universal Credit, work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd has herself admitted that the government’s flagship welfare reform has contributed to a rise in…Read more…
‘Crisis-level’ debt
Long-term wage stagnation and skyrocketing housing and transport costs are continuing to take their toll as the number of people claiming financial insolvency reaches a seven-year high. New…Read more…