UNISON the public service union

UNISON success stories

These are some of the bigger successes of UNISON in recent years:

UNISON has secured more than £33 million in compensation to its members for personal injury settlements in the past year alone.

UNISON achieved a £4 million settlement of an equal-pay claim for more than 1,500 school meals workers employed by the former Cleveland County Council.

UNISON made a number of submissions to the Low Pay Commission (LPC) pushing for a £6-an-hour minimum wage. As a result of UNISON's work, the LPC is now a permanent body and its scope was widened to examine all aspects of poverty pay.

UNISON was the key player in ensuring the government increased the value of the basic state pension in real terms for the first time in 20 years. UNISON’s delegation to the Labour Party also successfully argued for the restoration of the link to earnings.

UNISON is the country's first carbon-neutral trade union thanks to its policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through its partnership with Future Forests and the planting of thousands of trees across the UK.

UNISON has been invited by the Home Office to join the influential Police Reform Steering Forum, developing radical proposals to improve UK policing.

UNISON's helpline for members and stewards, UNISONdirect (0845 355 0845), handled some 51,800 calls last year, a year-on-year rise of 228%.

To find out more about UNISON go to our About Us pages

What else should I know?

Here’s four good reasons why UNISON is right for you:

No one works harder
UNISON won millions in injury settlement payouts for its members last year, has fought many high-profile equal pay claims around the country, and is a major influence on government policy such as the minimum wage, healthcare, policing and pensions.
Women represented
UNISON's membership is two-thirds women - so we make sure their voices are heard throughout the union. At every level of the union, women are elected in fair proportion to their membership.
A voice for everyone
UNISON makes sure everyone has a say in how the union is run, from branch member to general secretary. Our unique structure ensures top-quality help and advice is available at the local, regional and national level.
Bigger and better
UNISON is not only the country's biggest public services trade union, it's one of the fastest growing too. Last year UNISON recruited 155,000 new members, a staggering 425 a day. This is another step along the road to building an organising union of two million members.

Join us

UNISON success stories

What else should I know?