Dave Prentis is the former general secretary UNISON.
Read Dave’s blog for views on issues UNISON is working on and information on what he’s doing.
Dave Prentis
When Durham councillors meet next week, they should think again about this senseless cut. And those councils currently considering similar action should do likewise. For our the sake of our communities, our schools – and our children.
Our union has always fought to defend our publicly-funded health service, free at the point of delivery. As long as that is under threat, we have to make sure the government hear our voices loudly and clearly – not just on World Health Day, but all year round.
Tax avoidance on this scale is simply the poorest paying the price for the grubby venality of the rich. Governments around the world now need to develop concrete and workable solutions to root out tax avoidance and crack down on tax havens. David Cameron has planned a summit in May, but warm words will be insufficient.
From today, many low-paid workers will begin to receive the so-called “national living wage” – of course, the new wage level is anything but
More than 140,000 people have signed a petition against forcing all local authority schools to become academies – why not join them?
I’m speaking at a conference examining the impact of sovereign debt crises on public sector workers
Vitally important care workers are being paid far less than the absolute basic minimum that they should receive: nearly 20 years on from the establishment of a minimum wage in this country, that should be a source of national embarrassment
Northern Ireland has been transformed in recent years – but for a part of the world that has faced such hardship, the impact of austerity is significant and painful.
For a government intent on slashing police spending, their chickens are coming home to roost. And with the Police and Crime Commissioner elections less than two months away, there has never been a more important time to talk about the real impact of police cuts.
The government’s decision to slash Personal Independence Payments (PIP) whilst giving a tax cut to those earning comfortably more than the average UK salary shows a warped sense of priorities.
We’re six years into the Osborne experiment, and the Chancellor is still forcing the British people to swallow the same medicine – even when it’s clear it’s not working
You are our union. You are what gives us our strength. And as the government attempts to silence us and limit our ability to campaign, you will be what keeps this union moving forward.
UNISON is supporting the “Kill The Housing Bill” campaign, calling for significant investment in building more homes of all types to alleviate the housing crisis, and for improvements to the Bill to ensure that genuinely affordable housing is protected to meet the housing needs of people on low to middle incomes.
A financial transactions tax levied on the banks would allow the sector that caused the crash to pay a greater share back to the society they damaged with their greed and recklessness.
Our union will always stand up and speak out on pay, on justice, on representation and on violence against women. That’s a message that isn’t simply for International Women’s Day – it’s a message that must run through our union every single day.