Each new year is a chance to look forwards as well as back. To plan for the future, but also to reflect on the year that’s behind us.
2020 marks not just a new year, but a new decade – and one that brings with it a great deal of uncertainty. The election that brought 2019 to a close ensures that we will leave the EU in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have been elected on a wafer thin manifesto that leaves us all in the dark about what comes after Brexit, especially when it comes to public services.
However you voted in last year’s election, I know that you understand more than anyone the pressures that the services you provide are under. 2020 will be another challenging year for public services, but I also know that there’s no group of people I’d trust more than UNISON members to care for, protect and educate our communities through the difficult times.
In return, I promise that your union will always be there to stand up for you, every single day of this new decade.
That means we’ll be on your side, fighting for the better pay and conditions that you deserve. That means we’ll be on your side, opposing attempts to privatise your jobs. And crucially, that means we’ll be on your side, in your workplace, so you don’t have to face the biggest challenges alone.
UNISON is the biggest union in the UK – because public service workers like you have put your trust in us to stand with you. I’m delighted that for the second year in a row – at a time when trade unions and public services have come under attack – UNISON is a growing union. The fastest growing union in the western world, and growing stronger every day as more people put their trust in us. There has never been a better or more important time to join UNISON, so remember to sign up your colleagues at work so that they too can be a part of our special union.
Yet we can’t and shouldn’t rest on our laurels – every new member grows our strength, but at the same time – rightly – raises the expectations on us to deliver. So in the decade ahead, our union will need to deliver more and fight even harder – and I promise you, we will not let you down.
Happy New Year to you, your families and everyone who relies on the incredible public services you provide.