UNISON branches and regions are set to Make May Matter starting from this week with a tide of recruitment events in workplaces across the UK.
This organising drive is supported by a further round of television advertising which will run until June and further newspaper adverts in the Metro around the country.
“It’s great to see UNISON mobilising to recruit,” said general secretary Dave Prentis. “We know that our members are angry about pay and cuts to public services which this government has forced through. But they have a voice to speak up for them – their union.
“In these uncertain times, anyone who works in public services needs to have the support of a union – so they have help when they need it at work, but also so they can join the growing campaign for a decent pay rise.”
Among the events taking place in the next week are:
- recruitment activities in hospitals, probation branches and higher education colleges in the South East;
- visits to schools in the south west, Wiltshire council, homecare in central Somerset and Dorset, Dorset County hospital walkarounds and a Valuing Admin Workers day in Plymouth;
- Eastern region will be focusing on schools recruitment and care homes;
- in the Northern region, targets include schools in Northumberland, Durham and Teesside probation, South Tyneside and Newcastle hospitals and Gateshead health and local government;
- the North West region is focusing on health branches with three weeks of intensive activity starting on 5 May;
- in London, the focus is on local election campaigning, with recruitment taking over from 6 May;
- Northern Ireland will see all health branches concentrating on recruitment and education branches looking to recruit in schools and education boards;
- in the East Midlands, a range of activities focus on apprentices, social care staff, and local government this week;
- Yorkshire and Humberside activity will include ward walking in three big NHS trusts with follow-up activity planned for June, while local government branches will also aim to get out on the floors to talk to non-members, and there are plans for four weeks of activity in universities;
- in Scotland, Lothian Health has a recruitment stall at St John’s Hospital on Wednesday, Stirling University is holding open meetings; Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire are focusing on social work teams and North Lanarkshire is planning recruitment stalls and workplace visits.
Has your branch got something planned? Let us know about it by emailing webmaster@unison.co.uk and tweet using hashtags #joinUNISON #MakeMayMatter
