Dave Prentis is UNISON’s general secretary – the highest elected post in the union. He speaks up for UNISON members, campaigns for public services and leads the union.
Read Dave’s blog for views on issues UNISON is working on and information on what he’s doing.
Together, united, we can break this immoral pay cap for all public-sector workers. All deserve the pay rises they’ve been denied. All deserve an end to attacks on their jobs, their services and their wages. The Tories will pay the price for their failure and for letting public servants down. And we will hold them to account for what they have done to public services – at the ballot box and every day until then.
We want to see employers ensure that workers are not overloaded by their jobs, and that they have suitable support systems to help them overcome difficulties – like well trained and supportive managers, regular supervision, employees assistance programs and access to counselling to help them cope.
Across the country, MPs are coming under increasing pressure to show whose side they’re on, and stand with those who serve our communities, teach our children and care for our loved ones. Together, we can help them make that vital decision.
Real pay rises, an end to PFI and fighting welfare cuts, that’s what UNISON achieves in Labour, working with our friend Jeremy Corbyn. Today was a good day – I hope there are more to come this week.
She will be missed by her friends in UNISON Scotland and across our union, and by those who she stood up for in the workplace and the conference hall. Our thoughts are with all those who knew her.
This is a council currently at the centre of a police investigation over the controversial “One Connect” deal with BT. This is also a council where council leader Geoff Driver is currently on police bail, over allegations of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and witness intimidation.
This afternoon at the TUC, I was proud to lead the debate on public sector pay. For UNISON’s 1.3 million members, and millions more like them, there is no more important issue.
Slavery not only persists, it’s on the rise. It’s estimated that 10-13,000 people are enslaved across the UK which, according the National Crime Agency is just “the tip of the iceberg”.
We’re not satisfied with ending the pay cap. We want to see public sector workers recover the real terms losses they’ve been subjected to over nearly a decade of austerity. It’s completely unjust that public servants have been forced to bear the brunt of bailing out the bankers. It’s completely unsustainable to ask those who our nation relies upon to continue to accept lower pay on a permanent basis.
This morning I was in Glasgow at the QE hospital to meet our biggest branch, who also happen to be one of our best. Glasgow Health branch epitomise the dedication of our activists around the country, walking the wards daily to recruit and represent members from across the health service. But I wasn’t just there […]
The commitments that were made to women members almost a quarter of a century ago matter as much today as they did then – and as we approach our union’s 25th anniversary celebrations, we must return once again to those commitments, and renew them for the next quarter century to come.
Mike Jeram is someone who deserved a long and happy retirement after years of dedicated service to a union which he loved and its members who he cared about, and I am so sad that his life was cut far too short. But Mike’s was a life lived well, surrounded by people who loved him and who love in return. He was a great servant to our union, and like so many more across our whole union, I will miss him.
A year ago Theresa May promised she’d govern differently. Of course, the past 12months have shown that her promises aren’t worth listening to. But it is not too late for the prime minister to take a different course, and invest in our nation’s health and in those who care for us.
Together, UNISON can win for all public sector workers, wherever you work, and deliver that long-overdue pay rise.
Today’s result should bring to an end the cruel employment tribunal fees regime, and ensure that no-one else is ever forced to pay crippling fees just to access basic justice. But it is also a reminder of the importance of trade unions in fighting for all of our rights, and the importance of a legal system that allows us to stand with our members, and win for our members.
