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.
In the weeks ahead, let us make these the issues that define the general election – because they are the issues that will define the future of our country for a generation.
We pay tribute to the staff who worked throughout the night to save lives, to those who rushed into work when they heard news of the attack and to those who will continue to put Manchester back together in the days and weeks ahead. We could not be prouder to have y as part of our union.
The future of our public services are at stake, and with them, the jobs, pay and lives of all UNISON members. If you’re reading this then those are things you care about. So register to vote – and stand up for public services.
It’s absolutely imperative we see a Labour victory on 8 June. Nurses, teaching assistants, social care workers and everyone who relies upon our public services deserve nothing less.
Their proposals threaten a further demolition of the welfare state, which will leave all but the very poorest forced to cough up for their care.
Branches like these show how right we are to be proud of our union, and what UNISON activists are capable of, even in these difficult times.
This weekend, many of UNISON’s young members are coming together to talk about the future of our union, the future of public services and the future of our country.
When it comes to the NHS, the facts are clear – Labour understands the investment and support our health service needs. The Tories just want to run the health service down.
After years of government failure, our country is crying out for a different and better approach – strengthening rights at work, making sure new jobs are good jobs, and ending the race to the bottom in pay, conditions and job security. It’s time to rebalance our economy in favour of the many, put a stop to the fall in living standards and put more money in people’s pockets.
Each year on or near 28 April, UNISON joins people around the world to celebrate International Workers’ Memorial Day
In recent days we have lost two people who meant so much to our union, and who were a huge part of making UNISON strong. Brenda Hudson and Danny Gillespie were both people I was proud to know, and whose lives were dedicated to supporting public services and everyone who works in them.
A general election is always a moment when we decide the future of our country, but perhaps never more so than this time with Brexit on the horizon. After all this Tory government have done, they’re now seeking a renewed mandate to make public servants worse off, easier to fire or even put more of them out of work. Nowhere is this threat clearer than in the NHS.
As Britain prepares to leave the EU, this election will be about the future of our public services, and the austerity agenda that the Tory Party has unleashed upon those services for the past seven years. They cannot and must not be given a renewed mandate for further cuts and axing our rights at work.
One of the tests of a decent society is how we treat those who cannot care for themselves. Every day that we allow 15 minute care visits to continue is a day that we fail that test.
School support staff can go into work with their heads held high, knowing that the value of the work they do for children and schools has been recognised. But they will never forget the way that they, their branch and their whole union came together and won a better deal – and neither will I.
