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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.
I still have big dreams for this union – and I know you do as well. Together, we can be the bridge that takes our members and our country from an imperfect present to a better future. We can grow faster, deliver more and fight even harder. It won’t be easy – it never is – but it will always be worthwhile.
So whether you’re spending this festive period with family, or gritting our streets, travelling long distances to see loved ones or driving around your community caring for those who can’t care for themselves, I want to say thank you. Thank you for everything you do for all of us, now and every single day of the year. I can never say that enough – no-one ever says that to you often enough. You are the glue that holds our fractured communities together, especially at a time when cuts and austerity have caused such havoc and harm.
We did it – UNISON is officially the biggest union in the UK. It makes me incredibly proud to say that, because I know what it means. It means that despite a decade of austerity, pay cuts, job losses and attacks on the public sector, UNISON has remained strong.
Care workers provide an exceptional service, so they deserve to be treated with respect. Today’s signing – and every council who signs up to the charter – helps ensure more care workers benefit. And that can only be good for all of us.
I’m proud that UNISON is campaigning against the mistreatment of Palestinian child prisoners. I hope you will stand with us as we demand that the UK government speak out and take action to end this gross denial of international law and children’s rights. And we will not stop until the reprehensible and self-defeating punishment of Palestinian children by the Israeli state ends once and for all.
It’s difficult to see how Universal Credit can deliver anything but misery. It’s difficult to see how any government – even this one – can justify ploughing on regardless in the face of such overwhelming evidence.
Credit unions aren’t about the desperate need to buy now-pay later, whatever the cost – they’re about building and growing our security and our strength. That’s something that unites us, and it’s why our union has always been proud to back credit unions, and always will be.
They support, they advise and they ensure that every UNISON member reaches the person or people who can help them with any issues they’re facing. Most UNISON members will never need the support that UNISON Direct provide – but for those that do, they provide a real lifeline.
Growing our union is about ambition, confidence and visibility. UNISON members value us more when they see us regularly – and around the clock – in their workplaces.
Whether they’re catering staff or teaching assistants, cleaners or administrative workers, without them schools couldn’t open every morning. They deserve our thanks and to know just how valuable their work is to all of us.
This is completely unacceptable. Care workers should be able to focus on delivering compassionate care, and shouldn’t have to worry about losing pay or losing their jobs. Never mind pay cuts, they should be receiving far better pay for the vital work they do – and as vital workers who provide dignity and respect for our loved ones, the very least they deserve is dignity and respect in return from those who pay their wages.
We are proud of all our members, everyday, but One Team week gives us the chance to focus on NHS support staff, make them more visible and show them how much we appreciate what they do. And it’s an opportunity for me – for all of us – to thank them for their incredible work.
The bigger we are, the more we can do. Our size is an important part of our strength – and if we make big gains in November that means all UNISON members benefit.
Our country deserves better than this. After eight years of letting down public services and our communities, we need a radical Labour government committed to fundamental change in our economy and our society. The Tories, as this budget showed, are capable of nothing more than meddling at the margins.
Together, we will fight for decent services, decent pay and decent jobs in Somerset, and everywhere else where austerity has pushed local services to breaking point.
