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Plans announced today (Tuesday) to axe more than half of Suffolk’s police community support officers (PCSOs) would put public safety at risk, says UNISON. The proposed cuts by Suffolk Constabulary would see a 78% reduction in the number of PCSOs in the county since 2010, says the union*. UNISON national officer for police and justice […]
Responding to the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee report on the weak enforcement of age discrimination law published today (Tuesday), UNISON head of learning and organising services Teresa Donegan said: “It’s unacceptable that any worker would be discriminated against because of their age, but without a mandatory reporting system this will continue to be a […]
Friday 6 July 2018 For immediate release Hospital trust drops plans to outsource NHS staff to private company A hospital trust has reversed its decision to outsource NHS staff to a subsidiary – or ‘subco’ – company, UNISON has announced today (Friday). Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Foundation Trust (WWLNHS) has agreed to drop plans to transfer more than […]
The decision taken today (Wednesday) by the board of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust to push ahead with the outsourcing of hundreds of staff is reckless and foolhardly, says UNISON. Responding to the decision, staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust are taking five days of strike action, starting at 6am tomorrow (Thursday). […]
The planned outsourcing of staff at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust is not in the interests of staff nor patients, says UNISON. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has written to the head of the north west NHS Trust outlining some key concerns about the proposal to establish a wholly owned subsidiary. Around 900 staff, […]
UNISON’s National Executive Council (NEC) has elected Gordon McKay, a mental health nurse from Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, as president at the union’s annual national conference in Brighton. Gordon started working for the NHS in 1987 and joined UNISON’s predecessor, NUPE, on the same day. Gordon, who has been part of the presidential team for a year, […]
Commenting on the report Transforming Rehabilitation published today (Friday) by the Justice Select Committee, UNISON national officer for probation Ben Priestley said: “This shows the government’s probation reforms have failed and must be replaced. “Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service has shown itself to be totally unfit to be in charge. It’s not only failing […]
Parks and green spaces are falling into disrepair because of damning budget cuts, says UNISON. According to figures published today (Thursday), more than £15m has been cut from parks and green spaces budgets between 2016/17 and 2018/19. The figures were obtained through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the councils responsible for parks in […]
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on PFI published today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The report confirms what UNISON has said all along – PFI simply isn’t working for the taxpayer. “It’s a damning indictment that after more than 25 years the Treasury still has no data on the benefits of PFI. “The […]
High rental costs mean many public service employees in England are spending more than a third of their wages on rent, according to research published by UNISON
Local authorities are not doing enough to protect workers’ rights globally, according to research published today (Monday) by UNISON. According to the report Ethical Procurement in UK Local Authorities, produced by People & Planet on behalf of UNISON, only eight of the 190 local authorities looked at had a standalone ethical procurement policy. The UK […]
The NHS needs a funding guarantee, not just a pledge
Local government spending cuts have left councils across the UK unable to meet the needs of local communities and, in some cases, are putting the public at risk, says UNISON today