National media team
These numbers are for media use only, not for queries about membership or general enquiries about the union. If you email outside office hours, please do follow up with a call, text or WhatsApp message so you can be sure that we’ve seen.
Liz Chinchen E: press@unison.co.uk M: 07778 158175
Fatima Ayad E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk M: 07508 080383
Anthony Barnes E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk M: 07834 864794
Commenting on the results of the Copeland and Stoke by-elections, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “No-one objective could argue last night’s by-election results were good for Labour. “While it was pleasing to see UKIP put in its place, Stoke should never have been in doubt and the result in Copeland was disastrous. “The blame […]
Unions have cut a deal to improve the work-life balance of thousands of police staff as cuts to forces mean smaller workforces, UNISON has announced today (Thursday). As a result, police support staff will be able to exercise greater control over their working lives and improve their well-being at a time of increasing job-related stress, […]
Commenting on the Stoke-on-Trent by-election tomorrow (Thursday) UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Local services in Stoke are under real pressure thanks to mismanagement by the local council and the impact of government policies. “When I was in the city earlier this week local people kept telling me about how council services are on the brink and […]
All local authorities in England should be allowed to keep a greater share than they do currently of business rates so they can afford to fund social care properly, says UNISON today (Wednesday). The union is urging the government to grant councils better terms along similar lines to a deal agreed earlier this month with […]
School support staff in Derby are to take all out strike action for five days starting next Monday (27 February) as the latest talks with the city council fail to reach an agreement, says UNISON. Next week is on top of the two days of action taking place this week (today and tomorrow), during which […]
Nurses, social workers and teaching assistants will be among EU citizens who will today (Monday) lobby MPs over their right to remain in the UK. The lobby is aimed at urging the government to guarantee immediately that these citizens will be able to stay post-Brexit. There are more than three million EU citizens living in […]
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has described the government’s failure to mention equalities in the Brexit white paper as shocking and shameful at its annual women’s conference today (Thursday). Around 750 delegates are debating a range of equalities motions involving women in work at the event. Addressing the conference, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: […]
Commenting on the 360 employers named and shamed today (Wednesday) by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for failing to pay the national minimum wage, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “This list fails to shame the larger care firms who are equally guilty of denying staff a fair wage. Those in the spotlight today are just […]
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “There should be no open arms welcome for Donald Trump. When running for the White House he made the most appalling sexist and racist comments, and those same vile sentiments are now shaping the executive orders he’s signing as President. Protecting him from the inevitable protestors will cost millions […]
Responding to today’s (Thursday) NHS performance figures, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “These figures prove that extra resources for the NHS were needed months if not years ago. More money isn¹t the only answer but with it much of the current crisis might have been averted. “The strain on hospital budgets […]
Responding to the Supreme Court ruling today (Wednesday) concerning Denise Brewster’s successful claim to her partner’s pension, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Today’s judgement is good news for anyone like Denise Brewster who stood to lose out on their partner’s pension, simply because a form hadn’t been signed. “It means the Northern Ireland local […]
School support staff will stage a city centre love-in today (Wednesday) to remind shoppers and workers out on their lunch breaks that the pay dispute with the council is far from over. The staff are taking action again this week over changes to their contracts imposed by councillors, which have seen teaching assistants lose up […]
Responding to the publication of the government’s white paper on housing today (Tuesday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “For years now many people have been priced out of buying or renting in towns, cities and rural areas across the country. “This means nurses, care workers, teaching assistants and other public servants are increasingly forced to […]
NHS staff are being urged to record nurse-to-patient ratios today (Tuesday) as hospitals face unprecedented demand, says UNISON. A snapshot of the pressures facing NHS staff will be recorded over 24 hours in UNISON’s sixth annual safe staffing survey. In addition to nurse-to-patient ratios, respondents will record any overtime worked, whether they took their breaks […]
