National media team
These numbers are for media use only, not for queries about membership or general enquiries about the union.
If you’ve already sent an email, please do follow up with a call, text or WhatsApp. Many thanks
Fatima Ayad E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk M: 07508 080383
Anthony Barnes E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk M: 07834 864794
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 […]
Commenting on the white paper published today (Thursday) setting out the government’s Brexit plans, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “We might now have a white paper, but we’re still no clearer as to what a future outside Europe means for the employment rights that protect people at work, or for European citizens working here. […]
MPs and care workers are staging a protest today (Thursday) outside Haringey Civic Centre in Wood Green, calling on the council to do its bit to improve conditions for homecare staff across the borough. David Lammy and Catherine West are getting together with homecare workers to urge the London Borough of Haringey to sign and […]
Responding to the announcement that university applications for nursing and midwifery courses have fallen dramatically, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “The government said replacing bursaries with loans would bring in an additional 10,000 nurses. Instead the exact opposite has happened. “With applications down nearly a quarter, ministers must accept they got this wrong […]
The government’s decision to demand a fee from anyone taking their employer to court was ill-judged, has failed to save the taxpayer money, and prevented thousands of badly treated workers from getting justice, says UNISON. The government’s long-awaited review of the impact of fees is published today (Tuesday), and shows a 70% drop in the […]
Responding to the National Audit Office report published today (Thursday) on NHS ambulance services, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “Across the entire NHS, the picture is the same. There’s simply not enough money to cope with growing demand. “The lack of investment in social care means ambulance and other NHS emergency services are […]
