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
Anthony Barnes E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk M: 07834 864794
UNISON has today (Monday) authorised a national hardship fund to ensure that no teaching assistants on strike in Durham suffer financial hardship. The fund, made up of an initial £150,000 will be administered by the union’s northern region. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Today I have personally authorised £150,000 from the union’s industrial action […]
Nearly 100 primary schools across County Durham will be affected tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday as teaching assistants strike in a long-running dispute over cuts to their pay. School support staff plan to protest at dozens of picket lines across the county over the two days. This will mean the closure of some schools completely, says […]
Government plans to reform the delivery of children’s social care have been overwhelmingly rejected by practising social workers in a new report published today (Wednesday) by UNISON. UNISON says the proposals could prove dangerous for children and fail to tackle any of the fundamental problems social workers deal with on a daily basis. UNISON says […]
Monday 31 October 2016 For immediate release Teaching assistants in Durham will take strike action on 8 and 9 November in the long-running dispute over cuts to their pay, their union UNISON has announced today (Monday). This follows a ballot over Durham County Council plans to move teaching assistants to term-time pay. This could see […]
An agreement to be signed today (Monday) between UNISON and the London Borough of Croydon promises to deliver improved homecare for residents and more support for the borough’s homecare workers. The signing takes place on the same day that London mayor Sadiq Khan announces the Living Wage Foundation’s new real living wage rate for the […]
An agreement to be signed today (Thursday) between UNISON and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham promises to deliver improved homecare for residents and more support for the borough’s homecare workers. Signing the charter commits the council to allocating enough time for home visits so workers have time to talk to clients, not rush […]
Thursday 27 October 2016 Hard-pressed health service staff are turning to high-rate loans, pawning their belongings and visiting food banks as they struggle just to make ends meet, according to research by UNISON. Financial hardship has led to almost half (49%) of those who took part in a major survey to seek financial help from […]
The government must do more to reassure staff and the public that new NHS service delivery reforms are not a cover for further cuts, says UNISON. Last Friday was the deadline for the submission of 44 new sustainability and transformation plans across England, which are intended to provide better co-ordination of health and social care […]
MPs will debate the future of the local government pension scheme (LGPS) in Westminster Hall today (Monday) in response to concerns that the government plans to interfere in investment decisions. More than 100,000 people have signed a petition, backed by UNISON, saying it should be up to the funds to decide where they invest in […]
Two thirds of NHS students have been forced to take work on top of their studies to supplement their income, according to a new report from UNISON published today (Friday). Healthcare students are lobbying their MPs at constituency surgeries today to press their case for adequate funding during their studies. The proportion of nursing and […]
UNISON is accusing Derby City Council of inflaming tensions and escalating a dispute with school support staff who have seen their pay slashed by up to 25%. The staff – who begin their latest two-day strike today (Thursday) – plan to distribute balloons and stickers to parents and children as part of their good-natured community […]
Durham teaching assistants have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in the long-running dispute over cuts to their pay, their union UNISON has announced today (Wednesday). UNISON held a ballot over Durham County Council plans to move teaching assistants to term-time pay. This could see school support staff lose up to 23% of their wages. The […]
Reading council – the only local authority in England and Wales never to settle an equal pay claim – will today (Monday) be challenged in court by more than 60 women owed over £1.5m because they were paid less than their male colleagues for years, says their union UNISON. The women – mostly care workers, […]
