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
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, […]
Durham teaching assistants – who have just one week left to vote for strike action in the long-running dispute over cuts to their pay – are to hold a major rally today (Thursday). Durham County Council is proposing to move teaching assistants to term-time pay, and extend the working week without paying for any extra […]
Wednesday 12 October 2016 For immediate release Nursing associates should not be nurses on the cheap, says UNISON Responding to the announcement today (Wednesday) by Health Education England that more than 2,000 people will be trained as nursing associates over the coming months, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “These new roles could help […]
Friday 7 October 2016 For immediate release Labour council accused of intimidating UNISON teaching assistants in Durham dispute Teaching assistants who belong to UNISON – currently voting on possible strike action against Durham County Council’s plans to cut their pay by almost a quarter – are facing intimidation tactics from their employer, says their union […]
Thousands of employees whose wages are partly based on commission moved a step closer today (Friday) towards claiming holiday pay previously denied them thanks to a Court of Appeal ruling on a case originally brought by UNISON against British Gas. The decision confirms that anyone whose pay includes an element of commission can no longer […]
Derby teaching assistants – striking today (Thursday) for the eighth time since the city council cut their pay in June – are taking their campaign into the community to get the public to lobby councillors on their behalf. The classroom assistants have been in dispute with their employer since last September when the council announced […]
The government needs to inject £280m into the NHS by the end of the decade, or ministers will breach minimum wage laws, unions warn
Commenting on Jeremy Corbyn’s speech to the Labour party conference in Liverpool today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Today Jeremy talked about Labour getting ready for – and winning – the next election. After a largely wasted year for the party, that’s what the country needed to hear. “It was good to see […]
New pay proposal from the county council overwhelmingly rejected: UNISON wil lmove to a vote on strike action, with ballot papers being despatched to classroom support workers early next week
Derby teaching assistants have taken their dispute over pay to the Labour party conference in Liverpool in a bid to win support from MPs and increase pressure on Derby City Council
For immediate release Reacting to government plans to cap all public sector exit payments at £95,000, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said today: “The government might claim its cap on redundancy payouts will only affect those at the top of the public sector, but the reality is that many middle-income earners – like nurses and librarians […]
Labour can only win for working people and protect public services by being in government — and putting an end to the infighting that has plagued the party in recent months, says UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis today (Monday). Speaking in the public services debate at the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool today (Monday), […]
