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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 is on duty for the Easter break. Please call or text if you have an urgent media enquiry as emails won’t be monitored regularly.

Liz Chinchen E: press@unison.co.uk M: 07778 158175
Fatima Ayad E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk M: 07508 080383

Brexit could drive up energy bills, says UNISON

Energy bills for millions of consumers could rise and power supplies may be more vulnerable if the UK votes to leave the EU later this week, says UNISON today (Monday). On the day of its annual energy conference taking place in Brighton, UNISON is warning that the fanciful claims made by leave campaigners, who have […]

UKIP poster takes referendum campaigning to a new low, says UNISON

UNISON has made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police about racist posters that have been displayed on UKIP ad-vans in the capital today (Thursday). UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “This is scaremongering in its most extreme and vile form. Leave campaigners have descended into the gutter with their latest attempt to frighten working […]

Brexiteers Michael Gove and Boris Johnson guilty of ‘nauseating cynicism’ over the NHS

Brexiteers Michael Gove and Boris Johnson are guilty of ‘nauseating cynicism’ in pretending to care about the NHS when they belong to a government that is to blame for ‘eye-watering’ public service cuts, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis will warn later today. In a speech at the Our NHS: Safer IN rally at the TUC’s […]

New professional standards for teaching assistants published

New professional standards for teaching assistants, which were scrapped by the government earlier this year, have been brought back to life and published today (Friday) by a group made up of unions and educational experts. The new standards, that help clarify the roles of teaching assistants, will bring them into line with their teacher and […]

Cuts to social care funding hamstring health services says UNISON

Commenting on new NHS England figures published today (Thursday), highlighting the scale of delayed discharges from hospitals, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Continuous cuts to social care budgets are the reason why many people have to stay longer in hospital than they should. “The problem is getting worse, not better. Already this year there […]

Health committee chair makes the right choice on EU vote, says UNISON

Having listened carefully to both sides of the debate, I believe our NHS & research will be safer if Britain remains in the EU — Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) June 8, 2016 Responding to the defection of Sarah Wollaston MP to the Remain camp over claims the NHS would benefit financially if the UK voted […]

Decision to drop “spying” plans welcomed by UNISON

UNISON has welcomed a decision to ditch plans that would have allowed police and intelligence agencies to spy on unions. Trade union activity will now be exempt from police interception warrants after an amendment was accepted to the Investigatory Powers Bill. There had been concerns that phone records and emails of union officials could have […]

UNISON’s legal team wins prestigious employment law award

UNISON’s legal team has won the inaugural Solicitors Journal award for employment team of the year, against stiff competition

Plans to scrap student bursaries may cost the NHS more not less, says new report

Huge drop in the number of NHS students if the NHS bursary is scrapped, will mean even fewer qualified new recruits from 2020 – causing trusts to spend more on agency staff or overseas recruitment to make up the inevitable shortfall in numbers

Brexit brigade don’t have the NHS’s best interests at heart, says UNISON

Commenting on Michael Gove’s comments about the NHS, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “No-one should be taken in by this latest bout of NHS scaremongering from the Brexit brigade. “Nurses, health visitors, midwives and other health workers who have come to work in the NHS from across the EU have thrown a lifeline to […]

NHS deficit damaging services to patients, says UNISON

Commenting on new figures showing a deficit of £2.45bn in NHS finances, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “This is yet another set of damaging figures that show the NHS is under unprecedented financial pressure. “Patients are suffering as already scarce resources dwindle further still. Targets for A&E admissions, waiting times, and cancer diagnosis […]

Queen’s Speech fails to tackle the real problems Britain faces, says UNISON

Commenting on the Queen’s Speech, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Today the government has announced another set of plans that fail to tackle the real problems Britain faces. “Ministers are keen to sell today’s plans as a wide-ranging set of social reforms, but what the proposals lack is a real plan to rebuild Britain […]

UNISON to ballot members at East of England Ambulance Trust over industrial action

UNISON has today (Monday) informed the East of England Ambulance Service that it is to ballot frontline ambulance staff over possible strike action concerning managers’ failure to tackle the problem of excessive working hours and lack of sufficient breaks. In December 2015, 2,995 shifts finished over an hour later than planned, and in January 2016 this rose […]

Use your vote to remain in Europe, UNISON urges young workers

Young people are being encouraged to vote remain on 23 June to safeguard the rights of millions of workers – and their own futures. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis today (Friday) called on the 64,000 young workers represented by the union – including nurses and teaching assistants – to turn out at the polls. Speaking […]

Boris battle bus makes dubious NHS claims, says UNISON

Commenting on the launch of the Vote Leave battle bus today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “No one should be fooled for one minute by the dubious claims branded along the side of the Boris battle bus that the NHS could be a Brexit winner. “If Boris Johnson really cared about standing up […]

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