Obviously, as a trade union, we don’t want people leaving their jobs, but we understand that many of our members will be looking to leave for a variety of reasons, given the right offer. Here’s what to do if you are in that situation and want our help, assuming you’re a member of course. If you’re told that your application…
UNISON’s response to the closure of Phoenix Nursery
Our members will have seen the announcement that the University intends to close Phoenix Nursery, explained as a consolidation of nursery provision at One World Nursery in Moulsecoomb. This is a case of history repeating itself, since the same proposal was made almost exactly ten years ago. Thanks to a campaign involving nursery staff, students, the children themselves, the UNISON…
National Higher Education Conference, January 2020
Delegates from around the UK met in Milton Keynes last week for the annual conference of UNISON’s university workers. Fifteen motions were debated, and there was a speech from Christine McAnea, Assistant General Secretary and an interesting presentation from Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at WonkHE. The conference was dominated by the general election result, what this might mean in relation…
Merry Christmas to all our subscribers
Seasons’ Greetings to you all. Decorative UNISON Image Christmas Eve is the best day to revamp the blog, so I’ve changed the look of it, ready for 2020. Hope you like it. If you’re not yet subscribed, you can do this easily to get all our latest posts. You can also see a year’s worth of newsletters on the…
2019 General Election Result
Some thoughts, in an entirely personal capacity of course…. The Conservative victory at the general election is a major setback for working people. The bumbling bigot Johnson will whip up prejudice and launch further attacks on our services, livelihoods and environment. This was not a Trump-like victory. Trump mobilised a base organising mass rallies, for example. By contrast, Johnson boycotted…
UCU Strike 25th November – 4th December
UCU members are taking strike action across the University for eight working days from Monday 25th November. We support the strike! UNISON members at the University voted 78% in favour of strike action over pay, with a 51% turnout. Our members feel exasperated about real-terms pay falling over the last ten years and wanted to campaign for something better, but…
78.1% in favour of strike action on a 51.4% turnout!
This is the local result of our pay ballot. We’re pleased that the vast majority of members who voted did so to support our recommendation, that threatening strike action was the only way to get a decent pay rise. We’re also pleased to have reached the 50% turnout required for legal industrial action. Thanks very much to all our members…
2019-20 Pay Ballot Results
National Result: nearly two thirds of members who voted, voted in favour of strike action, but the turnout fell short of the 50% required for legal industrial action to take place. First of all, thanks to all our members who voted, particularly those who made the effort to call and get a new ballot paper. We really appreciate the level…
2019-20 Pay Ballot – Last chance to vote!
Since ballot papers were first posted out to home addresses on 9th September, we’ve been campaigning to make sure that all our members use their vote. We’ve send out emails, handed out newsletters and leaflets and spoken to hundreds of people because it’s important that we maximise the turnout. Without at least 50% of our members voting, on a national…
Pay Ballot – have you voted yet?
We’re half way through the pay ballot which closes on 30th October. UCU are also balloting to the same timescale. It’s important that all our members vote and we’re encouraging members to vote YES for strike action, because what we’ve been offered (and what has been imposed) falls well below what we asked for and well below what we deserve.…