National – Barnet UNISON

The Tories Are Out Of Barnet!

9th May 2022 admin Anti - Racism, ASSIST, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Climate Change, Health and Safety, Local, National, News, Pensions, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, Uncategorised, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

To quote CeCe Peniston: “Finally!” (For those of us young enough to remember popular music of the 90s) https://youtu.be/xk8mm1Qmt-Y

On behalf of our members our Barnet UNISON Branch Secretary, John Burgess, has written to the newly elected Council Leader, Barry Rawlings, congratulating him on the success of the Labour Party and requesting to meet with him.

This is John making a statement to all Barnet UNISON members

For 20 years our members have had to deal with brutality of outsourcing and attacks on our time off to represent members. Our members in the Barnet Group, Capita, NSL, BELS and ISS will be expecting to see positive change for them. UNISON’s General Secretary, Christine McAnea has also been written to requesting her support for assistance in our discussions with Barnet Labour.

We’ll be providing regular updates to our members and our wider UNISON family and trade union community on our progress.

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Barnet Council, Barnet UNISON, Capita, Labour Party, outsourcing, unison

Emergency Cost of Living meeting video 30 March

17th March 2022 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Health and Safety, Local, National, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

How to support Ukraine

3rd March 2022 admin Local, National, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

UNISON is working with the international trade union movement to mobilise support for those affected by the war in Ukraine – and branches and members can help too

No one can fail to be moved by the scenes of terrified civilians taking shelter underground or of the hundreds of thousands of women and children desperately trying to cross the border to safety, to an uncertain future as a refugee.

UNISON immediately condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week and has called for Russian troops to withdraw to allow meaningful peace talks to go ahead.

The union has reached out in solidarity to public service unions in Ukraine whose members are on the frontline trying to save lives as civilian casualties rise. Workers and ordinary people in both Ukraine and Russia are the victims of this war, not the perpetrators.

It has today agreed to donate £10,000 to an appeal by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

It is also talking to our European and international union federations, EPSU and PSI, about how we can practically support those unions and Ukrainian public service workers.

Europe is facing a major refugee crisis. As most European countries have opened their borders to refugees from Ukraine, the UK’s own government is shamefully still putting up significant administrative barriers to prevent refugees arriving in the UK.

And it is not just Ukrainians who are trying to get out. Thousands of migrant workers and students from around the world are caught up in the chaos and there have been disturbing reports of racial discrimination against them by border guards, which UNISON condemns.

How you can help

UNISON branches and members have been asking how they can help. The ITUC has launched an appeal to support the Ukrainian trade union movement and ordinary workers in Ukraine.

Click on link below to find out more

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2022/03/how-to-support-ukraine/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=March%20U%20digital&utm_source=Communications&utm_content=How%20to%20support%20Ukraine

UNISON President Paul Holmes to speak at Barnet UNISON AGM

17th January 2022 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, National, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Paul Holmes UNISON President will be guest speaker at barnet_unison AGM Tuesday 8 February 2022 at 4pm

To register for our AGM simply click on the link and follow the instructions.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/barnet-unison-annual-general-meeting-2022-tickets-214627375257

NJC industrial action ballot – England and Wales result

17th January 2022 admin Austerity, National

The ballot of members for industrial action regarding 2021 NJC pay closed today in England and Wales (it remains open in Northern Ireland until 10 February).

The final results of the ballot are as follows:

70.2% of members voted YES to strike action

29.8% voted NO to strike action

The ballot turnout was 14.5%

It is clear that an overwhelming majority of those who voted were prepared to show their anger at the employers’ 1.75% pay offer by taking strike action. However, the turnout result is disappointing, and as you know, we can only take action if we achieve the turnout threshold of 50%.

UNISON’s NJC Committee meets next week, on Tuesday 18 January, and will consider next steps – as well as beginning to discuss 2022 pay. In the meantime, we would ask that branches do not post these results on social media, as this could be unhelpful in advance of the NJC Committee making any decisions. We will be writing to members and employers to inform them of the result.

We now have some more information about the GMB’s recent indicative ballot on industrial action. GMB have rejected the offer, but without getting the show of support necessary to give confidence that they would get the required mandate for industrial action. They are also now considering their next steps. Unite are currently balloting members for industrial action, and their ballots close on various dates from 17 February.

Branches and regions are thanked for all your efforts in campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote for action and maximising turnout. Despite not getting the turnout we needed, we are clear that the vote for action is something we must build on in future campaigns.

Contact NJCpay2021@unison.co.uk

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