Library news

• UNISON Nelson Mandela Award 2025– (open to all Black people in conjunction with UNISON’s defining Black)

  26-07-2024 10:12 via unison.org.uk
  
  UNISON 2015 Black members’ conference resolved to establish a Nelson Mandela award that embodies his attributes and becomes an annual feature of the conference.
  Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president saw in democracy after decades of apartheid rule which for Black people meant living with years of racial segregation and systemic oppression. His vision was for a truly united South Africa, and he became a powerful global figure of resistance.
  Our union is proud to have m
  
  Read more

• GB Energy will boost the economy and bring bills down

  25-07-2024 09:00 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on the introduction of the GB Energy Bill and the creation of the government’s new publicly owned company aimed at making the UK a ‘clean energy superpower’ today (Thursday), UNISON head of environment Donna Rowe- Merriman said:
  “It’s high time for the energy sector to move to the next level. GB Energy’s promising goals will generate profits and support the transition to cleaner power.
  “The move offers a unique opportunity for workers to devel
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Taking the chance to fix what’s been broken for too long

  23-07-2024 10:10 via unison.org.uk
  
  By general secretary Christina McAnea
  After endless disappointments, cuts and chaos from a stream of Conservative prime ministers, there were, understandably high expectations around the first King’s Speech under a Labour government for 14 years.
  Reassuringly the bills proposed last week showed a promising start to the long process of rebuilding the economy and revitalising essential public services.
  In Keir Starmer, it feels like we finally have a PM who has a proper understanding of publ
  
  Read more

• Filling the skills gap is vital for a prosperous UK economy

  22-07-2024 18:09 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on Keir Starmer’s announcement today (Monday) of a new government focus on training through the establishment of Skills England, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “The previous government did little to fill the skills gaps and workforce shortages in the UK economy.
  “Improving the life chances of youngsters leaving school or college, as well as those of older workers who left education with no qualifications, with real opportunities could be a game chang
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Hello Ann Cleeves, a favour please

  21-07-2024 15:46 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialOne of the joys of working in public libraries these days is the sheer variety of the job. One can be ordering books, delivering training, planning events, organising stock rotations, partnering with different organisations and be in a murder mystery all in one week. That last one stuck out to me last week as I hosted an evening using the excellent free Ann Cleeves scripts (see an example here) to a sold out audience. We do several of these per year and get excellent feedback from them,
  
  Read more

• Council and school workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland asked to vote on possible strike action, says UNISON

  19-07-2024 18:16 via unison.org.uk
  
  Thousands of social workers, teaching assistants, planning officers, caretakers and other school and council staff are to be asked if they’re prepared to take strike action over this year’s pay offer, says their union UNISON today (Friday).
  The move follows a recent consultation concerning the 2024/25 wage rise for local authority and school workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In this vote 81% of the workers who took part opted to reject what they’d been offered.
  Th
  
  Read more

• UK Covid-19 Inquiry shows austerity was ‘reckless self-sabotage’

  18-07-2024 14:56 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on the publication of the first report by the Covid-19 Inquiry today (Thursday), which highlights ‘significant flaws’ in the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “This first report shows how austerity was a reckless act of self-sabotage that fatally undermined the UK’s resilience and preparedness for a pandemic.
  “Savage spending cuts left key workers and the public vulnerable
  
  Read more

• King’s Speech sets out plans to start mending broken public services

  17-07-2024 14:51 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on the government’s planned programme of legislation set out in the King’s Speech today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “These bills are the start of the long process to mend much of what’s been broken by Conservative governments and generate the growth to get public services thriving once more.
  “Labour’s workplace rights package promises to be a game changer. For too long, bad bosses have had it all their own
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Political fund ballot – saving UNISON’s campaign voice

  16-07-2024 17:14 via unison.org.uk
  
  Ballot papers are now dropping through members’ letter boxes asking them to vote on the continuation of the union’s political fund. It is vitally important that they vote yes – and that the Labour Link and campaign fund continue to provide a platform for political campaigns in support of our members.     
  It is a ballot we must win – by making the case once again to our members, showing them what the two distinct sections of UNISON’s fu
  
  Read more

• ‘Doom loop’ in health and care must stop

  16-07-2024 01:01 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on research from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, which says better funding is needed for social care, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “The previous government was guilty of neglecting care. That’s why the sector is close to being overwhelmed.
  “A lack of capacity in care sees many elderly people admitted to hospital only because there’s nowhere else for them to go. Others are discharged too soon as their beds are neede
  
  Read more

• UNISON’s voice is at the heart of government

  15-07-2024 14:10 via unison.org.uk
  
  UNISON hosted a post-election reception at Parliament last week (Wednesday) to welcome new and returning MPs with links to the union.
  The event saw a host of MPs attend, including eight recent UNISON staff and activists who had been newly elected as MPs, the newly appointed deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and the secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting.
  Liz Twist, chair of the UNISON group of MPs, welcomed attendees, saying she was “delighted to welcome everyone he
  
  Read more

• Two annual events in danger of losing their shine

  14-07-2024 11:17 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialTwo annual library events have got me thinking this week. The first is the Summer Reading Challenge. By far the most popular promotion that any public library normally puts on, the Challenge is aimed at those in primary school, created by the Reading Agency and voluntarily bought into, or not, by library services. The format of it has not seriously changed since its introduction a quarter of a century ago. Probably the biggest change many have noted in that time is the replacement of th
  
  Read more

• UNISON members speak out about the renting crisis

  11-07-2024 16:55 via unison.org.uk
  
  UNISON recently partnered with Generation Rent, a housing campaign organisation advocating for people who rent, to understand the realities of public sector workers.
  Four key areas emerged from the discussions: affordability, standards, security, and the treatment of renters.
  Members struggled greatly to find affordable homes to rent, with the rising cost of living making covering the rent and other costs increasingly difficult.
  One member, Rebecca, said: “I’m currently in major debt
  
  Read more

• Ofwat has been asleep at the wheel

  11-07-2024 14:57 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on the move by water regulator Ofwat to place Thames Water in a new ‘turnaround regime’ today (Thursday), UNISON head of environment Donna Rowe-Merriman said:
  “Ofwat has been asleep at the wheel. Its failure to manage has plunged the water industry into chaos. The latest recovery plan is way too late to have any impact.
  “Consumers are once again facing rising bills while shareholders pocket hefty dividends. The infrastructure has been critically neglected, caus
  
  Read more

• Opinion: A new dawn for public services – a hopeful vision under Labour

  09-07-2024 11:49 via unison.org.uk
  
  By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea
  After 14 long years of Conservative rule that left our public services in a mess, the UK finally stands at the beginning of a new era.
  The recent general election has put an end to a government marked by chaos, infighting, and cronyism. We can all breathe a sigh of relief as we say goodbye and good riddance to an era that has seen our essential public services so terribly mismanaged.
  The Conservatives have left a legacy of underfunded and overstretche
  
  Read more

• A new dawn for public services – a hopeful vision under Labour

  09-07-2024 11:49 via unison.org.uk
  
  After 14 long years of Conservative rule that left our public services in a mess, the UK finally stands at the beginning of a new era.
  The recent general election has put an end to a government marked by chaos, infighting, and cronyism. We can all breathe a sigh of relief as we say goodbye and good riddance to an era that has seen our essential public services so terribly mismanaged.
  The Conservatives have left a legacy of underfunded and overstretched services. Our NHS is in crisis, social care
  
  Read more

• Labour in Libraries

  07-07-2024 16:13 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialWow, so that was a quite a victory for Labour. With such a majority, they have five years now to do what they can before the next election and, given the volatility of the electorate, the possibility of another change in government. There are huge challenges for Labour, including a distinct lack of money and economic weakness, and promises about not increasing taxation made pre-election. This will make it very difficult for them to follow the impulse, more natural to them than the Conse
  
  Read more

• At last the UK has a prime minister who understands the value of public service

  05-07-2024 16:59 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on Keir Starmer’s first speech as prime minister, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said today (Friday):
  “Labour’s historic victory promises real change for public services. Unlike many previous prime ministers, Keir Starmer isn’t a career politician.
  “He’s a true public servant and understands the value of high-quality services to local communities, and the importance of the workers who provide them.
  “A new approach can’t come s
  
  Read more

• A Labour government can now press the reset button for public services, says UNISON

  05-07-2024 08:15 via unison.org.uk
  
  Commenting on the results of the general election today (Friday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “Goodbye and good riddance. The past 14 years of Conservative rule has been nothing short of a living nightmare.
  “After an endless merry-go-round of chaos, infighting, untruths and cronyism in government, public services are in a sorry state. Fixing them and rebuilding trust in politics will be no easy task and will take time.
  &ldqu
  
  Read more

• UNISON to hold 10-year political fund ballot

  04-07-2024 11:33 via unison.org.uk
  
  UNISON is to hold it’s 10 year political fund ballot, this summer, with ballot papers going out to all 1.3 million members from 15 July asking whether or not the union should keep its political fund.
  All trade unions are required by law to hold a ballot every 10 years.
  The political fund enables UNISON to campaign for better rights at work, for more support for public services and against discrimination.
  A ‘yes’ vote is vital to the work that UNISON does to defend and promote o
  
  Read more

• Low-income NHS staff paying the price for wage delays

  02-07-2024 01:01 via unison.org.uk
  
  Government delays on NHS pay have resulted in thousands of the lowest-paid health workers being removed from financial schemes aimed at making their travel to work and childcare bills more affordable, says UNISON today (Tuesday).
  With the lowest hourly rate in the NHS now just a penny more than the national minimum wage*, the union says trust managers are having to curtail membership of so-called salary sacrifice schemes for many staff.
  This is because many workers’ hourly rates fall below
  
  Read more

• Vote for Libraries

  30-06-2024 16:51 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialBy the look of the opinion polls, Public Libraries News will be reporting, for the first time it its 14 year history, soon on what impact a government without any Conservatives in it is having on public libraries. You already know the impact that the Conservatives have had. What will happen is unclear. Last general election, Labour’s manifesto was full of promises for public services including a likely bonanza for public libraries but it was all kind of moot because Labour stood n
  
  Read more

• UNISON members recognised in honours list

  26-06-2024 14:54 via unison.org.uk
  
  Two UNISON stalwarts have been recognised in the recent king’s birthday honours, announced earlier this month.
  Wendy Nichols from Yorkshire and Humberside (pictured above during 2015-2016, when she was UNISON president) has been awarded an OBE for services to the trade union movement.
  After leaving school, Wendy, who is from Selby, took hotel management and catering courses, following her mum’s footsteps into school meals. She then worked as a cook in a residential care home before b
  
  Read more

• 14 years of the Tories – education and children’s services

  25-06-2024 13:27 via unison.org.uk
  
   Head of education Mike Short on how staff, pupils and students are all paying the price for a government that has abandoned educationThe Conservative government has overseen a dramatic decline in the state of the education sector.
  Schools have been grappling with insufficient funding ever since 2010. As school budgets reach breaking point, there are inevitable consequences for the quality of education being provided to young people, as well as the working conditions of school staff.
  UNISON
  
  Read more

• 14 years of the Tories – health

  25-06-2024 13:22 via unison.org.uk
  
   Head of health Helga Pile offers a chronicle of hapless restructuring, endless cuts, cronyism and disrespectAs we approach this momentous election, concern about the NHS is the top issue on voters’ minds. And looking back over the last 14 years, it’s no wonder.
  The coalition years, with the Liberal Democrats, kicked off in 2010 with spending increases for the NHS pegged back to 1%, when around 4% a year was needed just to keep up with demand.
  At the 2012 London Olympics, the NH
  
  Read more

• 14 years of the Tories – local government

  25-06-2024 13:16 via unison.org.uk
  
  Head of local government Mike Short on why councils and council workers are ‘in the depths of crisis’The last 14 years have seen the local government sector hollowed out by a Conservative government that has no interest in local democracy or local services.
  Local government has long struggled for proper recognition for the vital work that it does. Unless you need a social worker, library or a youth centre, you may not notice what’s happened to these services under the Tori
  
  Read more

• New presidential team elected

  24-06-2024 13:08 via unison.org.uk
  
  UNISON’s national executive council (NEC) convened on Friday afternoon, at the end of national delegate conference in Brighton, to elect a new presidential team.
  The council elected Steve North of Salford Local Government Branch in the North West as president, with Julia Mwaluke, also from Salford City Local Government Branch as senior vice president, and Lyn Marie O’Hara of UNISON City of Glasgow branch as junior vice president.
  The article New presidential team elected first a
  
  Read more

• Conference hails striking members

  24-06-2024 13:07 via unison.org.uk
  
  Images: Marcus Rose
  The final day of UNISON’s national delegate conference saw delegates rise to celebrate all those members who had been out on strike during the last year.
  General secretary Christina McAnea called the strikers forward to rapturous applause from the floor, with representatives from each of UNISON’s 12 regions:Eastern: Bedfordshire Hospital and Colchester City Council
  East Midlands: Ashfield Academy, University Hospitals of Leicester and Northampton General Hosp
  
  Read more

• Opinion: The New Deal will be transformational

  24-06-2024 12:37 via unison.org.uk
  
  By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea
  Labour’s election is full speed ahead, and the polls still predict a Labour majority. With that, comes delivering the New Deal for Working People.
  I’m sure the party’s promise to make work pay is turning out to be a key part of their popularity throughout the campaign.
  We worked closely with the Labour Party and other trade unions in turning this idea into a manifesto pledge and a deliverable plan. We put the need
  
  Read more

• Too little Trust?

  23-06-2024 15:43 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThere have been many different new types of library governance since austerity began in 2010. We’ve seen Leisure Trusts taking over (a mixed picture), private companies (failure), local charities/parish councils taking them over and volunteers (at least 621 and rising, proving surprisingly resilient). A different type of Trust, though, has had – at least from my inexpert eye – been entirely successful. This is the Library-only Trust (Devon’s “Libraries Unli
  
  Read more

• Feargal Sharkey brings star quality – and rage – to conference

  21-06-2024 16:49 via unison.org.uk
  
  Feargal Sharkey with UNISON delegates. Photo: Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos
  UNISON’s national delegate conference (NDC) enjoyed a spot of real star quality earlier this week, when a fringe meeting on the climate crisis saw a special guest in singer and clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey.
  “My father would be cock-a-hoop that I was standing on a union platform,” he told those attending.
  His dad was a trade union official who took him to his first union meeting at age ei
  
  Read more

• UNISON passes motion to recognise Palestine as a state

  21-06-2024 16:22 via unison.org.uk
  
  The third day of UNISON’s national delegate conference, chaired by UNISON president Libby Nolan, saw delegates pass a composite motion in solidarity with Palestine – but not before several impassioned speeches were heard.
  The debate came shortly after Palestinian ambassador to the UK Dr Hussam Zomlot’s speech to the union.
  Introducing the motion on behalf of UNISON Scotland, Tony Slaven said: “After the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, a ceasefire is needed urgently.
  &ldqu
  
  Read more

• ‘Justice for the Palestinian people is justice for all’

  21-06-2024 15:27 via unison.org.uk
  
  The highlight of this year’s national delegate conference was a speech from Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom Dr Husam Zomlot (pictured), who was welcomed with a standing ovation.
  Thanking the union for its warmth, he began with an acknowledgement of UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea’s recent trip to the West Bank. “I know Christina got a taste of what it means to live under Israel’s military occupation.
  “You may think it’s the deadly milita
  
  Read more

• ‘System change, not climate change’

  21-06-2024 12:51 via unison.org.uk
  
  “This is a crisis that all trade unionists and every person should be angry about.” That was how Tony Wright introduced a motion on climate change for the NEC and UNISON’s national delegate conference in Brighton this week.
  “Climate change is already affecting every aspect of what our members do. Public services are huge carbon emitters,” he continued.
  “We use the full might of public funding to ensure that our public-sector contracts are used to commit to a
  
  Read more

• NHS employers need to pay staff fairly or face strike action

  21-06-2024 07:00 via unison.org.uk
  
  NHS managers must ensure health workers are on the correct salary bands for the jobs they do and avoid the need for further strike action this year, says UNISON today (Friday).
  Since 2021, the union has taken an employer-by-employer approach to help healthcare assistants across the UK win wage rises, including around £80m in back pay, to make up for years of being paid significantly less than they should have been.
  UNISON’s Fair Pay for Patient Care campaign has prompted salary
  
  Read more

• Weapon and drug use ‘widespread’ among students on college premises

  20-06-2024 16:49 via unison.org.uk
  
  Violence, crime and substance misuse are now widespread across colleges, with students regularly carrying weapons and drugs or arriving intoxicated, according to new data released by UNISON today (Thursday).
  Seven in ten (70%) support staff said drug abuse among students is a problem in their college, a survey conducted by the union found.
  And more than a third (34%) said crime involving weapons is a concern, while almost a fifth (19%) believed gang culture is a problem at their institution.
  Thr
  
  Read more

• UNISON renews its support for domestic abuse refuges

  20-06-2024 10:54 via unison.org.uk
  
  Delegates at UNISON’s national delegate conference have unanimously passed a motion that commits the union to take action on domestic abuse service provision and ensure ‘access for all’ in refuges.The motion was supported by several emotive speeches from members who had personally experienced domestic abuse.
  Introducing the motion, Farida Gullam (pictured) from the national women’s committee said: “Every week, two women are killed by a partner or ex-partner and one
  
  Read more

• Cementing the legacy of the Year of Black Workers

  19-06-2024 17:52 via unison.org.uk
  
  Images: Marcus Rose
  Debate continued Wednesday morning at national delegate conference with a group of motions concerning Black members.
  The motions came on the same morning as the High Court ruling that the government’s decision to scrap key recommendations from the independent review into the Windrush scandal was unlawful.
  The first motion, supporting Black members experiencing racism, focused on training and education as an effective way to combat racism.
  Moving the motion, Anette Heslo
  
  Read more

• Celebrating Pride, rainbow lanyards and pronouns

  19-06-2024 17:38 via unison.org.uk
  
  Munroe Bergdorf, LGBT+ activist, model, writer and broadcaster addressed UNISON’s national delegate conference on Tuesday afternoon, wishing delegates a “Happy Pride Month”. Pride is, by its definition a protest … a push back against shame, she told them.
  “It is the remembering and the learning from history.
  “As far as we’ve come … we’re now facing a highly funded, concerted and sustained conservative [campaign] to force us back into shame.
  
  Read more

• Conference hears the promise of a national care service

  19-06-2024 15:36 via unison.org.uk
  
  Images: Marcus Rose
  Just days after Labour included a pledge in its general election manifesto to build a national care service, UNISON conference debated a composite motion on the subject.
  Moving the motion this morning, Jordan Rivera of the NEC (pictured below) said: “As an NHS occupational therapist working in an elderly care ward, I see patients staying in hospital on a daily basis, because they can’t get care,” adding that, every day longer they spend in hospital, they are
  
  Read more

• ‘Our members need a Labour government’

  19-06-2024 14:57 via unison.org.uk
  
  Images: Marcus Rose
  Spirits were high at UNISON’s national delegate conference in Brighton this morning as general secretary Christina McAnea delivered an invigorating speech to delegates. It focussed on the union’s power to defeat the Tories in the upcoming general election on 4 July.
  Ms McAnea praised the union’s tenacity in the face of successive Conservative governments, which she described as “hell-bent on curbing workers’ rights.
  “Over the last 14 years
  
  Read more

• Time to put an end to the chaos and cuts

  19-06-2024 13:52 via unison.org.uk
  
  general Addressing UNISON’s annual conference in Brighton today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “Everyone has suffered over the past 14 years of Tory chaos and cuts.
  “The UK’s had a revolving door of clueless prime ministers and Cabinet members who’ve made political choices that exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis and allowed living standards to plummet.
  “Social care is beyond broken. Its shortcomings are having an appalling
  
  Read more

• Campaign this weekend for the New Deal for Working People

  19-06-2024 13:35 via unison.org.uk
  
  UNISON members will be joining other trade unionists across the country this weekend, taking to the streets to campaign for Labour’s New Deal for Working People, a key offer of the party’s general election manifesto.
  The New Deal is a comprehensive plan to improve the lives of working people by strengthening individual and collective rights – benefitting public service workers across the UK.
  It is the culmination of years of joint work between the party and its affiliated
  
  Read more

• Delegates pledge to challenge exploitation of migrant workers

  19-06-2024 11:46 via unison.org.uk
  
  On the first day of UNISON’s national delegate conference, delegates debated the need to challenge the exploitation of migrant workers, particularly in social care.
  Paramedic Glen Carrington, from the NEC, said that, as an immigrant himself, being seen as ‘inferior’ was deeply unpleasant.
  Mr Carrington described how, earlier this year, he was called to a care home a number of times and each time, saw a nurse, “dead on her feet”. The third time, he asked if she hadn&
  
  Read more

• High Court rules government’s Windrush failings are unlawful

  19-06-2024 11:30 via unison.org.uk
  
  The government’s decision to scrap key recommendations from the independent review into the Windrush scandal was unlawful, the High Court has ruled today (Wednesday), says UNISON.
  The court found Suella Braverman was “not justified” in breaking promises to create a migrants’ commissioner and boost the powers of the chief inspector for borders and immigration.
  Both recommendations had come out of the Windrush Learned Lessons Review – overseen by Wendy Williams.&
  
  Read more

• President opens union’s national conference in Brighton

  18-06-2024 16:36 via unison.org.uk
  
  Image: Steve Forrest/Workers’ photos
  UNISON’s national delegate conference opened today in Brighton with a speech from UNISON president Libby Nolan.
  After speaking of her personal experience over decades in the union movement she turned to contemporary issues: “We know that the problems in this country come from billionaires in yachts, not leaky dinghies.
  “We say loud and clear, refugees and asylum seekers are always welcome here – solidarity to everyone in thi
  
  Read more

• Local government education wins and woes

  18-06-2024 16:24 via unison.org.uk
  
  Image: Steve Forrest/Workers’ photos
  Focus turned to education on Monday afternoon at local government conference with a series of motions on further education, the crisis in schools, and the school support staff negotiating body (SSSNB).
  Mike Short national secretary for local government and education opened the session with a speech outlining the achievements over the last year and the challenges they will face in the years to come.
  Moving a motion on further education (FE) pay Carl Grea
  
  Read more

• The energy sector at a ‘pivotal moment’

  18-06-2024 16:05 via unison.org.uk
  
                                                                                                         Image: Steve Forrest
  Delegates at UNISON’s energy conference met in Brighton on Monday to discuss the issues and challenges affecti
  
  Read more

• LG conference: Finance, funding and cuts

  18-06-2024 10:09 via unison.org.uk
  
  Image: Steve Forrest/Workers’ photos
  On Monday morning, local government (LG) conference in Brighton turned its attention to the perilous state of council finances, funding and cuts.
  The context for the debates which followed was set by Paul Bell, UNISON national officer, who moved sections of the LG annual report dealing with finance and service delivery.
  “This past year has presented us with the toughest financial challenges local government has faced since austerity began in 2010,
  
  Read more

• Sexual harassment and sexism rife in schools

  18-06-2024 07:00 via unison.org.uk
  
  Sexual harassment is widespread in schools with staff the target of physical advances, inappropriate comments and lewd remarks, according to findings published by UNISON today (Tuesday).
  A survey conducted in collaboration with UK Feminista*, and published on the opening day of the union’s annual conference, shows one in ten (10%) female support staff in secondary schools say they’ve been sexually harassed, mainly by male pupils but also by their male colleagues.
  Among staff in
  
  Read more

Follow @LibraryUknws on Twitter!