Library news

Police staff: More needs to be done on pay

15-10-2021 18:03

Debate on the second day of UNISON’s police and justice conference in Brighton was dominated by emergency motions calling for a fair pay award and opposing the pay freeze for police and probation staff announced by the Westminster government.
As one delegate from the East Midlands put it, clapping for public service workers “does not pay my bills. [Home secretary] Priti Patel sends a letter – a letter doesn’t pay my bills.”
But there was acknowledgement too that mor

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‘There’s a big job to be done,’ says shadow police minister

15-10-2021 17:02

“There’s a big job to be done but this must be a watershed moment”. That was a key message from Sarah Jones MP, addressing the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens when she spoke to UNISON’s police and justice conference in Brighton this morning.
Labour’s shadow police and fire service minister welcomed the news that Philip Allott, the Conservative police, fire and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire who had stated that wom

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Council and school staff deserve increased pay offer, say unions

15-10-2021 12:30

Unions representing council and school support staff have today (Friday) urged employers to return to pay talks with an improved offer as they prepare for industrial action over “inadequate” pay proposals.
Months of disruption to local government services could lie ahead, but the unions say councils have it within their gift to prevent community services being badly affected if they give workers the proper pay rise they deserve.
UNISON, Unite and GMB – between the

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Blog: Why we must all resist this wicked Trojan Horse

15-10-2021 10:08

This mammoth bill, currently being fast-tracked through committee stage in the House of Lords, is a populist, multifaceted attack on our rights. Committee stage, when done properly, is vital for basic civil liberties issues, as real bi-partisan debate can dent any overreaching clauses.
The bill has some parts that UNISON has campaigned for, like strengthening measures against harming front-line workers. But the government’s own Joint Committee on Human Rights agrees that it mainly consists

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Social care is a national problem needing a national solution

15-10-2021 03:29

Responding to Age UK’s calculation that council tax would need to leap by 10% on average next year if social care is to even “stand still”, UNISON senior national officer for social care Gavin Edwards said:
“These figures are a clear indication why social care needs immediate help from central government. Hiking council tax bills to plug the care-funding black hole is unworkable and deeply unfair.
“Not only would this deepen existing inequaliti

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