The Sirona strike goes ahead as more than 100 care workers walk out today after their employer refused to withdraw plans to cut their pay. Staff at care homes across B&NES could lose up to £1200 from their salaries if the plans for shift changes go ahead. Sirona bosses want workers to accept a half […]
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Care workers in Cornwall who look after people in their own homes are to be given more support to do their work. Cornwall Council has today signed Unison’s Ethical Care Charter which sets out a series of commitments to protect the rights of homecare workers and ensure dignity in care delivery through a consistent, well […]
UNISON has given a cautious welcome to today’s independent report into University of Bath governance, but warned that its recommendations do not go far enough. The review was triggered by outrage over pay inequality and efforts of those in senior positions to sideline and silence student and staff criticisms. UNISON agreed with the review’s conclusion that […]
A period of rolling strike action will hit care firm Sirona throughout June after UNISON today announced the dates care workers will walk out. More than one hundred care workers will go on strike for 24 hours on 6 June, followed by a series of shorter walkouts every other day for the rest of the […]
More than 100 care workers are set to strike against Sirona’s plan for pay cuts after UNISON’s ballot today showed overwhelming (95%) support for action. The staff, working in care homes in Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton, are opposing management plans that would mean choosing between working longer hours for the same pay or seeing […]
Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) in Cornwall will be celebrating the first national ODP Day on Monday 14 May. ODPs are Allied Health Professionals whose primary role takes place behind the closed doors of the operating department. They work as members of the anaesthesia team; surgical team or; caring for patients during the immediate post anaesthetic […]
Over one in ten staff supporting people with learning disabilities could be made redundant in a new round of cuts announced by Discovery. The company, which runs Somerset’s learning disability service, put out a 45 day consultation on an unspecified number of redundancies. UNISON, the union representing staff affected, has warned that the length of […]
How much can change in a year. After the concerns of spring 2017, delegates to regional forum were buoyed up by a better than expected general election for Labour and the Tory government still on the back foot. Read on for our full Labour Link forum 2018 report Reflecting this spirit and the upcoming local […]
Senior managers at the University of Bath have agreed to proposals from UNISON and other trade unions to reinstate a minimum hourly rate of £8.75 and to seek accreditation with the Living Wage Foundation. UNISON, the public service union representing the 300 staff affected, has welcomed the decision as an urgently needed first step towards addressing […]
Subsidiary companies costing millions of pounds have been set up by NHS Trusts across England. Using a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, UNISON has revealed that NHS trusts are shelling-out huge amounts of money on consultants. These companies are advising trusts on setting up wholly owned subsidiaries, to which staff are then outsourced. UNISON says […]
Sirona staff in UNISON will vote on strike action over changes to their pay and rotas. The changes would see around 200 care workers taking a pay cut, or having to work longer to get the same income. Bosses issued notice that unless staff accept the Sirona pay cut, they will be dismissed and re-engaged […]
Seven years of austerity have seen a cut in South West Police numbers of over 15% since the Conservatives took office. There are now 2817 fewer people employed by the region’s five police forces than there were in 2010. Devon and Cornwall has been hit worst by the cut in South West police numbers, losing […]
UNISON has condemned the transfer of 675 Gloucestershire NHS staff into a new company, scheduled to go ahead this Sunday. Porters, cleaners and sterile services workers will no longer be part of the NHS once they transfer into “Gloucestershire Managed Services”. Although hospital bosses have claimed staff will keep their NHS pay and benefits, the […]
1000 NHS staff from Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust will transfer to a new limited liability partnership this Sunday. Nurses, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists at GWH received letters on 9 March confirming their employer would change to “Wiltshire Health and Care LLP”. Affected staff work in wards and in the community across Wiltshire. The new organisation […]
