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 […]
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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 […]
The Swindon local elections on 3 May 2018 will be crucial to the future of residents and UNISON members. Labour group leader Jim Grant writes for UNISON Labour Link Labour only need to win four seats in order to become the majority party on the Council. We have done unprecedented levels of work so far […]
The Gloucestershire SubCo transfer date for around 700 NHS staff was confirmed as 1 April 2018 at a meeting of the Trust board last night. Commenting on the Board’s decision, UNISON organiser Michael Sweetman said: “Rushing the decision through on such short notice shows the Trust bosses are panicking. Staff were given just a […]
Unison, Unite the Union and the Royal College of Nursing are appalled that the Board of Gloucestershire Hospitals has chosen to proceed with its plan to transfer 750 of its lowest-paid staff outside the NHS. In doing so the Board of the Trust has ignored the views of the 900 staff who signed the petition […]
The Dorset councils merger will go ahead after the secretary of state for local government today authorised the change. Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch will form one authority covering the more built-up areas of the county. Dorset county council and the rest of the districts will merge into another. The Dorset councils merger will take place […]
Somerset County Council has overshot its budget for children’s services by more than any other council in the country, new figures have revealed. The £14.6 million overspend is £3.5 million more than the next-worst council, Sheffield. Despite the overspend, Somerset children’s services were still rated as “Requires Improvement” by Ofsted in January this year. Many […]
Two of Somerset’s campaigners for good services for people with learning disabilities won UNISON Get Active awards. Paul Kitto is UNISON LD convenor and works for Dimensions, the company the Learning Disability Service was outsourced to. He has led the Care not Cost campaign against cuts to services in the county. Paul won the “Eric […]
Trade unions will this Wednesday hold a rally to stop the Gloucestershire subco plan to transfer 750 NHS staff into a separate company. Sign up to attend the rally on Facebook Health campaigners will assemble outside a meeting of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS trust governors who are set to discuss the proposals at their meeting that […]
