Category: covid inquiry

NEC plans for the coming year

UNISON’s national executive council (NEC) met yesterday, for the first time this year, to discuss a substantial agenda, including the motions the council will be taking to national delegate conference in June.

In her report opening the meeting, general secretary Christina McAnea applauded the achievements of 2023’s Year of Black Workers – not least in building a legacy for going forward.

She noted that this year is the union’s Year of LGBT+ Workers, adding that she would be encouraging all branches and regions to ensure they supported and made a success of it.

Ms McAnea reported on “a very cold 24 hours in Belfast”, as health, social care and education members took industrial action, which “helped to finally force the return of politicians to Stormont”.

She reported that, with the Northern Ireland Assembly once again sitting, “catch-up health pay negotiations for 2023 can start”. Elsewhere, preparations for the 2024-25 pay claims across the UK are “well under way”, she said.

With so many councils facing financial crisis, the general secretary observed that UNISON, as the biggest union in local government, had been warning for years of the risks of councils going bankrupt because of underfunding from central government.

She applauded the UNISON turnout at the recent Cheltenham demonstration to defend the right to strike. It had been “a good, upbeat event” and the union is continuing to work with the TUC on what would happen if employers attempt to use the anti-strike minimum service legislation.

Ms McAnea also told the meeting that the union is continuing to press ahead with whatever it could do regarding the ongoing situation in Gaza.

A ‘fantastically political’ conference

The meeting also received a report from UNISON president Libby Nolan, who reiterated the importance of humanitarian aid for Palestinians and Israelis affected by the war in Gaza, and stressed what a vital issue it is for UNISON.

Ms Nolan celebrated January’s “fantastically political” Black members’ conference and also highlighted the importance of the Year of LGBT+ Workers.

In discussions, the meeting highlighted the scale of cuts at councils, with one NEC member saying, “It could be the end of local government as we know it.”

The council received a report into the union’s organising to win strategy, which explained that, by the end of last year, recruitment rates were in “net growth”. The highest such growth was in schools, particularly in school branches in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There had also been an increase in new activists.

In an industrial action update, the council heard that there is “lots of action going on” at present, with recruitment and retention both up as a result.

The council also approved a report on the union’s finances and heard a further report on the union’s work on the COVID Inquiry, to ensure that those who were working on the front line during the pandemic have their stories put on record, that the lessons are learned and the right people are held responsible for the lives lost.

The article NEC plans for the coming year first appeared on the UNISON National site.

NEC plans for the coming year

UNISON’s national executive council (NEC) met yesterday, for the first time this year, to discuss a substantial agenda, including the motions the council will be taking to national delegate conference in June.

In her report opening the meeting, general secretary Christina McAnea applauded the achievements of 2023’s Year of Black Workers – not least in building a legacy for going forward.

She noted that this year is the union’s Year of LGBT+ Workers, adding that she would be encouraging all branches and regions to ensure they supported and made a success of it.

Ms McAnea reported on “a very cold 24 hours in Belfast”, as health, social care and education members took industrial action, which “helped to finally force the return of politicians to Stormont”.

She reported that, with the Northern Ireland Assembly once again sitting, “catch-up health pay negotiations for 2023 can start”. Elsewhere, preparations for the 2024-25 pay claims across the UK are “well under way”, she said.

With so many councils facing financial crisis, the general secretary observed that UNISON, as the biggest union in local government, had been warning for years of the risks of councils going bankrupt because of underfunding from central government.

She applauded the UNISON turnout at the recent Cheltenham demonstration to defend the right to strike. It had been “a good, upbeat event” and the union is continuing to work with the TUC on what would happen if employers attempt to use the anti-strike minimum service legislation.

Ms McAnea also told the meeting that the union is continuing to press ahead with whatever it could do regarding the ongoing situation in Gaza.

A ‘fantastically political’ conference

The meeting also received a report from UNISON president Libby Nolan, who reiterated the importance of humanitarian aid for Palestinians and Israelis affected by the war in Gaza, and stressed what a vital issue it is for UNISON.

Ms Nolan celebrated January’s “fantastically political” Black members’ conference and also highlighted the importance of the Year of LGBT+ Workers.

In discussions, the meeting highlighted the scale of cuts at councils, with one NEC member saying, “It could be the end of local government as we know it.”

The council received a report into the union’s organising to win strategy, which explained that, by the end of last year, recruitment rates were in “net growth”. The highest such growth was in schools, particularly in school branches in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There had also been an increase in new activists.

In an industrial action update, the council heard that there is “lots of action going on” at present, with recruitment and retention both up as a result.

The council also approved a report on the union’s finances and heard a further report on the union’s work on the COVID Inquiry, to ensure that those who were working on the front line during the pandemic have their stories put on record, that the lessons are learned and the right people are held responsible for the lives lost.

The article NEC plans for the coming year first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Boosting sick pay during the pandemic would have helped prevent virus spread

Commenting on evidence from former health and care secretary Matt Hancock to the Covid inquiry about sick pay rates during the pandemic, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: 

“It’s a shame Matt Hancock wasn’t as enthusiastic about boosting sick pay when he was in government. 

“Pitifully low rates meant care staff went into work when they had Covid, simply because they couldn’t afford to stop home and isolate. Increasing sick pay would undoubtedly have helped prevent virus spread.

“Matt Hancock claimed the infection control fund would ensure no care worker lost out financially if they had to call in sick. But his scheme was a spectacular failure, and everyone kept telling him as much.

“Nowhere near enough of the money ever reached the frontline. Care staff either lost wages or continued working with the virus, with disastrous consequences.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contact:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk  

The article Boosting sick pay during the pandemic would have helped prevent virus spread first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Boosting sick pay during the pandemic would have helped prevent virus spread

Commenting on evidence from former health and care secretary Matt Hancock to the Covid inquiry about sick pay rates during the pandemic, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: 

“It’s a shame Matt Hancock wasn’t as enthusiastic about boosting sick pay when he was in government. 

“Pitifully low rates meant care staff went into work when they had Covid, simply because they couldn’t afford to stop home and isolate. Increasing sick pay would undoubtedly have helped prevent virus spread.

“Matt Hancock claimed the infection control fund would ensure no care worker lost out financially if they had to call in sick. But his scheme was a spectacular failure, and everyone kept telling him as much.

“Nowhere near enough of the money ever reached the frontline. Care staff either lost wages or continued working with the virus, with disastrous consequences.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contact:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk  

The article Boosting sick pay during the pandemic would have helped prevent virus spread first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Your experiences are vital to the COVID Inquiry

It’s been grim watching so far, but today will get much grimmer as the Cummings circus arrives at the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.

We’re expecting more explosive talk, axe-grinding and score-settling. A lot of noise that risks drowning out the most important parts of the inquiry – the experiences of those who suffered.

In the UK, millions fell sick with COVID, and over 230,000 died with it, leaving millions more grieving relatives and friends. We all lost days without our loved ones beside us, when lockdowns separated us.

And the people who went to work every day to look after COVID patients, to protect others from catching it, to keep hospitals, care homes, councils, prisons, transport, and schools running, risked their own lives to protect others.

Recounting and recalling the hundreds of days of the pandemic is difficult. But without your experiences, the government and civil service won’t learn from the mistakes of the past.

Ever since the start of the pandemic, I’ve heard heart-breaking stories from our members. Care workers were calling us, desperate for PPE and terrified to go to work.

Healthcare assistants told me they worked well beyond what was expected of them to help mortuary staff, and an exhausted and overwhelmed public service workforce has been left deeply betrayed by the people in Number 10 who flouted the rules.

UNISON’s COVID Inquiry team remains focused on amplifying your voices throughout the inquiry. And our head of health, Sara Gorton, is preparing a written statement on behalf of UNISON, and will be our expert witness when the inquiry takes oral statements.

We’re putting this effort into the inquiry, because UNISON’s collective experience is the most valuable insight into how the pandemic ravaged through the UK.

But we need your help too. Please take the time to share your experience – you can do this directly, through the UK’s COVID-19 Inquiry website here.

The article Blog: Your experiences are vital to the COVID Inquiry first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Your experiences are vital to the COVID Inquiry

It’s been grim watching so far, but today will get much grimmer as the Cummings circus arrives at the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.

We’re expecting more explosive talk, axe-grinding and score-settling. A lot of noise that risks drowning out the most important parts of the inquiry – the experiences of those who suffered.

In the UK, millions fell sick with COVID, and over 230,000 died with it, leaving millions more grieving relatives and friends. We all lost days without our loved ones beside us, when lockdowns separated us.

And the people who went to work every day to look after COVID patients, to protect others from catching it, to keep hospitals, care homes, councils, prisons, transport, and schools running, risked their own lives to protect others.

Recounting and recalling the hundreds of days of the pandemic is difficult. But without your experiences, the government and civil service won’t learn from the mistakes of the past.

Ever since the start of the pandemic, I’ve heard heart-breaking stories from our members. Care workers were calling us, desperate for PPE and terrified to go to work.

Healthcare assistants told me they worked well beyond what was expected of them to help mortuary staff, and an exhausted and overwhelmed public service workforce has been left deeply betrayed by the people in Number 10 who flouted the rules.

UNISON’s COVID Inquiry team remains focused on amplifying your voices throughout the inquiry. And our head of health, Sara Gorton, is preparing a written statement on behalf of UNISON, and will be our expert witness when the inquiry takes oral statements.

We’re putting this effort into the inquiry, because UNISON’s collective experience is the most valuable insight into how the pandemic ravaged through the UK.

But we need your help too. Please take the time to share your experience – you can do this directly, through the UK’s COVID-19 Inquiry website here.

The article Blog: Your experiences are vital to the COVID Inquiry first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON leads the debate at TUC gathering

As the UK’s largest union, UNISON played a big role in the TUC’s annual gathering of unions – the 155th TUC Congress in Liverpool.

General secretary Christina McAnea moved the composite motion on public services, attacking the Tories for years of austerity that have left public services reeling.

UNISON President Libby Nolan (pictured above) kicked off the debate on the COVID-19 inquiry, highlighting the importance of the inquiry for holding politicians to account.

And, ahead of Green UNISON Week, policy chair Tony Wright moved the composite on the environment, stressing the need for urgent action to tackle the climate emergency.

The union also featured prominently in debates on housing, the Minimum Service Levels legislation and key equality motions.

The debacle over the use of RAAC and the sudden closure of schools is only the most recent example of the desperate failings of the Conservative government.

The Congress was notable for the unity of purpose across the movement in striving to rid the country of 13 years of Tory mis-rule.

The UNISON delegation did express some concern at the content of a small number of motions on the Congress agenda.

For example, on HS2 while the broad goal of boosting economies in the Midlands and the North is one that a number of UNISON regions support, the disregard for communities affected by HS2 also needs to be acknowledged.

And where steel production is concerned, UNISON members were keen to highlight that we should not support its use for the production of weapons.

Congress witnessed a number of stirring speeches, not least from deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner who promised that the party would bring in a new bill to ban zero-hours contracts and repeal anti-strike laws within 100 days of a Labour government taking office.

As Christina McAnea highlighted in response, “Creating fairer workplaces with better job security for all will make the world of difference.”

The article UNISON leads the debate at TUC gathering first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON leads the debate at TUC gathering

As the UK’s largest union, UNISON played a big role in the TUC’s annual gathering of unions – the 155th TUC Congress in Liverpool.

General secretary Christina McAnea moved the composite motion on public services, attacking the Tories for years of austerity that have left public services reeling.

UNISON President Libby Nolan (pictured above) kicked off the debate on the COVID-19 inquiry, highlighting the importance of the inquiry for holding politicians to account.

And, ahead of Green UNISON Week, policy chair Tony Wright moved the composite on the environment, stressing the need for urgent action to tackle the climate emergency.

The union also featured prominently in debates on housing, the Minimum Service Levels legislation and key equality motions.

The debacle over the use of RAAC and the sudden closure of schools is only the most recent example of the desperate failings of the Conservative government.

The Congress was notable for the unity of purpose across the movement in striving to rid the country of 13 years of Tory mis-rule.

The UNISON delegation did express some concern at the content of a small number of motions on the Congress agenda.

For example, on HS2 while the broad goal of boosting economies in the Midlands and the North is one that a number of UNISON regions support, the disregard for communities affected by HS2 also needs to be acknowledged.

And where steel production is concerned, UNISON members were keen to highlight that we should not support its use for the production of weapons.

Congress witnessed a number of stirring speeches, not least from deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner who promised that the party would bring in a new bill to ban zero-hours contracts and repeal anti-strike laws within 100 days of a Labour government taking office.

As Christina McAnea highlighted in response, “Creating fairer workplaces with better job security for all will make the world of difference.”

The article UNISON leads the debate at TUC gathering first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON takes COVID-19 inquiry call to TUC Congress

“In many ways, it took the pandemic to expose the true cost of austerity.”

So said UNISON president Libby Nolan as she moved the union’s motion on the COVID-19 public inquiry at the TUC Congress in Liverpool yesterday, saying that the most fitting memorial to all the working people who died during the pandemic would be for lessons to be learned and acted upon.

She pointed out that the hearings in the inquiry, which only started in June, had revealed that the “government has failed in their preparedness and response.”

Ms Nolan, a cardiac nurse from Swansea, described how, “as a nurse, I used bin bags to cover my uniform and a Tesco carrier bag on my head to cover my hair.

“We knew this government wasn’t ready. This lack of PPE [personal protective equipment] caused unnecessary exposure and a huge amount of fear.”

She said that many unions reps are still dealing with members whose lives have been changed by the pandemic. Masks are returning to wards as COVID-19 cases rise, planned vaccinations are to be brought forward and testing scaled up once more.

Noting that the “UK had one of the worst death rates”, Ms Nolan reminded congress that the country also featured among those with the highest COVID-19 deaths among health workers.

“Let’s always remember the dead and fight for the living,” she said, invoking the slogan for International Workers’ Memorial Day.

Congress applauded the important evidence that the TUC has submitted to the inquiry so far, “demonstrating that austerity seriously damaged the UK’s resilience”.

Delegates also agreed that the TUC should continue to:

  • raise issues of direct relevance to union members, their families and communities;
  • support trade unionists to share their experiences with affiliates, so that these can be built into TUC evidence, and direct to the inquiry through the Every Story Matters process;
  • highlight the equalities impact of the pandemic;
  • hold decision makers to account.

The article UNISON takes COVID-19 inquiry call to TUC Congress first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON takes COVID-19 inquiry call to TUC Congress

“In many ways, it took the pandemic to expose the true cost of austerity.”

So said UNISON president Libby Nolan as she moved the union’s motion on the COVID-19 public inquiry at the TUC Congress in Liverpool yesterday, saying that the most fitting memorial to all the working people who died during the pandemic would be for lessons to be learned and acted upon.

She pointed out that the hearings in the inquiry, which only started in June, had revealed that the “government has failed in their preparedness and response.”

Ms Nolan, a cardiac nurse from Swansea, described how, “as a nurse, I used bin bags to cover my uniform and a Tesco carrier bag on my head to cover my hair.

“We knew this government wasn’t ready. This lack of PPE [personal protective equipment] caused unnecessary exposure and a huge amount of fear.”

She said that many unions reps are still dealing with members whose lives have been changed by the pandemic. Masks are returning to wards as COVID-19 cases rise, planned vaccinations are to be brought forward and testing scaled up once more.

Noting that the “UK had one of the worst death rates”, Ms Nolan reminded congress that the country also featured among those with the highest COVID-19 deaths among health workers.

“Let’s always remember the dead and fight for the living,” she said, invoking the slogan for International Workers’ Memorial Day.

Congress applauded the important evidence that the TUC has submitted to the inquiry so far, “demonstrating that austerity seriously damaged the UK’s resilience”.

Delegates also agreed that the TUC should continue to:

  • raise issues of direct relevance to union members, their families and communities;
  • support trade unionists to share their experiences with affiliates, so that these can be built into TUC evidence, and direct to the inquiry through the Every Story Matters process;
  • highlight the equalities impact of the pandemic;
  • hold decision makers to account.

The article UNISON takes COVID-19 inquiry call to TUC Congress first appeared on the UNISON National site.