What UNISON Has Done For Us

What Unison Has Done for us
Light hearted sketch exploring how trade unions have shaped our work place.

With more than 1.3 million members working across the public services, being part of UNISON means you have the full weight of the UK's leading trade union behind you.

UNISON's membership is two-thirds women - so we make sure their voices are heard throughout the union. At every level of the union, women are elected in fair proportion to their membership. UNISON makes sure everyone has a say in how the union is run, from branch member to general secretary. Our unique structure ensures top-quality help and advice is available at the local, regional and national level. UNISON is not only the country's biggest public services trade union, it's one of the fastest growing too. Last year UNISON recruited 155,000 new members, a staggering 425 a day. This is another step along the road to building an organising union of two million members.
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Fergie Backs Public Services

Two high profile figures from the worlds of sport and entertainment have joined UNISON's Million Voices for Public Services campaign.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a straightforward message when adding his backing to the campaign.

"Everyone gets nostalgic when they think of their school dinnerladies or the lollipop ladies that made sure they got safely to school," said football's longest serving and most successful manager.

"We have to make sure that the next generation of children, and the one after that and the one after that, don’t miss having those wonderful people around to help look after them."

Film director Ken Loach also gave his backing to the campaign, saying: "I am pleased to support UNISON's campaign for Public Services.

"It is intolerable that services that were largely established by Labour governments, particularly after the war, are now being privatised and dismembered."

Fighting Redundancies

Hard working men and women across the country are being made redundant due to the greed of the already rich, and a boom based on excess credit. We are witnessing a wave of redundancies across every type of council and in every region.

Care workers, teaching assistants, benefits clerks, housing workers and thousands of others who have spent years supporting local communities, are now facing an uncertain future.

Greater demands are being made on local services during the recession. More, not fewer, local government workers are needed.

Local government finances are not as bad as they are made out to be by the media or the employers. There are alternatives to the pain of losing your job - we need to make them.

Job security has become the top priority for our members - they need UNISON's support more than ever.

It's time to start fighting back!!

Training and Development

UNISON offers many ways to get new skills and learn, that can help members get better employment, personal and social opportunities for themselves and their families.

Learning agreements

The pay and conditions of employment for over 1.4 million local government services' workers is determined by the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services. The agreement includes provision for learning and training needs. Details are in the NJC National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service Handbook or the Green Book

Learning reps

Union learning reps are the champions of learning in the workplace. They can help members with training and learning, and are involved with development and training strategies at work. Find out more about becoming a learning rep!