International Women’s Day – Black women perspective

Living at the intersection of racism and sexism is far from easy. We are discriminated against for being Black and for being women, and we exist in both identities at all times. When trying to understand a Black woman’s experiences, intersectionality is an important consideration. Intersectional discrimination has only recently been recognised, at least in […]

Women making a difference in UNISON

With more than a million women members, UNISON is always loud and proud for women at work. Tara Langan works in an NHS mental health trust in Sussex. Tara has recently become active within her branch as a steward and will soon be training as a Health & Safety rep. We spoke to her just […]

‘Empowering women is what this union does’

UNISON’s Empowering Women – Live! online event begins with speeches from general secretary Christina McAnea and deputy leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner As a result of COVID-19, many conferences and meetings have had to be cancelled. With this in mind, the national women’s committee has organised a series of online events in place […]

UNISON wins workplace protection for domestic abuse victims

New domestic abuse protection orders will help to prevent abusive partners coming to victims’ workplaces As the Domestic Abuse Bill moves through Parliament to become law, UNISON has won a key amendment to ensure that domestic abuse protection orders (DAPOs) will apply to the workplace. The new protection orders are set to replace domestic violence […]

Raising my voice against FGM

Raising my voice against FGM By Sandra Charles, Regional Women’s Committee member The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines female genital mutilation as: “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The age at which girls undergo FGM/C varies enormously according […]

Women make great Health and Safety Reps

Women make great Health and Safety Reps! There has been an increased interest in Health & Safety, and UNISON South East have recruited and are training 70 new Health & Safety Reps to work with employers and their local branch to make work safer for all our members. Reps in most workplaces will receive full […]

Women on the frontline feeling pressures at work and home during pandemic

New UNISON report shows the pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on women

Light at the end of a tunnel

As we look forward to brighter days where our lives are no longer dominated by COVID, we will be picking up the pieces for many years to come

Challenging racism is at the heart of what unions do

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist”  Angela Davis Saturday 20 March 2021 marks the UN anti-racism Day of Action. Regrettably the effect of the global pandemic meant that demonstrations set to take place last year had to be postponed. However, an exciting online gathering event will replace […]

More support needed for Slough Borough Council, says UNISON

Ministers need to urgently agree a package of support for Slough and all local authorities

Undoing the NHS market a necessary step, but absence of a plan for social care disappointing

Commenting on the publication yesterday (Thursday) of the health and social care white paper, UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “Scaling back the damaging internal market that forces the NHS to compete against itself and the private sector can’t happen soon enough. “Eight years ago, the then government was warned its changes wouldn’t work and would […]

Louder, better, safer, stronger in #HeartUNISON Week!

Heart Unions Week takes place every year in the second week of February. In pre-COVID times, we would have been out and about in workplaces, talking to colleagues about the many ways that UNISON can support members, and encouraging others to join. This year our celebration of trade unions has moved online, but it’s still […]

UNISON SE celebrates LGBT+ History Month

LGBT+ History Month is back again this February and we are encouraging all our members to join the celebrations. Though we are still restricted by the lockdown there are some terrific events planned and lots of resources available for branches. After a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is “more important than ever” to celebrate […]

UNISON mourns the loss of Sean Amey, Surrey Police Branch

Sean Amey was a Detention Officer and UNISON Rep in Surrey Police Branch. Sadly Sean passed away on Sunday 24 January after testing positive for Covid-19 before Christmas. He was 52. We are in deep shock over what has happened, and Sean’s loss has reverberated throughout the Branch and his local police force. Julie Marshall Branch […]

A milestone nobody wanted to reach

With over 100,00 deaths due to Covid in the UK, the emotional toll will be far-reaching and long lasting, both for the bereaved and UNISON members working through the pandemic