Oxford City Branch of UNISON Office

Please note on Monday 30 October the UNISON office in the Town Hall will be closed to all for one week for essential maintenance work

If you need help we will still be available at the end of the phone for you.

Don't believe the noise

"Join us in standing together for solidarity. Ignore any distractions and be a part of our mission. Let's rise up together as one.

 hashtag #TogetherWeRise."

Are your details up to Date

 

Mental wellbeing tips

We all need good mental health and well-being – it's essential to living happy and healthy lives and can help us sleep better, feel better, do the things we want to do and have more positive relationships. It can also help us deal with difficult times in the future.

Try this quick Mind Plan quiz to get personalised suggestions now, or find other tips, advice and support to help boost your mental well-being.

Click here for more info and support

Mental health issues

 We all have mental health, and life is full of ups and downs for us all.

Here you will find expert advice, practical tips, and plenty of help and support if you're stressed, anxious, low or struggling to sleep – or get Your Mind Plan and discover what works for you.

Click here for more information and support 

Dealing with loneliness

Loneliness can affect us all, at any time of our lives. We might live in a busy city or a rural location, on our own or with others and still feel isolated.

Understanding our own reasons for feeling lonely and how to manage it can make a big difference to our mental well-being. And although it can be difficult to talk about, sharing our feelings of loneliness can encourage others to talk too.

To find out about possible signs of loneliness, reasons we feel lonely and ways to manage it, click here  There are also links to more support if you or someone else needs it.

Public services belong in public ownership.

 UNISON believes that public services belong in public ownership. 

Over the years UNISON members have seen first-hand the negative impact of outsourcing on service quality, staff terms and conditions and investment in vital amenities.

We deserve better.

Just to remind you that the National Executive Council (NEC) elections are now in full swing, and your vote in it is crucial. As a UNISON member, you have the power to help shape the future of our union by electing the right leaders to represent you.

 
If you haven't received your ballot paper yet, our helpline is now open, and our team is on hand to help you get your ballot paper as soon as possible. Call us on 0800 0 857 857 from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

When pay rises by less than our bills, we’re all getting poorer.

When pay rises by less than our bills, we’re all getting poorer. 

But rising prices don’t have to push people into poverty. It’s the government's choice. 

To end the pay crisis we need pay rises. 

Together we rise because together we can win. Join our fight.

Update from 2023 AGM

 

Following our AGM the updated list of stewards and officers for 2023/24 can be found by clicking the link on the right-hand side.

If you have any questions please do email us at office@oxfordcityunison.com

The Oxford Living Wage increases to £11.35 per hour

 

The Oxford Living Wage increases to £11.35 per hour!! 

This is great news for the employees of the 100+ Living Wage employers in the city.

www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20027/welfare_reform/1011/the_oxford_living_wage

AI could replace equivalent of 300 million jobs

 Artificial intelligence (AI) could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs, a report by investment bank Goldman Sachs says.

It could replace a quarter of work tasks in the US and Europe but may also mean new jobs and a productivity boom.

And it could eventually increase the total annual value of goods and services produced globally by 7%.

Generative AI, able to create content indistinguishable from human work, is "a major advancement", the report says.

For the full story go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65102150

When we Stand united this is what happens

 

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Ramadan 2023

It’s important that UNISON’s Muslim members feel supported in the workplace and employers ensure and understand their needs at this spiritual and cherished time

The holy Muslim month of Ramadan is due to begin on Wednesday 22 March, with the first fast from sunrise to sunset on Thursday 23 March. 

Eid-al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, is expected to fall on Saturday 22 April. 

During this important holy period for Muslims, UNISON reminds both workers and employers that it is within the Equality Act 2010 for all employers to ensure flexible working and provide reasonable adjustments for workers wishing to observe Ramadan, which includes fasting, prayers, charity and reflecting on the Quran.

During Ramadan, Muslims spend a period of 30 days abstaining from food and drink, including water, during daylight hours, as a means of celebrating and reflecting on their faith. 

Iftar, the meal that breaks the fast when the sun has set, is often shared with family and the local community. Traditionally, the fast is broken with a date (pictured above).

If you need any help or support during Ramadan please talk to your local steward or email office@oxfordcityunison.com we are here to support and help we're we can.

 

Why the country can afford your pay rise

 

As UNISON members prepare for a fifth day of strikes in England on 8 March – with thousands more health workers preparing to join the action – the government stubbornly refuses to engage in talks with all the health unions or to consider improving its miserly pay award.

And all the while, Rishi Sunak and his ministers peddle the same lies and misinformation, to distract from their simple failure to do the right thing. UNISON policy officer Guy Collis applies a scalpel to some of their worst fictions.

Myth: Increasing NHS pay will fuel inflation

Fact: Economic organizations such as the International Monetary Fund have found little evidence that raising pay will lead to the “wage price spiral” that conservative commentators fear. The real crisis is in pay and living standards, which not only directly affects health workers but, by reducing workers’ purchasing power, also damages local economies and the UK’s wider growth prospects.

Myth: The government does not have the money for bigger pay rises

Fact: Figures show that the government recorded a budget surplus of more than £5bn in the month of January 2023. In addition, government borrowing is currently £30bn less than predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility. So the money is there; it just needs government to make health workers its priority.

Myth: All parts of the economy are having to accept cutbacks in the current crisis

Fact: Recent weeks have seen huge profits reported by banks and energy and oil companies. For example, British Gas owner Centrica reported record profits of £3.3bn, while BP and Shell combined to make an eye-watering £55bn in the past year. So while some firms are making money from the spike in energy costs, NHS staff and other workers are left to pay the price. In addition, bankers’ bonuses are once again set to run into billions, regardless of performance.

Myth: No government could afford to increase pay for NHS staff  

Fact: Rishi Sunak does not need to look far for a different approach to disputes over NHS pay. Governments in Wales and Scotland have shown that there is an alternative to the intransigence of the Westminster government. In both nations more money has been found for health staff as a way of attempting to bring disputes to an end.

Myth: The Pay Review Body decides what staff should be paid, so the government’s hands are tied

Fact: As it always does, the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) made a recommendation to the government for an NHS pay award for 2022/23. Ministers can and have responded differently, in different years, to the PRB, on issues such as whether to implement recommendations in full or in part, or whether to delay or stage recommended pay awards. For example, in 2008-10 and again in 2018-2020 the government settled NHS pay outside of the PRB process.

Governments have also previously chosen to top up PRB recommendations when necessary. So, NHS pay remains the responsibility of the government, however much it might seek to hide behind the pay review body process.

Myth: Health staff have already received a generous pay rise for 2022/23

Fact: At the start of 2022 UNISON and the other health unions asked ministers to short-cut the lengthy PRB process and make a swift inflation-proof pay rise to all NHS staff, to be implemented from April that year. Instead, the government waited until late July to announce the award of £1,400 that the PRB had recommended in May – and health workers did not receive the increase until September. Not only had the government failed to match the unions’ pay claim, but what was offered at this late date was quickly swallowed up by rocketing energy bills.

Myth: The government has started meaningful pay talks with the trade unions

Fact: Health workers in five unions, including UNISON, are involved in industrial action over NHS pay. But last week it emerged that the government had invited the RCN for pay talks, but not the other unions. Choosing to speak to just one of the unions will not be sufficient to stop the strikes taking place and such divisive action risks making a bad situation even worse.

Myth: The unions are responsible for escalating the NHS pay dispute

Fact: Rather than entering early talks with the unions or engaging with all trade unions in the current dispute, the government has embarked on draconian new anti-strike legislation which it is seeking to rush through Parliament with minimal scrutiny. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill has been attacked by politicians from across the political spectrum, with the government’s own impact assessment admitting that it could make disruption worse by forcing staff to opt for other forms of industrial action, such as overtime bans. Regrettably, the government continues to favour provocation over negotiation.

Myth: The public does not support health staff taking action to improve their pay

Fact: Opinion polls continue to show resounding levels of support for striking health workers. This is in stark contrast to public attitudes to the government’s handling of the NHS: a recent report suggests that just 8% of people in England think the UK government has the right policies for the NHS.

Myth: NHS staff have been protected from the worst of austerity in the past decade

Fact: Recent analysis from the TUC shows that hundreds of thousands of NHS workers have lost at least “a year’s worth of salary” because their pay has not kept pace with inflation since 2010. In addition to deteriorating living standards, health workers have worked through the worst pandemic for a century, and the most recent NHS staff survey found that nearly half the workforce had felt unwell as a result of work-related stress at some point in the past year.

Little surprise, then, that the NHS in England is currently struggling with unprecedented staff vacancies of 133,000.

Please Note Oxford City are note part of national pay negations at this time and have a local pay agreement in place  

I Have a Question for the 2023 AGM

Do you have a burning question that needs to be answered at the AGM?  If so please click HERE. 

If you would simply like to ask the branch committee a question then please indicate this and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

Motion Request for 2023 AGM

Do you want the AGM to consider a motion?  E.g. This AGM asks that this year the UNISON branch committee pursues………  Please click HERE

If your motion is relevant you will be asked to move the motion at the AGM.  

Oxford City Branch of UNISON AGM

We are inviting all Oxford City Branch members to attend our AGM, which will be held on Friday, March 24^th from 3 p.m. in the Assembly Room at Oxford Town Hall.  It promises to be an interesting meeting as we have invited the leader of the Council, Councillor Susan Brown, Deputy Leader Councillor Ed Turner and Anneliese Dodds MP to speak. 

   
Following the formal business of the Branch, our colleagues who are UNITE members will join the meeting after we conclude our normal business.   

It will be a great opportunity to show a united front to the powers that be.  It will also give a powerful message to our employer we work together on matters concerning all of us, such as the pay and grading review. 

This is your opportunity to ask any burning questions you might have in relation to the direction of where the Council is heading and to let them know what it's like to currently work here.  

 

We are also laying on a raffle for which you have to be in attendance to qualify for entry.  

There is no opportunity to view the AGM online.  

As well as raffle prizes, there will be a light buffet with refreshments to give us all a chance to mingle and get to know each other again.  

I strongly urge that you attend by registering your attendance via the link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oxford-city-unison-agm-tickets-547666574467 so you can be entered into the free raffle.
 

After two years of Covid restrictions and changes to the way we work, the meeting will give you an excellent opportunity to meet up with colleagues from all services and hopefully listen to interesting presentations. 

 

As a Branch, we are addressing serious issues that affect us all in these difficult challenging times remember you are the Union.  Please attend we won't get anywhere without you!!.

Is it time you joined UNISON

 

March and Rally in solidarity with local striking workers

 

Would you like to take on an official role as a UNISON steward in 2023?

 

Whatever your problem at work, from broken heating to a departmental restructures, UNISON stewards and other activists work together to protect the interest of you and all its members.

Our stewards are vital to this branch, and UNISON will provide you with all the training you need. You have the right to paid time off for this training, and crèches are usually available. UNISON stewards receive complete support from the union, and there is even a dedicated online space called the Organising Space.

If you would like more information, you can email us at office@oxfordcityunison.com or check out the UNISON web site

If you would like to stand simply, complete this form and we will be in touch

Closing date is 01 March 2023

  

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas 

You deserve it.

As we move into the Town Hall on Monday

 Dear all,

 

On Monday5^thDec,themove to the Town Hallfrom SACtakes place, some of you mayand will haveconcerns, as per normal, UNISON are here to helpand support you overcome any issues you may have. TheUNISON office will be open from 09:00 till 15:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday for you to walk in and talk to anofficer/steward to share those concerns and hopefully find a way to through.

 

If you don’t want to just walk in please email office@oxfordcityunison.comto make an appointment

 

We arealways availableto help and supportwhen needed, we can’t fix every problem but we will have a good go, and sometimes it helps just to talk, don’t struggle in silence, change is always hard.