Renowned poet Tony Walsh was commissioned by APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) to create a very special poem to thank you, the unsung heroes in Local Government who worked on the frontline and behind the scenes to support our communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can click HERE to listen to the poem.
UNISON has successfully reached an agreement with the
Council following several negotiation meetings with Branch Secretaries, on a
new collective agreement which will come into effect from 1st April 2021.
The current three-year local pay collective agreement is due
to finish next year, at the end of March 2021. In the midst of this, members
have worked hard and tirelessly throughout one of the most difficult periods in
living memory. We felt that this could not go unrecognised.
It has never been a more important time to be a member of
UNISON.
The significant challenges that COVID-19 has placed on all of us also presents a challenge on the medium-term financial plans of both Oxford City Council and ODS.
In spite of this, Oxford City Branch of UNISON on behalf of its members, have negotiated a one-year agreement following a meeting with the Council and ODS on 25 November 2020.
This one-year pay deal is effective from 1 April 2021 and
will give members:
● A one-off
consolidated ‘Recognition’ payment of £400.00 to all staff on permanent or
fixed-term contracts of not less than six months at 1 April 2021;
● Which will
be paid on 1 April 2021;
● With no
conditions attached to the payment.
A number of areas were also touched upon by UNISON during
these negotiations, such as:
● Organisational
change/ re-deployment;
● Flexible
working – including the homeworking allowance;
● And
grading arrangements for senior roles.
This modest offer precedes ongoing and future negotiations
on a more comprehensive pay deal for 2022 – 2023 that UNISON will have with the
Council and ODS on your behalf.
UNISON’s strength is through its members.
We welcome and encourage others to join a growing family of
more than 1.4 million people across the UK.
On behalf of UNISON Branch Committee
The UNISON South East region is committed to increasing participation in all of its decision making structures. We want all areas of our membership to be fully represented and have their voices heard on the issues that matter to them. In response to a regional policy agreed at this year's AGM, we are consulting with all branches and Self Organised Groups and reviewing our structures and ways of working.
We have developed a questionnaire which allows you to feedback on what the barriers to participation are, and give suggestions to how we may be able to do things differently to make it easier for you and others to get more involved. Please take the time to complete this survey and help us shape the outcome of this review. The findings of the survey will be considered by the working group and will result in recommendations to the Regional Council AGM in 2022.
Here’s the link for the questionnaire, it should take less than 5 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is open for one month, until 6 January 2021.
REMINDER
In accordance with national guidance, I am pleased to inform you that the Regional Disabled Members AGM will be taking place this year virtually.
In order to accommodate this and ensure that members in the South East have the opportunity to participate fairly and democratically, we have made some slight changes to the normal processes and timescales.
Everything you need to know, including details on registering to attend, nominating members for election, and submitting motions for debate, can be found HERE
Holding our meeting online means that this could potentially be the biggest Disabled Members AGM we've ever held in the region. I very much hope to see a great turnout for this first meeting of it's type on 9 December.
Our Branch has nominated Roger McKenzie for UNISON General Secretary, Roger has plans to bring our union closer to members and Branches like ours.
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Roger would like to personally thank the branch for nominating him Your Branch
Committee has nominated Roger McKenzie to be the next General Secretary for our Union. We believe Roger will bring about the changes we need to be able to represent you better. Roger is committed, is a real supporter of our branch he cares. Roger knows we need better resources, more funding to be better organised. |
Ballot papers will
land on doorsteps this week, don’t ignore, use your vote we want to show that
Oxford has a big Turnout! www.roger4gs.co.uk/support.
In accordance with national guidance, I am pleased to inform you that the Regional LGBT+ AGM will be taking place this year virtually.
In order to accommodate this and ensure that members in the South East have the opportunity to participate fairly and democratically, we have made some slight changes to the normal processes and timescales.
Everything you need to know, including details on registering to attend, nominating members for election, and submitting motions for debate, can be found below.
Holding this meeting online means that this could potentially be the biggest LGBT+ AGM we've ever held in the region. We very much hope to see a great turnout for this first meeting of its type on 5 December.
The following have been confirmed as candidates in the election to choose a new general secretary for UNISON.
The ballot opens on 28 October so please look out for your ballot paper, which will be sent by post to your home address.
The ballot is being run on our behalf by an independent organisation called Civica Election Services (CES).
Make sure you post your completed ballot in plenty of time to CES by 5pm on November 27. It will be freepost, so don’t worry about a stamp.
Your election pack will include the ballot paper and the pre-paid return envelope. There will also be information about the candidates who are standing to be general secretary.
If anything is missing from your election pack, or you lose your ballot paper please call our ballot helpline free on 0800 0 857 857 or on textphone 0800 0 967 968. The helpline opens on 10 November and closes on 20 November.
More info and a Q&A can be found HERE
Recently UNISON had another major victory in the courts. This time it was for homecare workers and concerned how they were paid – or not – for the time it took to travel between visits.
Following the recent announcements from the government – we’d like to reassure you that it’s very much business as usual here.
During these unsettling times, we wanted to let you know that we are open as normal. Our opening hours and the ways in which you can contact us are still the same, so you can rest assured that we're on hand to provide the same great service that you expect from us!
Like everyone, we’ve found ourselves in a very strange situation over the last six months. But be rest assured we are still fighting for you.
Like many other organisations, UNISON has had to cancel many of its conferences and meetings as a result of COVID-19.
But the UK’s biggest union has democracy at its heart and still wants its members to be involved.
With this in mind, UNISON’s disabled and LGBT+ members have organised a series of virtual events in place of their usual conferences – online and live.
We will be holding the following events:
Disability Live! – 19 to 24 October.
LGBT+ Live! – 13 to 15 November.
There will be a variety of online sessions that members can participate in during the events.
These events are only open to UNISON members. To attend Disability Live! you must be a disabled member of UNISON. And to attend LGBT+ Live! you must be an LGBT+ member of UNISON. This is in line with UNISON’s commitment to self-organisation for under-represented groups.
In order to make Disability Live! as accessible as possible, please let us know if there are any adjustments you will need to allow you to take part in a virtual event.
To register your interest in attending either event, please email conferences@unison.co.uk as follows:
Subject heading – the event you would like to attend (if both, please send separate emails)
In your email – please provide:
The registration deadlines are:
Disability Live! – Thursday 8 October at 5pm
LGBT+ Live! – Thursday 5 November at 5pm
Once you’ve been registered for an event, you will be sent an email giving details of the virtual sessions you can attend, so you can register for these individually. You can attend as many or as few as you like.
So get active! Email conferences@unison.co.uk today to register to attend.
It is critical that everybody observes the following key behaviours:
We'll UNISON will be running a series of webinars over the next few months to support members with job applications, interview skills and confidence building.
Find out more and book your place Click Here
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Make sure your workplace is COVID-19 Secure.
Click HERE for the latest guidance on how to stay safe at work
Want to contribute to research in Oxford, and understand if you are currently infected with coronavirus?
If you have experienced symptoms of coronavirus within the past seven days then you are eligible to take part in a new research study.
Click HERE for more info
We are pleased to announce a new 'Time for Change' webinar series aimed at supporting members in the uncertain times ahead.
There are eight webinars in the series and each one will be focusing on key skills that could help our members through Covid-19 and beyond. As a union, UNISON are committed to helping our members in the workplace and will be fighting for job security and better working conditions in all workplaces.
Best wishes
Abbey Dunn
Regional Learning and Development Organiser | UNISON South East
If you’ve had coronavirus, you may still be experiencing some symptoms. Find out how the new Your Covid Recovery website can help click HERE for help and advise from the NHS.
Today Oxford City Branch of UNISON has started rolling our face masks to our members who are having to go out every day delivering essential key services.
Made from a polyester spandex stretch material our tests have found that their flexibility is helping our members stay safe when delivering their key services.
If you would like one please talk to your local steward or email office@oxfordcityunison.com
Your see our stewards have been testing out there flexibility
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