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.

 

Winter warning as Environment Agency staff vote for strike

 Environment Agency staff have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay for the first time in the organisation’s 26-year history, says UNISON today (Tuesday).

In the strike vote, 2,800 Agency staff were balloted by the union across England, including river inspectors, flood forecasting officers, coastal risk management officers and sewage plant attendants.

Of those who took part, 73% voted to strike and 92% for action short of a strike.

Earlier in the year staff, who also work on the Thames Barrier, maintain coastal defences, and manage the risk of flooding from rivers, reservoirs and the sea, rejected what they see as an insulting 2% pay offer (plus a £345 one-off payment), according to their union UNISON.

Low wages over many years have forced large numbers of staff to quit the UK’s key environmental regulator. This has left the Agency struggling to fill vacancies, putting the remaining workforce under intolerable pressure, says UNISON.

Read the full story at https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2022/11/winter-warning-as-environment-agency-staff-vote-for-strike-says-unison/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=161122%20activist&utm_source=Communications&utm_content=Winter%20warning%20as%20Environment%20Agency%20staff%20vote%20to%20strike

Why we enjoy being in UNISON

 

Let's show everyone why council cuts have to stop NOW

 

The local services that you work so hard to deliver continue to face devastating funding cuts. More and more essential services, that we all rely on every day are facing serious funding challenges. Use our handy online tool to find out exactly how much funding will be cut from your local area - and get your friends and family to check too.

Visit our council cuts site

During the pandemic, councils had to spend billions to keep our communities running and protect the most vulnerable, keeping the country going and communities safe. And now we’re facing spiralling costs of living, with food and energy becoming unaffordable. More than ever local services need the funding to provide support to our local communities. That’s why, together, we’re calling on the government to give our essential services the funding boost they so desperately need.  You can ask your local MP, MSP or Senedd Member to save our services and show their support. With thousands of UNISON members like you emailing them, they will have to listen! We've provided a template letter - you just need to add your name!

What first got you involved in UNISON

 

What has your branch been doing on your behalf in these stressful times?

To all members of the Oxford City Branch of UNISON

I wanted to update you all, on what your branch is and have been doing on your behalf in these stressful times.

As you know the council has embarked on many projects, including the SIP project, People strategy, there have been a number of re-structures, the change project and all of which we have been involved with and have been acting on your behalf and representing your views when you have approached us with concerns and suggestions. We have also started receiving a number of HR policies which we are currently negotiating on.

On top of this, we now have the quick move to the Town Hall which is proving to be a difficult challenge to incorporate all that we had in SAC i.e Kitchens, showers and confidential meeting spaces and somewhere to park our bikes to name but a few issues.

We now have the cost of living crisis which we have been proactive about we have recently had an offer Of a £500 non-consolidated payment to go to all staff your branch committee has rejected this offer in favour of an improved counter payment of a consolidated of a £1000 pro-rata. We have also Formally written to Caroline Green asking to review the current pay deal based on the fact that when we agreed on the current pay deal inflation was predicted to rise to 3%, as you will be aware inflation has far exceeded this and is currently running at 10% and feel that it’s right for us to do this on your behalf, I hope you agree.

If we are to succeed we need to know that you the membership agree with this strategy. We are very aware that the Council's finances are not as healthy as they once were, and we are not under any illusion that this will be difficult. That said, we are very aware of the sacrifices that our members have made over the last twelve years of austerity, and to coin the phrase Enough is Enough! It definitely is! And this is the time we need to stick together as we can’t do this without you, and comments or suggestions will be gratefully received.

Lastly, I need to ask you to make sure your details are up-to-date and also for your permission to email you using your OCC email address or to make sure that you have submitted an email address which will allow us to stay in contact with you. If not then please periodically keep an eye on our website for further information.   

In Solidarity

Ms C Glendinning

office@oxfordcityunison.com

13-OCT-2022

Financial Wellbeing Fortnight

 

Financial Wellbeing Fortnight begins next week! We have two weeks packed with webinars and online workshops to help you manage all aspects of your financial life. Whether you're trying to get on top of debt or save for your future, get your head around your pension or find out how to make your grocery budget go further, we have something for you. And it's all free to UNISON members! 

Find out more and sign up on our website: https://learning.unison.org.uk/events/financial-wellbeing-fortnight/

End the pay crisis or we will rise

 

further cuts of £18 billion to public services.

 

This week, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed further cuts of £18 billion to public services. As cold weather sets in - and hard-working people across the country struggle to heat homes, stock kitchen cupboards and travel to work - it’s clear Kwarteng thinks oil company profits are more important than your wellbeing. Together, we’re going to change that. We’re building a movement to rise up against the cost of living crisis. And demand those in power fix it. That means pay rises for people who truly keep this country running, not cuts to public services.

I will demand an end to this pay crisis

Together, we’re calling for an end to the pay crisis. That means raising the minimum wage to £15 an hour and giving public sector workers inflation-busting pay rises. Nearly 80,000 people have already signed. Can you help us reach 100,000? Once we reach that goal, we’ll deliver the petition to Downing Street, so Kwarteng will see that you - and so many others - need and deserve a pay rise.

Because we know when people doing it tough rise up and demand what they deserve, good things happen. Like Manchester NHS workers who recently fought for and got back-pay. Or Scottish local government workers who secured an improved pay offer this September. Or in summer when a teacher got the Supreme Court to pass a judgment guaranteeing minimum paid annual leave. Be a part of this success story. Sign the petition and demand a pay rise, not cuts to public services. Yours in solidarity, UNISON

Is it to hot to work?

With temperatures soaring again and amber warnings across the country, what are the rules around working in the heat? 

Read latest advice from UNISON 👉 https://www.unison.org.uk/unison-health-and-safety/amber-and-red-heat-warnings/ including outdoor working

#heatwave #ukemplaw #rightsatwork #outdoorworking #legalrights #unions #ukheatwave #heatwaveuk #toohot #working

Hot weather working advise

 

Watch out for heat exhaustion and heatstroke

During the hot weather, it can be easy to overheat. 

While heat exhaustion is not usually serious, as long as you can cool yourself down, heatstroke is a medical emergency.

Here's what to look for and what to do.

Heatstroke or heat exhaustion?

Heat exhaustion happens when your body is becoming too hot and struggling to regulate or cope.

It can affect anyone, including fit and healthy people - especially if they are doing strenuous exercise in high temperatures or have been drinking alcohol in the sun all day. It can come on quickly, over minutes, or gradually, over hours.

The symptoms you will feel are your body's way of warning you to cool down, fast.

Check out the BBC website  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62120167  for more info and what to do if you or someone is suffering

Is there a limit on working in heat?

There's no law for maximum working temperature, or when it's too hot to work. Employers must stick to health and safety at work law, including: keeping the temperature at a comfortable level, sometimes known as thermal comfort. providing clean and fresh air.

Click below and check out the guidance from the HSE 

Is it too hot to work? Temperature in the workplace

Remember simple precautions after rise in COVID cases during June

People in Oxfordshire are being reminded to remember simple COVID precautions in response to the county, and country as a whole, currently going through another phase of rising cases.

During the last two to three weeks case numbers in the county have doubled, with a new sub-variant of Omicron thought to be one of the chief drivers of the rises being seen in Oxfordshire and elsewhere.

Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director for Public Health, said: “It’s been great for everyone to relax after the difficult last couple of years we’ve had with rules of varying kinds meaning restrictions on our lives.

“Currently there are no restrictions but there is still good, solid guidance that people are advised to observe to protect themselves and their families, particularly vulnerable and elderly people.

“The main bit of advice is to stay at home if you feel unwell – but it’s also worth reminding people of all those things that we learned during the height of the pandemic to reduce the risk of COVID spreading.

“This includes ventilating indoor spaces and washing your hands. During periods of good weather being outdoors rather than indoors also helps reduce risks.

“We expect to see fluctuations in cases and it remains the case we need to learn to live with COVID, but we need to strike a sensible balance and I would ask people to take precautions while cases are on the rise. Let’s enjoy the summer and our regained freedoms but keep in mind that COVID-19 hasn’t gone away and we all need to play our part to live safely.”

How UNISON can help

UNISON’s member welfare charity, There for You, has a wide array of support services that can help members cope with the cost of living crisis.

UNISON is unique in the trade union movement in that it has its own member welfare charity, There for You, which provides a wide array of support services. Here are some that could be valuable right now.

UNISON Help with energy costs guide

This information guide contains details of organisations and schemes that can provide support and assistance, along with charities – including There for You – that may be able to give financial help towards heating bills, useful contacts and money-saving tips.

UNISON Debt Line

UNISON’s debt line, run by PayPlan, can help you deal with debt, from credit cards to mortgage arrears. It offers free, confidential advice with no hidden charges and a personal case officer to advise, with the aim to create a manageable debt plan to suit your circumstances.

Contact the UNISON debt line on Freephone: 0800 389 3302

Other financial assistance

Grants to address specific needs for members who are facing unexpected hardships can be considered.  Perhaps there’s been a recent change in your financial circumstances and help is needed, for example, with living costs, essential household bills, replacing a broken appliance or funding disability aids.

Temperature at work to hot?

As the  sun comes out and the air temperature rises the perennial issue of workplace  temperatures is a common questions asked of UNISON health and safety reps.

Here HOT off the press is our revised quick guide on Temperature at Work for H&S reps. http://ow.ly/EAij50JA95B

South East Equality Conference

You are invited to the UNISON South East Equality Conference which will help to equip your branch with the tools and resources to raise awareness of equality issues in the workplace.

After 2 years of Covid-19 putting live events on hold, we are delighted to be able to invite you back to London for the SE Equality Conference 2022, which will now take place on Friday 8 July at UNISON Centre.

With a mixture of guest speakers and workshops, we’re really looking forward to getting together again, and have a great programme planned for the day.

Equality Pay Gap Workshop

The aim of this workshop is to increase awareness of equality pay gaps, to understand that there are many ways in which workers experience a financial detriment at work, to consider the impact of equality pay gaps on workers in 2022 and beyond, work with others to identify possible areas of concern in your workplace and consider how UNISON can help to rectify this issue.

Examining Bias in Formal HR Procedures Workshop

How to use a data driven approach to establish whether there are patterns in members in HR processes, and what to do about it.

This workshop will explore the disproportionate number of branch level cases involving members with protected characteristics; what questions to ask your employer and how to use employer data to challenge bias.

How to book:

SE Equality conference is open to all activists who have in interest in equality issues in the workplace. 

Please download an application form today and seek approval from your branch.

Completed forms can to be sent to equalitySE@unison.co.uk 

The conference will run from 9:30am – 4:30pm and lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please ensure you let us know of any dietary requirements when booking your place.

Closing date for applications: 24 June 2022

There for you when you need support

 

TUC demo: Seven bonus reasons to enjoy a day out in London

Doing the right thing doesn’t have to be angst-ridden. You can argue for a change in how the government copes with the cost of living crisis and have some fun with your friends and family.

You can demand better and have a good time too.

1. Take in the sights. Let’s face it, all the marches through the centres of the UK’s great capitals have some great views. Closed off roads at the start of summer, doing some sightseeing, what’s not to like?And for those going on the London march, treat it as your own tour of those infamous partygate venues. Spot the Tesco!
2. Get some sun. Overseas travel is opening up again, but the cost of living crisis means that no-one can afford to go on holiday. So … get some vitamin D here at home – and do something useful at the same time. It’s June, in the UK, honestly, what could possibly go wrong …?
3. Get physical. It’s approaching summer. No carbs till Marbs. Come on, after two years of working at home and binge-watching box sets the opportunity to get out and about and remind your legs what they were invented for is not to be missed.‘Step up’ for public services, as we once famously said.
4. Just do it! What a great message to send to the children of today, taking pictures of their food and doing TikToks – let’s remember the almost forgotten art of the protest. Great things have been achieved by people giving a damn, getting off their sofas and marching.You want a better response to the cost of living from this government – do something about it. Stop being a keyboard warrior and be an actual warrior.
5. Swipe right. Fighting the good fight can have some positive unintended consequences on your love life. If you’re looking for love (or even just a change?!) there’ll be thousands of other people there who, in all likelihood share your own view on the world.So go along and 18 June will be a memorable day for lots of reasons.
6. “We wanna be together …” Variation on a theme – come along and meet some fellow UNISON members. Two years of a pandemic tends to play havoc with that sense of togetherness that being in a union offers. There’s a clue in the name. We are a union. In unison.
7. You wear it well. Much like the much-missed, diminutive pop legend Prince, we love rocking the purples (and the greens). Such a difficult colour to pull off. But use it as an opportunity to get dressed up (or down, see 2 and 5 above) and brand it up in UNISON’s legendary ‘sea of purple and green’.

See you on the streets on 18 June.

To book a coach click HERE

Disabled members equality

 

UNISON’s priorities on disability are led by the union’s own disabled members. We help disabled members by fighting discrimination and campaigning and organising at workplace, regional and national levels.

There are more than 10 million disabled people in the UK. Cuts to public services and benefits have a disproportionate effect on disabled people, especially as over one and a half million of them live in relative poverty because of low benefit levels and the lack of suitable accessible jobs.

There for You (UNISON Welfare)

Members experiencing financial and emotional difficulties can contact our welfare charity, There for You, which provides a confidential advice and support service for members and their dependants.

Are you suffering financially as a result of coronavirus? Apply to our COVID-19 response fund for a grant to help you during this difficult time.

We have received generous grants from UNISON and the CHSA (COVID-19 Healthcare Support Appeal) which enable us to support members who are struggling.

Worried about rising energy costs and keeping warm?

Help is available. This information guide contains details of organisations and schemes that can provide support and assistance, charities – including UNISON’s own charity – that may be able to give financial help towards heating bills, useful contacts and money saving tips.

 https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2022/02/26687_fuelcosts.pdf

Webinar: Protecting workers' mental health

            

Event details

Date

Wed, 18 May 2022 - 14:00 to 15:00

Cost

Free

Register here

YOUR UNION - HAVE YOUR SAY

 

Now is the time for you to have your say on who represents you on your service group executive committee.

The committees' jobs are to make decisions that will help the union improve your pay and conditions and protect your interests at work. They are made up of ordinary members across the country doing similar jobs to you; or working for similar sorts of employers. It's important that your union represents every member, so please use your vote.

Voting is open from 28 April 2022 and closes at 5pm on 25 May 2022, so there's plenty of time for you to have your say. It only takes a few minutes.

Civica Election Services (formerly Electoral Reform Services) is administering the election on behalf of UNISON. As well as a postal pack, this year you are receiving voting instructions by email, to enable you to cast your vote online. Voting online is quick and very straightforward and, importantly, saves the union money.

Please click here to vote and view information on the candidates. This link is unique to you and should not be forwarded on to anyone else.

This is your union - so have your say.

New Stewards and Officers for 2022/23

 

Following our AGM on Thursday 31 March 2022 the new stewards and officers for 2022/23 can be found here

Pension Dashboards Government Consultation until 13 March 2022

The government is planning to introduce an electronic communications service for individuals to access information about pensions.

A consultation on the draft regulations seeking views on a range of policy questions relating to the creation of pensions dashboards is currently open.

Details of the consultation are available on the GOV.UK website and the deadline for making comments is 13 March 2022.

Who is this consultation aimed at?

From any interested parties. They are particularly keen to hear from:

• individuals with a UK pension
• pensions and lifetime savings industries
• finance and consumer representative groups with an interest in pensions capability, financial capability, data protection and security
• trustees or managers of occupational pension schemes
• pensions administrators
• pensions administration software providers
• firms interested in offering Integrated Service Provider (ISP) services
• Financial Technology (Fintech) companies
• organisations interested in setting up pensions dashboards

Introducing the year of disabled workers

After two years during which disabled members have faced unprecedented challenges, UNISON has made 2022 the year of disabled workers.

It’s vital we speak out against disability discrimination, challenge negative stereotypes and work to remove barriers that stop disabled people achieving their goals. Together, we can create a society where disabled people are valued for who we are.

Check out the full story at https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2022/01/introducing-the-year-of-disabled-workers/