UNISON wins right to challenge tribunal fees

UNISON won the right to have the government's introduction of fees for taking cases to Employment Tribunals subjected to a judicial review, in a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning.

The fees, which can be as high as £1,200 for "complex" cases came into force today. UNISON's arguments against them are scheduled to be heard in October.

Full story can be found at http://www.unison.org.uk/news/unison-wins-judicial-review-hearing-into-tribunal-fees

LUCKY DAY... Enter our latest competition

This month there are £200 worth of holiday vouchers up for grabs! With the long school break just around the corner, what better way to get the summer off to a sizzling start than entering now for free. The winner can pick from Thomas Cook, Thomson or Love2Reward.com vouchers and enjoy fun in the sun, at home or away, without the financial baggage that often goes with it. You can forward the details to as many members as you like. Click here for the entry form and T&Cs. The closing date is August 19th. Good luck!

999: answer the call for your NHS

29 September is a date for your diary for a mass rally to save the NHS at the Tory party conference in Manchester. More info will be available on the UNISON website soon. #NHS999

Is Local government in meltdown ?

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today added its voice to calls from the Local Government Association (LGA) for urgent action to address the funding shortfall in local councils, or face complete meltdown. The union is warning that it is becoming increasingly impossible to provide vital local services against a backdrop of savage government funding and staff cuts.

The £2.1bn shortfall facing local government each year is down to Tory party politics says UNISON. The tax cut for millionaires has cost the Treasury £2.255bn a year – money that should have been used to provide the essential support services to the children, elderly and vulnerable that the LGA say are under threat because of cuts.


Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said:

“The cuts are striking at the very heart of local government. They are a false economy, which are not just damaging the services that people rely on but also the economy. While UNISON backs the principle of agencies working together outlined by the LGA, the driving force must be to deliver quality, professional services and not just an excuse for cutting more staff.

“Hundreds of thousands of jobs have already been lost from the local government workforce and the resulting loss in spending power in local economies has hit local shops and businesses hard. When you factor in the loss of tax and National Insurance revenue because of public sector redundancies, the picture is worse. Evidence from all economies is that you need a strong public sector to generate growth and a healthy economy, something that this Government ignores at its peril.”

Watchdog reprimands Eric Pickles' department for £217m overdraft

Check out the full story at http://m.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jun/28/eric-pickles-communities-department-overdraft 

General secretary's blog...

Why not take at look at the general secretary's blog

New presidential team

Maureen Le Marinel has been elected president of UNISON for the next 12 months. She was elected at the first meeting of the union's national executive council after last week's national delegate conference.

Ms Le Marinel is branch secretary of the Lancashire police branch and is the union's first gay president.

Lucia McKeever, a nursing assistant and branch secretary of Armagh Dungannon health branch, is the new senior vice-president, having been elected to the presidential team last year.

She is the first woman from Northern Ireland to hold this position since the union was formed in 1993.

They are joined by North Yorkshire County Council branch secretary Wendy Nichols as the junior vice-president - making this the union's first-ever all-woman presidential team.