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Black Members in Scotland

The Scottish Black Members Committee would like feedback from our Black Members in Scotland.

In UNISON, Black is used to indicating people with a shared history of colonialism and enslavement in the past and continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in today’s society. UNISON’s Black Members include people with African, Caribbean, Asian, Arab and other Black or mixed ethnic origins or backgrounds.

https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90433456/2022-2023-Unison-Scotland-Black-Members-Consultation

Covid 19 – Update to Scotland’s strategic framework

The First Minister this week announced a new staged approach to easing protective measures and recovering from the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In her statement, she confirmed the details of the updated Strategic Framework to manage COVID-19 primarily through public health advice, vaccination, and treatment rather than legal restrictions and set out an indicative timescale for remaining legal protections to be lifted.

Key points are:

Vaccine certification will no longer be legally required from Monday 28 February, although the app will remain available so any business that wishes to continue certification on a voluntary basis to reassure customers will be able to do so.
Current legal requirements on the use of face coverings, the collection of customer details for contact tracing purposes, and for businesses, service providers and places of worship to have regard to guidance on Covid and to take reasonably practicable measures set out in the guidance are expected to be lifted on 21 March, subject to the state of the pandemic.
Access to lateral flow and PCR tests will continue to be free of charge, ahead of a detailed transition plan being published on the future of Scotland’s test and protect programme in March.
People who test positive for COVID-19 will continue to be asked to self-isolate to reduce the risk of infecting other people. Any changes to the recommended period of self-isolation will be considered on an ongoing basis.

Full details of the announcement are here: https://www.gov.scot/news/living-safely-with-covid/ And a copy of the updated Strategic Framework is here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework-update-february-2022/

The Workforce Issues Group will be discussing this at its next meeting on Friday 4th March so if you have any views or comments that you would like us to feed into that please drop me a line.

Covid 19 – Second boosters for at-risk groups

The arrangements for second boosters to be delivered to at-risk groups has been announced – details here: https://www.gov.scot/news/second-boosters-for-at-risk-groups/

NCS – Joint Statement

UNISON has worked with COSLA and our colleague SJC TUs to agree on a joint statement on the implications of the NCS proposals on local government and the need to defend the role of local government in providing social care services.

You can read the full statement here:https://www.cosla.gov.uk/news/2022/national-care-service

This has already received some press coverage here: https://www.healthandcare.scot/mobile_default.asp?page=story&story=3020

Happy International Women’s Day – 8 March 2022

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global campaign to highlight the inequalities and biases faced by women around the world. The first IWD took place in 1911, with the aim of celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. While it occurs on only one day a year, it is something that UNISON staff work to address all year round for our women members, who make up around 70% of the total membership.

This year’s theme is #BreaktheBias, which has been chosen to inspire us all to work together to collectively create a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. Individually, it encourages us to take responsibility for our actions, in turn breaking the bias in communities, workplaces and beyond.

And it doesn’t stop there

In advance of International Women’s Day the Jimmy Reid Foundation is holding an online rally ‘Women in unions: advancing their interests’ on 2 March 2022 at 7pm with Christina McAnea, Shavanah Taj and Roz Foyer ( a great lineup) discussing the issues, ideas and strategies.

I would ask you to please share the details and the link below with your activists and members. Some of our 1 million women members will be interested in hearing what our General Secretary, Christina, has to say.