Category: News

As you will be aware the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulates 15 health and care professions across the UK.  The HCPC is proposing to increase regulation fees by 20%.

The rise means registration fees will be £117.74 per year!

UNISON is calling on the Scottish government to use its powers to stop this unjust increase on hard-working and loyal health staff.

This increase will hit paramedics, occupational therapists, radiographers, ODPs, clinical scientists and other members who are required to register before they are allowed to practise.

The 20% rise in fees outstrips even today’s rocketing inflation. This rise follows the 9% rise implemented in 2021. And, if this year’s increase is imposed HCPC fees will have risen by 47% since 2014.

UNISON believe that:

1. fee increases should not be made unless it is absolutely essential.
2. nor should fees rise when registrants have suffered real terms pay cuts, pay freezes and years of austerity.
3. the HCPC should be made to live within its means.
4. Government should protect hard-working NHS staff and hard one pay rises.

Therefore, we encourage you to act now and encourage members affected by this rise to write directly to the Cab Sec for Health and Social Care. To make this as easy as possible we have created a webpage https://action.unison.org.uk/page/123783/action/1, all you have to do is fill in your details.

As you will be aware the current cost of living crisis is affecting all organisations, and Local Government is not immune from that pain. The lasting effects of Covid, alongside other global and national events, have led to inflation levels not seen since the early 1980s. This has also not been helped by the year in year out real term cuts to Local Government budgets passed on by the Scottish Government.

Stirling Council is now looking at a budget gap of £17m for 2023-24.  Stirling Council held their budget meeting yesterday in the Council Chambers, Old Viewforth, Stirling and by Microsoft Teams on Thursday 2 March 2023 at 10.00 am. The link to the papers put to council today is below. It is important to point out that the administration’s budget proposals were approved.

Access the Stirling council Agendas here

It was evident and regretful that savings of this scale won’t be possible without cuts to services and a likely reduction in the number of staff working for the Council over the next 12-18 months. Please be assured that we currently have a No Compulsory Redundancy commitment and the focus is on anyone leaving the Council doing so voluntarily, and we will work closely with management throughout the process, in line with our existing Organisational Change Policy. Please be assured  UNISON does not support job losses, however, given the budget gap it was inevitable that savings had to be made. We have concerns for those staff who will be working to deliver services where the workforce is reduced and for some this may mean a cut in hours/pay. Please be assured we will work closely with the employer to ensure that the appropriate processes are followed should staffing resources be reduced within your service. Unfortunately, we have had little detail, particularly where proposals relate to redesign, restructure and review. We have been assured that Trade Unions will be fully consulted on all the agreed proposals, however, it was difficult for us to take a view on the proposals when we have no further information.

Should you be concerned about any of the accepted budget proposals please do not hesitate to contact your UNISON steward or the UNISON Stirling Branch directly. You can also go to the UNISON Scotland website to see how you can join and help with our Local Government Finance Campaign where we continue to lobby the Scottish Government on the unfair budget settlements they continue to pass onto Local Authorities.

We know how unsettling all of this will be, and we’ll keep you informed and involved at every stage.

Tuesday 7th of March 2023 | 6pm | Online

Join the STUC Women’s Committee, the Scottish Youth Parliament, and
Professor John McKendrick to mark International School Meals Day to
discuss young people’s right to food and the campaign to expand universal
free school meals in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on its draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. This short briefing looks at key aspects of the draft and some of the issues UNISON Scotland will be raising in our response

Read the e-briefing below.

We have a couple of branch LGBT+ officer and contacts training sessions coming up in March. 

 People can register even if they are just thinking about becoming a branch LGBT+ officer or contact. 

There’s a virtual session on March 23. Members can enrol here: https://learning.unison.org.uk/events/lgbt-branch-officer-virtual/

And there is an in-person session on March 15: https://learning.unison.org.uk/events/lgbt-branch-officer-in-person/ 

Please find the link below for tickets to the evening event for UNISON’s International Women’s Day Celebration in Glasgow.

 All members are welcome

The evening will be a mixture of speeches and musical entertainment including the amazing Soundsational Choir, come along and help us celebrate.  

International Women’s Day – A UNISON Event Tickets, Wed 8 Mar 2023 at 19:30 | Eventbrite

International Women’s Day – A UNISON Event

Please join us for an evening of entertainment to celebrate International Women’s day and recognise all of the work and success of women in UNISON

www.eventbrite.co.uk

UNISON is proud to be the leading trade union for women. Our one million women members are the foundation on which UNISON is built.

UNISON‘s women members have successfully negotiated on key issues such as childcare, equal pay and maternity rights.

We campaign for equality in the workplace and for improvements to women‘s rights in the workplace and in the wider community.

We also support campaigns aimed at improving women‘s lives – for example, to change the law to protect women experiencing domestic abuse or to raise awareness of health issues which mainly affect women.

International Women’s Day 2023 is the perfect time to celebrate and reflect on the vital contributions that women in our union make.

The care workers, librarians, health workers, cleaners, school workers, librarians, administrators and others who sit at the very heart of our public services. Their work is often undervalued.

UNISON knows the contribution each of you makes to your workplaces, your communities and to our union and I want to thank you all for everything you do, day in, day out. Together we are changing women’s lives for the better.