UNISON has always been a strong supporter of the work of Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) and its campaigns to help eradicate racism from our society. We need the help of you and your branch to ensure this work can continue in 2022 and hope you can find time to offer practical and financial support. This coming Friday, 21st October 2022, SRtRC will hold its annual ‘Wear Red Day’ with over 370,000 people already registered to take part! Please choose the link below to access the page.
Category: News
TUs at COP27 climate conf – Sat 12 Nov Demos – Green UNISON
The COP27 UN Climate Conference takes place in Egypt next month and there will be mass climate justice mobilisations across the UK on Sat 12 Nov in solidarity with protests at the COP.
The African COP27 coalition, the UK Climate Justice Coalition (CJC – the org following on from the COP26 Coalition) and other climate justice organisations have come together and announced a Global Day of Action on 12 November.
Green UNISON activists across the UK are organising to support demonstrations being planned on Sat 12 Nov, including in Edinburgh and possibly some other cities in Scotland.
The 27th United Nations climate conference will be held from 7 to 18 November, with over 198 countries invited to take part. World leaders will make key decisions on how countries will commit to tackle the climate emergency.
Trade unions also take part as observers and use their collective voice to influence decisions, put forward demands for a just transition to a low-carbon economy and hold governments to account.
UNISON Scotland’s Depute Convener Stephen Smellie, a UNISON NEC member, will be on the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) delegation on behalf of UNISON.
As members here know, Stephen represented the union at COP26 last year in numerous ways including through the ITUC. He was also on the COP26 Coalition co-ordinating group that organised the mass demonstrations in Glasgow last November.
UNISON is holding one of only two TUC places within the ITUC delegation, and is working hard to promote public services as key models of green transition and to ensure that the voices of public service workers are heard in Egypt.
Our General Secretary Christina McAnea, speaking after this year’s UNISON Green Week at the end of September, as the world prepares for COP27, said:
“The devastating impacts of the climate emergency are being felt across every part of the globe, but they fall heaviest on the disadvantaged.
“We are determined to be part of the necessary change – trade unions have a vital role to ensure urgent policies and measures deliver a fair transition to a greener planet.”
See the UNISON UK website page urging branches and members to get involved in the run-up to COP27, including by signing up to the UK green network and to sign a petition in solidarity with Egypt’s prisoners of conscience. There is a range of useful resources there, including a video of the annual Green UNISON webinar.
UNISON Scotland’s Green Network members were active during Green UNISON Week and have an online lunchtime meeting tomorrow, Thurs 13 Oct, to discuss green workplace action, including on climate hazards and adaptation and in bargaining work, as well as COP27 demos planning and the connections between the cost of living, industrial disputes and strikes and climate justice.
We have stood in solidarity for some time now with the youth climate strikes campaigners Fridays for Futures after Greta Thunberg inspired so many school pupils, students and young people worldwide with her weekly school climate strike. The next Scottish Fridays for Future Climate March is in Glasgow on Friday 28 Oct 11am, Kelvingrove Park. https://twitter.com/FFF_Scotland/status/1577685042003861515?s=20&t=e42QayUw8zHfUPovH20u_g
You can find out more about our Green Network on the Facebook page and there are news updates, such as this one, on our Green Workplace page on this website. The UNISON report Getting to Net Zero in UK public services, launched at COP26, is there too.
Pregnant Then Screwed
On 29 October the charity and campaign group, Pregnant Then Screwed, are staging a huge national protest to demand Government reform on childcare, flexible working, and parental leave. 10,000 mums and their families will march across the UK. One of the locations is Glasgow where attendance of 800 is expected.
The march will go from Glasgow 2014 Monument to George Square.
You can read more about the march here: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/event-march-of-the-mummies/
Huge media coverage of the protest is expected.
We would encourage you to publicise this event through your networks.
Congratulating and thanks
Colleagues I’d like to start congratulating and thanking all those involved in our Local Government Pay Dispute. In eight of our Councils, our waste and recycling workers came together to take strike action, In nine council areas, our schools based members were poised to do likewise. Together this brought about an unprecedented protracted negotiation between the three unions and CoSLA with Scottish Government involvement. Whilst we accept that for some the final offer fell short of their expectations and there’s no doubt for most their rising costs, this did represent a huge shift from the original offer. Our members have voted on the final offer and roughly two-thirds majority have voted to accept. This was absolutely down to the tremendous efforts of our members, activists, branches, and staff working together to deliver effective industrial action. Again, we cannot thank everyone enough for the huge amount of work they did to bring about a much-improved pay settlement. Thank you. Best wishes, Lorraine Thomson
Food for thought – online public supporters meeting 6th October
Tackling poverty and meeting young people’s rights to food education and fun through expanding universal free school meals.
#challengepovertyweek 6th October 6pm Zoom
contact emcauley@stuc.org.uk for more details.
STUC Women’s committee
Scotland’s largest trade union accepts local government pay offer
UNISON members, the largest local government union, have voted to accept COSLA’s pay offer in a ballot of all local government members across Scotland.
With an incredible 64% turnout the results are as follows:
- Those voting to accept the pay offer – 67%
- Those voting to reject the pay offer – 33%
UNISON will now work with employers to ensure that pay increases are included in salaries as soon as possible. Once the union is satisfied we will notify employers that local government strike notices will be withdrawn.
Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government said: “UNISON members have spoken and voted overwhelmingly to accept the improved pay offer and we will now press COSLA to get this money into members’ pay packets as quickly as possible.
But let’s be very clear – it was only because UNISON members took, and were prepared to take, industrial action that this improved pay offer was even made. If they hadn’t stood up to their employer they would have been forced to accept a derisory 2% increase. It was their collective strength that forced the Scottish Government to accept they had a role to play and come up with more money but it should never have gotten to that.
The lesson the Scottish Government needs to take from this is that they need to fund local government, and the workers that serve our local communities, properly and UNISON will continue to lead the campaign for investment in councils and for staff to get the pay, reward and recognition they deserve.”
Mark Ferguson chair of the local government committee said: “I want to thank all council workers, particularly those who took industrial action. Without your commitment, we would never have secured this deal. I am pleased we have secured this pay rise. But let’s not pretend it will be the only thing that protects council workers against the cost of living crisis – we have much more work to do and we are already running our next campaign for improved council services and better pay and conditions for all council workers.”
Stirling UNISON 