News – Page 59 – Stirling UNISON

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meetings (AGM) of the UNISON Stirling Branch of UNISON will be held online as follows: –

Wednesday 23rd February 2022, 12-2p.m

The meeting will be held virtually via video conference on Teams. The link for the AGM will be sent to members that have confirmed attendance by no later than Tuesday 22ndFebruary 2022 along with the relevant papers. In order to ensure the meeting can comply with UNISON national guidance, we request that you confirm by email that you will be attending the AGM.

Please reply by email to The Branch Secretary, Lorraine Thomson, thomsonl34s@stirling.gov.uk to confirm attendance and include your; name, workplace and current e-mail. AGM papers will be attached to the Teams video link once attendance is confirmed the day before the AGM. Should any member not attend the AGM with a copy of the AGM papers please e-mail the branch directly.

Please reply as early as possible, to allow us to send out the relevant papers and your link to the meeting. You will receive the papers the day before the AGM.

If you wish to attend the AGM but do not have access to a computer, or have an access requirement, then please get in touch at the address below and we will do our utmost to facilitate your participation in the meeting by arranging an additional teleconference AGM for you.

If you have any motions/items for the Annual General Meeting please submit to the branch by the 16^th February 2022 for inclusion within the Final Agenda.

We look forward to seeing you at the AGM. Should you have any questions regarding the AGM please contact me at thomsonl34s@stirling.gov.uk or tel 01786 233 093.

For more info please visit www.stirlinuison.co.uk or follow our UNISON Stirling Facebook page and Twitter account to stay up to date on our AGM, the pay campaign and all other branch business.

Covid updates

Covid – Advice for people at highest risk

The Covid guidance for those at highest risk has been updated – the updated document can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-highest-risk/

State of the epidemic

The current ‘state of the epidemic’ document outlining the progress of the virus can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-state-epidemic-14-january-2022/

Life after lockdown: how do we best recover from the pandemic?

An interesting article on the impact of and how we best recover from the pandemic:https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/16/life-after-lockdown-how-do-we-best-recover-from-the-pandemic?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Updated self-isolation exemption guidance for health and social care staff.

The Scottish Government has updated the self-isolation exemption guidance for health and social care staff. The revised guidance can be found here: https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/details.asp?PublicationID=7514 We understand that an accompanying flowchart and FAQ document are to following the coming days.

The guidance removes the need for fully vaccinated staff, identified as contacts to PCR test prior to returning to work. They should take an LFD test instead. If the LFD test is negative and provided they don’t have a fever or other symptoms staff can continue to work following a risk assessment by their line manager. They should also continue to take an LFD test every day for a 10 day period.

The guidance also clarifies that staff that test positive should pause their workplace LFD testing for 28 days (from day 1 of symptom onset or asymptomatic test date). If they are also required to PCR test weekly, they should also pause this for a period of 90 days. Please also note that the guidance highlights that the likelihood of a positive LFD test in the absence of a high temperature after 10 days is low, so further testing is not advised, unless they have renewed symptoms.