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In this section you will find
information on :-
UNISON is Britain and Europe's biggest public sector union
with more than 1.3 million members. Our members are people working in the
public services, for private contractors providing public services and in
the essential utilities. They include frontline staff and managers working
full or part time in local authorities, the NHS, the police service,
colleges and schools, the electricity, gas and water industries, transport
and the voluntary sector. Last year UNISON recruited 137,000 new members -
375 per day.
What we campaign on
UNISON campaigns and
lobbies on key issues affecting our members and the public at large. We're
working to protect and improve the public services, win equal pay and
employment rights for everyone, improve safety in the workplace and end
discrimination and harassment at work. We also support external campaigns
on issues such as fuel poverty and fair trade.
Local organisation
Every member of UNISON
belongs to a local branch, which is made up of people working for the same
employer. Local stewards are there to represent you at work and help find
the answers to your problems.
Local health and safety
reps are there to help make sure your workplace is safe and your job is not
too stressful. They are volunteers and play a vital role in recruiting new
members, ensuring safety at work and organising your branch. Local branches
are made up of ordinary members elected by the workforce. They take on
different roles in order to make your life easier at work.
Getting your voice heard
UNISON has a clear
structure to make sure all members can have their say. The union is divided
into 13 regions, each with its own regional council made up of delegates
elected from branches in the area.
The governing body of
UNISON is the annual National Delegate Conference. The union's policy is
decided by delegates elected from branches, regions and self-organised
groups. Policies decided at conference are carried out by the National
Executive Council (NEC), elected from the regions and service groups.
Service groups
UNISON has six job
groups bringing together members working in similar areas. These are:
- Business and Environment
- Community and Voluntary
Sector
- Education Services
- Health Care
- Local Government
- Police Services
Women
in UNISON
Women make up two thirds
of UNISON's members so we make sure their voices are heard throughout the
union. At every level of the union, when people are elected to committees
or delegations women must be elected in fair proportion to their
membership. Even the National Executive Council has to elect 44 women out
of its 67 seats and 13 are held by low-paid women.
UNISON calls this 'proportionality'.
Having an
equal say
Our self-organised and
other groups are a way to get involved on an equal basis with everyone else
in the union. They enable the union to reflect particular experiences and
enable members with common interests to come together and work on key
issues affecting them. Click on the link to find out about self organised groups
with our Branch.(Nottm City SOGs)
UNISON in the TUC and the Labour Party
UNISON is the largest union
in the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and plays an important role in
developing policy. It has a big voice too in the Scottish, Welsh and Irish
trades union congresses.
To make sure that
issues affecting our members are heard in the outside world, UNISON has a
political fund. This money - collected from our members - can only be spent
on political and social campaigning. Unlike any other trade union, UNISON
offers you the choice of two funds to pay into:
- The Affiliated Political
Fund works to support the Labour Party
- The General Political Fund
campaigns in a non-affiliated way to further the interests of our
members.
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