Wirral UNISON Branch Update 07.05.2021

Dear Member

We hope you are looking forward to the weekend, and hopefully the weather will be better than the wintry conditions we’ve seen this week. We have a few updates for you, and we would be grateful if you can complete the survey on sexual harassment below; it will only take a minute to complete, and it is aimed at all members.

Schools Covid Update

The latest round of the Schools Infection Survey published this week suggests a significant reduction in the percentage of secondary school pupils and staff testing positive for COVID-19 infection since schools reopened compared to last November and December. The study found that 0.34% of secondary school pupils tested positive for current infection and 0.19% of secondary school staff tested positive for current infection.

This is encouraging news but it does not at this stage negate the need for appropriate measures in schools, rather it re-enforces the case for their continuation. UNISON has signed a joint open letter with leading scientists, parent groups and other unions calling on the government to keep face coverings in secondary school classrooms until the infection data is clear that it is safe to remove them.

We took this action following press reports that the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had said that the requirement for face coverings to be worn in classrooms in England would be abolished on 17th May. The joint letter is in line with the results of UNISON's survey of members, which showed overwhelming support for the use of face coverings and high adherence among children. The press release and letter can be found here.

Unison has also recently update our guidance for members in schools including new information for pregnant staff, to reflect recent changes to national advice on vaccination for this group. This can be accessed here Unison Schools advice

UNISON Leadership – You Decide!

Ballot papers for Unison’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will be dropping now on your door mat. The ballot opens on 4 May and runs until 27 May. The results will be announced on 11 June. If you haven’t received your ballot by 13 May, you can contact our ballot helpline 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, on 0800 0 857 857.

Wirral UNISON has nominated the following people because we believe they are committed to ensuring our union challenges Government nationally and won’t leave members and branches to fight alone. We believe they will fight to: 

• Break the Tory Pay Freeze while their pals get rich on dodgy Government COVID contracts
• Oppose further Austerity and cuts to services
• Resist attacks on our pensions and terms and conditions
• Defend our NHS from privatisation and closures of hospitals and services
• Fight sexism, racism and all forms of discrimination 

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.

Sexual harassment has been in the news a lot recently but it isn’t just a problem for celebrities. It’s happening in ordinary workplaces everywhere. According to surveys up to half of women have been sexually harassed at work and two thirds of LGBT+ people have experienced it too. And what’s really shocking is that many do not feel able to report it to their employer. Those are figures based on national surveys. We do not assume that Wirral will be exempt from these behaviours, but we thought it would be useful to gather some information on the experience of our members. We would be grateful if you could complete our survey; it is anonymous, and will only take a minute. We ask that you fill it in whether or not you may have been subject to sexual harassment.

https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90332397/Sexual-Harassment


UNISON North West LGBT+ Group Open Meeting

The next UNISON North West LGBT+ Group open meeting will be held on Thursday 20th May from 1800 hours to 1930 hours online via Microsoft Teams. The meeting is open to any UNISON member who self defines as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or within the LGBT+ umbrella and is in a branch based in the North West Region.

Please register for the event via Eventbrite UNISON North West LGBT+ Group Open Meeting Tickets, Thu, May 20, 2021 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite and a link to the meeting as well as paperwork will be sent out closer to the date.

Members are encouraged to join our mailing list by completing the online form at http://www.unisonnw.org/lgbtsubscribe
and follow us on social media, www.twitter.com/unisonnwlgbt www.facebook.com/unisonnwlgbt www.instagram.com/unisonnwlgbt

That’s all for now. As always, please do share our updates with your colleagues and encourage them to JOIN UNISON if they haven’t already.

We’ll be back in touch soon with further updates.

In solidarity!

Your Wirral Unison Team
Central email: unison1@wirral.gov.uk
Telephone: 0151 666 4030