News and Issues :
LATEST 31.10.07 LONGTON LODGE SET TO RE-OPEN
Will
all Unity members please note that Longton Lodge is about to re-open for all
normal Lodge business.
(read more)
LATEST 21.09.07 THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
The National Minimum Wage is to rise by 17p - about 3% - from October 2007.
The increases will affect about 1.3 million workers and are in line with inflation.
The increases in the minimum wage were recommended by the government’s Low Pay Commission and were accepted by the Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling.
When the minimum wage was first introduced in 1999 the adult rate stood at £3.60 an hour, and it has risen at a rate above inflation every year until now.
Minimum wage levels from October 2007
Workers aged 22 and
over: £5.52 an hour
Workers aged 18 to 22: £4.60 an hour
Workers aged 16 and 17: £3.40 an hour
Mr
Darling said that the establishment of a minimum wage had been a major
achievement, he said.
“Just 10 years ago
home workers could be paid as little as 35p an hour, cleaners £1.30 an hour and
security guards £2.25 an hour, which was bad for families and just plain wrong”
he added. “I am proud of the minimum wage, proud of how it is helping
families and proud of the role it plays in the economy we are delivering.”
LATEST 27.07.07 TUC
Health and Safety Issues in Flooded Areas
Advice to Safety Representatives - July
2007
The recent
floods will not only cost the economy billions of pounds, they will also have a
major and sometimes devastating impact on the lives, and the work, of hundreds
of thousands of people. During the current period of flooding, many union
members will be affected, either in the workplace or their homes.
Employers have a legal duty to ensure that the health and safety of all
employees is protected during this period. It is not in anyone’s interests to
ask employees to risk their lives or health either through the effects of the
floods themselves, or the aftermath.
This guidance is intended to assist union representatives and members in
ensuring that the health and safety of employees is not put at risk as a result
of the current crisis. It is not intended to deal with the wider societal
issues, although unions are already heavily involved in supporting members in
those areas of the country where the flooding is most widespread.
(read more)
LATEST 20.07.07 Union
Learning Fund - Seeks Project Worker based in Stoke on Trent
Closing date for applicants - Friday 27th
July 2007
(read more)
LATEST 20.07.07
NOTICE OF CHANGES
To enable our
officers to keep up to date with the all-round knowledge and information that is
needed to serve our members to the best of our ability, there has been a change
in the responsibilities which we undertake in pursuing these aims.
(read more)
LATEST: 19.06.07
Latest Information on Minimum Annual Leave
This is the
latest information on the increase of minimum holiday entitlement
and overrides anything written elsewhere on this web site.
The
Government published its response this week to the consultation on its proposals
to increase minimum annual leave entitlement from 20 to 28 days (4 to 5.6
weeks).
(read more)
LATEST: 08.06.07
Unity Seminar - 22 May 2007
On July 1st 2007 virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces
in England will become smoke free. Unity, together with the British Ceramic
Confederation, as part of the ceramic industry Pledge Awareness Week organised
this seminar under the heading “Can Companies Manage the Smoking Ban”.
(read more)
LATEST: 04.05.07
Ceramics
delegation calls on Minister to take the lead on Mark of Origin
Representatives
from North Staffordshire went to London this week (Monday 30th April)
to meet with the Trade minister Ian McCartney to put the case for introducing
Mark of Origin stamps on ceramic goods across the EU.
(read more)
LATEST: 27.04.07
Can Companies Manage The Smoking Ban..?
The Union in consultation with
ADSIS the Alcohol and drugs Service in Staffordshire are posing this question to
Industry employers.
Some companies plan to introduce a blanket ban meaning that workers can only
smoke outside the parameter fences during break time.
This is because there is no legal responsibility for companies to provide
smoking shelters. However, given that smoking like other dependencies such as
alcohol and drugs can be extremely difficult to overcome companies do nee to be
aware of how employees may respond to their favourite habit being taken away
from them.
(read more)
LATEST: 27.04.07
Unity Success For Tams
Employees
Unity
are pleased to announce a successful protective award claim for our members
who lost their jobs due to the Tams Group going into receivership.
(read more)
LATEST: 25.04.07
Backstamping... The Saga Continues
Unity
has been the spearhead of a long running campaign to address the issue of ware
with misleading backstamps coming into this country. Over the last two
years General Secretary Geoff Bagnall and Assistant General Secretary Garry
Oakes have held numerous meetings with Government Ministers calling for action.
(read more)
LATEST:
05.04.07 What is
'Domestic Violence'?
The
Government definition of domestic violence has been agreed as:
‘Any incident of threatening behaviour or an abuse (psychological, physical,
sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate
partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.’
(read more)
LATEST:
05.04.07
HSE Leadership Conference
29.03.07 'A Union Rep's View'
The Cost of Getting the Point Across
The “Leadership
Conference” hosted by the Health and Safety Executive on 29 March was billed as
a specialist one-day program in “how to achieve effective leadership in Health
and Safety for Directors and CEOs of Manufacturing Organisations”, and it wasn’t
a conference that many Safety Reps will have attended.
(read more)
LATEST: 05.04.07 TUC Press
Release - Smoke Free
TUC urges employers not to delay
making workplaces smoke-free.
With just under three
months to go before all public places and workplaces in England must become
smoke-free, the TUC is today (Monday) urging employers to get their act together
and introduce smoking bans into their shops, factories, offices, restaurants and
bars.
(read more)
LATEST:
Press Release:
NICE help for employers ahead of Smoking Ban.
In the
countdown to England becoming smokefree, the National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence (NICE) will issue public health guidance on the most
effective ways
to encourage and support employees to stop smoking.
(read more)
LATEST:
Be Cancer Aware
- Get to know your body.
Unity and the Employers Federation
have a long term commitment to encourage
both men and women to take up the opportunity to attend screening programmes.
The aim of these programmes is to detect and treat early abnormalities which, if
left untreated, could lead to cancer.
(read more)
LATEST:
Legal Timetable.
Below is the legal timetable provided by the
Office of Public Sector Information.
(read more)
LATEST:
Change to Statutory Payments.
There have been changes to various Statutory
Payments.
These include: Statutory Redundancy, Statutory sick Pay, Statutory Maternity,
Paternity
and Adoption, and the National Minimum Wage.
(read more)
LATEST:
Royal Worcester and Spode
Limited - Job losses.
The company has confirmed that there will be 250
job losses - with effect from the
1st June 2007.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
General Secretary meets
Churchill Long Servers - 14th Feb 2007.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Retirement Planning Seminar,
7th/8th Feb 2007 - Feedback.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Unity support Private Members
Bill.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Unity Assistant Gen.
Secretary on International Study Visit to Brazil.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
TUC Press Release -
Millions to benefit from extra holiday.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Department of Trade and
Industry, London - Meetings
(Tuesday December 12th 2006 and Tuesday December 19th 2006)
Dec 12th 2006: (read more)
Dec 19th 2006:
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Smoke Free England - The
Health Act 2006.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Flexible Working
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Parental and Dependency Leave
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Age Discrimination - Important new regulations
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Health & Safety Executive - The case for more funding.
(read more)
ARCHIVE:
Changes to rules affecting pregnancy, and maternity.
(read
more)
ARCHIVE:
Disability - A reminder that Cancer IS a disability.
(read
more)