UNISON
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- For other uses, see Unison (disambiguation).
UNISON_trade_union_logo.jpg
UNISON_head_office.jpg
1 Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9AJ
UNISON is the largest trade union in the United Kingdom, with over 1.3 million members. It was formed in 1993 when three previous public sector trade unions, the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO), the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) merged. UNISON's current general secretary is Dave Prentis. He was elected on 28 February 2000, and took up the post on 1 January 2001, succeeding Rodney Bickerstaffe who had held the post for five years.
Members
Members of UNISON are typically from industries within the public sector and generally cover both full-time and part-time support and administrative staff. The majority of people joining UNISON would be workers within areas such as local government, education, the National Health Service, police services, utilities (such as gas, electricity and water), and transport. These 'Service Groups' all have their own national and regional democratic structures within UNISON's constitution.
As a trade union, UNISON provides support to members on work related issues, including protection and representation at work, help with pay and conditions of service and legal advice and representation. Each company or organisation will usually be represented by a particular UNISON branch and members within that organisation elect stewards to represent them. The stewards receive training in workplace issues and are then able to co-ordinate and represent members both on an individual basis and collectively. Each branch is run by an annually elected committee of members which holds regular meetings, including an Annual General Meeting for all members to attend. Branches also have access to comprehensive legal advice and support from the network of 12 UNISON Regional Offices. Branches elect delegates to the union's annual National Delegate Conference (held in June every year), the supreme body within the union's constitution with responsibility for setting the union's policies for the forthcoming year.
UNISON tries to ensure that all of its members have a voice within the organisation, and one way in which it does this is through 'Self Organised Groups' of black and minority ethnic members, women members, lesbian and gay members, and disabled members. Young members and retired members also have their own sections within the union.
Political work
UNISON is the largest union in the English Trades Union Congress (TUC) and plays an important role in developing TUC policy. It has a big voice too in the Scottish, Welsh and Irish trades union congresses.
UNISON has a political fund which uses money from members for political and social campaigning. Members have the choice of paying into either a fund which supports the Labour Party, or a non-affiliated General Political Fund.
UNISON also carries out research and campaigns on public service issues, such as the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
External links
- UNISON UK website (http://www.unison.org.uk)
- UNISON Scotland website (http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/)
- UNISON PFI Research and Campaign (http://www.unison.org.uk/pfi/index.asp)
See also: List of trade unions