This article is taken from UNISON’s main website. It can be found there by clicking on this link.
We need UNISON members in schools to speak up.
UNISON represents around 250,000 school support staff across the UK and those members do fantastic work to help children learn, keep them safe and healthy and schools running smoothly.
But, life is getting harder in our schools so we are running a consultative ballot of our members about their pay, terms and condition and workload.
If you are not already a member click here to join.
Have your say on what’s happening where you work.
The consultation ballot will open on 22 January 2019. Members will receive an email when the ballot opens with a link to vote.
Please click here to check we have a current email address for you.
There will also be a link to vote on this page when the ballot is live. You will be able to vote even if we do not have your email address. Bookmark this page to make sure you don’t miss your chance to tell us what you think.
What is happening in our schools?
Thousands of support staff posts have been cut in recent years. Workloads have spiralled, with support staff working unpaid overtime just to keep schools running. More than 25% of our members work nearly an extra day each week for no extra pay – just to get the job done.
The recent pay deal put more money in members’ pockets, but it’s still not enough. And, in places, terms and conditions are under attack as schools look for ways to save money.
We can’t go on like this. Our schools are too important to be put at risk by failing government policies, increasing workloads, funding and staffing cuts, which hurt support staff, teachers, and of course, children.
If you are a UNISON member have your say
UNISON is asking you to speak up for your school in our consultative ballot:
- We want to know what you think, and what you are prepared to do, to help us defend schools against further cuts and job losses
- It’s about stopping workload increases and defending your pay, terms and conditions
- We are consulting all school support staff in England and it is important that you have your say.
When the ballot opens we will be asking you three simple questions and your answers will help us in our campaign and negotiations with employers and the government.
What happens next
We will be sending our members an email when the ballot opens. Please check we have a current email address for you – we need to know what you think so make sure you don’t miss out.
In the meantime, you can check out the power point below, which offers more detail on why we are balloting. It would also be great, if you could refer your workmates to this webpage. If they are not in UNISON, ask them to join and if they are please ask them to check that we have the correct email address for them.
Finally, we are always looking to recruit Union reps in schools. If you are interested, contact us here.