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	<title>UNISON &#124; Essex County Branch</title>
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	<description>The public service trade union</description>
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		<title>Schools and Covid &#8211; online day of action</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/schools-and-covid-online-day-of-action/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/schools-and-covid-online-day-of-action/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Dec 2021 09:42:57 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[UNISON, GMB, NASUWT and Unite are urging members to join parents and staff in an online day of action on Thursday 9 December. This is to tell the government to bring in additional mitigations to help keep pupils and staff in England safely in school. Data from the Office of National Statistics shows that school-aged children have the highest rates of infection of any age group. Data also shows that education staff are more likely to test positive for Covid than the general population. This is leading to unsustainable workload pressures and burnout in schools. Over 200,000 pupils were absent for Covid-19 related reasons on 25 November alone according to the Department for Education; with warnings that it could get much worse in January. This cannot be allowed to continue. Why not tweet/post messages of support (some example tweets are listed below) and copy in the Secretary of State @nadhimzahawi Example tweets We need to help keep pupils safe and help keep them in school. We need air filters for schools #ProtectPupils #ProtectEducation The Government must act to protect face to face learning – we need to ensure proper ventilation in all schools #ProtectPupils #ProtectEducation Pupils have suffered enough disruption from #Covid. I&#8217;m calling on the Government to make schools [&#8230;]]]></description>
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		<title>Black History Month 2021</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/black-history-month-2021/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/black-history-month-2021/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:11:34 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=996</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Black History Month falls in October every year. For UNISON, Black History Month is a time to acknowledge and celebrate achievements of Black people throughout history. Black History and Black British History in particular, is often marginalised. So Black History Month is a key time to acknowledge achievements and provide an opportunity to discuss wider issues affecting the Black community. UNISON’s support for Black History Month UNISON has long campaigned and is proud to support Black History Month. But our commitment to inclusion and equality lasts a lot longer than four weeks each year. It goes deep into the heart of our union and helps to explain why we are the UK’s leading public service union. There is more on UNISON&#8217;s national website.]]></description>
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		<title>NJC Pay ballot 2021</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/njc-pay-consultation-2021/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/njc-pay-consultation-2021/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2021 13:35:12 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=985</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; &#160; UNISON members in schools &#38; local government have rejected the Employers&#8217; offer of a 1.75% pay rise in a consultative ballot. As a result, UNISON will now ballot members in November or early December to see if they are willing to take industrial action in an effort to improve the offer. In the mean time, it&#8217;s important to check your details are up to date, tell your colleagues and get involved. UNISON is to ballot for industrial action among the 400,000 council and school staff it represents in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over what the union says is an “inadequate” pay offer from employers. An overwhelming majority (79%) of UNISON members who took part in a month-long consultation exercise voted to reject the 1.75% offer. The union says this falls well short of the 10% claim put forward for this year with GMB and Unite. UNISON believes it is not too late for local government employers to think again and improve the increase offered to staff who have worked through the worst of times. Members will now be asked to vote ‘yes’ to taking action in support of the union’s campaign for better pay. See more at the campaign hub.]]></description>
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		<title>Sue Gainey</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/sue-gainey/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/sue-gainey/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2021 11:00:16 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=1003</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The branch is very sad to have to record the passing of Sue Gainey, our recently retired Branch Secretary. Sue passed away on Sunday 14 February 2021. She was at home with family. Sue joined NUPE many years ago when she was working as a Home Help and later Home Help Organiser. She became the leading steward in the south of the County (she was a proud Canvey Island girl). When UNISON was formed in 1993 she became a member of the new Essex County Branch and carried on representing members across the County Council. By the mid-90s he was fully seconded to work for the union, alongside her great friends Babs Whitfield, Mick Mahoney, Kevin Hussey and Mary Feakins. As one of the youngest in this group she kept the flag flying, until, on Babs’ retirement in  2013, she became Branch Secretary until retiring last year. Sue was a traditional trade union fighter. She argued for what she believed was right and would not give up while there was still life left in a cause. She was in her element when defending a member against an unjust accusation or negotiating against the employer for better pay and conditions (or, in recent years, to [&#8230;]]]></description>
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		<title>NEW BRANCH STAFF</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/new-branch-staff/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/new-branch-staff/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Nov 2019 11:15:24 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=898</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We are delighted to announce that we have appointed to the Branch Organiser and Caseworker posts. Graham Gilbert has started work as Branch Organiser. He will be working 21 hours a week and intends to be out in ECC Branch workplaces talking to members and  potential members about what the union has to offer. If you would like him to visit you contact the branch office or Graham&#8217;s email. Mary Downes will be working as a caseworker for the branch.  If you have to ask for branch help you may well be referred to Mary to assist with you case.]]></description>
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		<title>ECC Budget Consultation Forum</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/your-help-needed-ecc-budget-consultation-forum/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/your-help-needed-ecc-budget-consultation-forum/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:33:28 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=791</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thanks to those who contributed to the preparation for the Budget Consultation meeting in October. The meeting was attended for UNISON by Jeremy Gush (Assistant Branch Treasurer.) When the notes of the meeting are ready we will publish the answers to those of your questions that were asked. Those that we could not ask on the day we intend to take up separately.]]></description>
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		<title>Single Status is back</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/single-status-is-back/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/single-status-is-back/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2016 19:12:23 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=788</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Essex County Council has told UNISON that it wants to revisit &#8216;Single Status.&#8217; This was the process which finished about 15 years ago whereby every single job in ECC was job evaluated resulting in clearer relations between different jobs and they way they are paid. Since then posts have changed and been created and the gradings have departed from the original agreement. So the County has said that they want do the exercise again to try and put some more order into it. The difference this time is that they do not want to use the nationally agreed ‘Gauge’ system which the unions helped devise and which gave UNISON the right to be involved in all the individual evaluations. Now they only want to use the Hay system that they have always used for post graded at Band 5 and above. UNISON has not been told whether we will be able to participate in the way that we did first time round. We are taking advice for higher up in the union as to what our view should be, especially if we are excluded from the detailed process.]]></description>
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		<title>Supporting Success</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/supporting-success/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/supporting-success/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2016 19:04:35 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=786</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[UNISON took a number of appeals against Supporting Success results in 2016 and won them all! Most of them were successful because managers did not do what they should (held reviews, warned about possible failings, agreed objectives properly etc.) We have always urged ECC to improve the process and had to push to get an appeal system in the first place. Now that the Perform system has come in we want members&#8217; views on that &#8211; what works and what doesn&#8217;t &#8211; how is it being used, especially by managers? How could it be improved etc. email the branch office]]></description>
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		<title>Youth &amp; Community JNC Pay 2014-16</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/youth-community-jnc-pay-2014-16/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/youth-community-jnc-pay-2014-16/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 10:50:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=751</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[UNISON members have voted to accept the final pay offer made by the Employers&#8217; Side of the Youth and Community Workers JNC.  The offer is 2.2%, to cover the period from 1 March 2015 to 31 August 2016.  Members of the other unions have also voted to accept.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>LEGAL SURGERIES</title>
		<link>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/legal-surgeries/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/legal-surgeries/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2015 12:47:59 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unison-essex.org.uk/?p=740</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In addition to other services , Thompsons Solicitors also run a surgery on the third Thursday of each month in the UNISON Branch office. If you would like advice on a personal injury claim or a road traffic accident, please ring Keeley at Thompsons on 01245 228803 and she will arrange an appointment for you to see a solicitor at Branch Office. If you would like 30 minutes legal advice on any other non-work related issue you should ring UNISON Direct on 08000 857 857 and they will arrange this for you.]]></description>
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