UNISON Winter fuel grants for members on a low income

Can branches check out this page unsn.uk/41SPAHd and encourage low income members to apply for a "there for you" winter fuel grant worth £200. 

Applications will open twice on Wednesday 24 January, at 8.30am and 5pm. The online form will appear on this page. Recent grant applications have been extremely popular and closed within a matter of minutes, so please do check the eligibility criteria below, ensure you have your UNISON membership number to hand and consider setting a reminder if you wish to apply.

Applicants must:

• Be a UNISON member and have paid at least four weeks’ subscriptions as of 24 January. Subscriptions must be up to date.
• Not have an outstanding application for the recent Energy Support Fund grant.
• Not have been issued with a successful decision for the recent Energy Support Fund grant.
• Not have received a grant from UNISON Welfare since 24 July
  2023, excluding the School Uniform Grant.
• Have savings (including the total rolling balance on current accounts) below £1,000 to qualify.
• Be responsible (or their partner, if applicable) for household fuel bills. Only one application per household will be considered.

And EITHER:

Be on a low income, meaning a net household income* of no more than £26,000/year (£2,166.67/month)

* Net household income includes your monthly take-home pay from work (plus your partner’s if applicable), any income from child maintenance payments, any income from student finance loans or bursaries, pensions (excluding Pension Credit) and any income from people living with you (e.g. adult children or lodgers).

OR:

Be in receipt of means-tested benefits. This includes:

• Universal Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Child and/or Working Tax Credits
• Pension Credit
• Means-tested Jobseekers Allowance
• Means-tested Employment Support Allowance
• Income Support

2024: Year of LGBT+ workers

"2024 is @unisontheunion 's Year of LGBT+ workers. This year we're celebrating all of our LGBT+ members and showing why we are the best union for LGBT+ public service workers. Are you a UNISON LGBT+ member? Get involved: https://unison.org.uk/about/what-we-"do/fairness-equality/lgbt/group-structure-and-contacts/

Get signed up! Love to Learn. TUC courses 2024

 

TUC Education courses - 2024

Find out more about courses running in your area from January 2024. Our courses offer essential training for reps and help you develop your skills. Scotland Northern Region North West Region Yorkshire and the Humber Region Midlands Region London, East and South East Region South West Region Wales We are still in the process of adding new courses over the coming weeks so please keep checking the site at https://www.tuc.org.uk/TUCcourses If you know of other reps who don't receive these updates from TUC Education, they can sign up here.

Exploring the Elizabeth Line: Brentwood to Harold Wood Walk

Today Gill and I tested out a walk in a new book "Exploring the Elizabeth Line" by Jeff Lock. The new Cross London East to West ("Lizzie") rail line from Shenfield to Reading has been a boom for commuters and travellers (but so far somewhat unreliable). 

This walking guide book lists 23 walks from "Lizzie" rail stations. Today we did walk 12 "Brentwood to Harold Wood via Tylers Common".  Only 5.5 miles (we also did do about a mile extra to avoid mud). A lovely walk. Went past the headquarters of Fords Cars UK (bottom left) and next door the Essex Regiment Church (top right).

We stopped off for lunch at the Upminster Garden Centre (recommended). Some road noise from M25 but mostly very quiet and peaceful. No rain!!!

Looking forward to the next 22 walks. 

When we got home, I went out for more walking around the mean streets of Forest Gate to train for my 26 Mile London Winter walk at the end of the month. Goggle fit and Zepp life estimate that I have walked 13 plus miles today, which is means that my walk preparation is so far going to plan. 

High Pay Day 2024

    Hat tip High Pay Centre and brilliant cartoon which I cannot remember source. 

"We have estimated that FTSE 100 CEOs’ earnings for 2024 will surpass the median UK worker’s full time annual salary today, just before 1pm on Thursday 4 January. FTSE 100 bosses’ will have to work one hour fewer to overtake UK median worker than they did in 2023 Top city lawyers will have to wait until the beginning of next week to surpass the median worker’s annual pay, while leading bankers will have to wait until 17th January Calculations based on most recent available figures for CEOs and other top professions, plus Government data on UK workers’ pay According to our calculations, median FTSE 100 CEO’s earnings for 2024 will surpass the median annual salary for a full-time worker in the UK by around 1pm on Thursday 4 January. The calculations are based on our analysis of the most recent CEO pay disclosures published in companies’ annual reports, combined with government statistics showing pay levels across the UK economy. As with last year, the executive pay data suggests that CEOs will have to wait until the third working day of 2024 to surpass the annual pay of the median worker. Median FTSE 100 CEO pay (excluding pension) currently stands at £3.81 million, 109 times the median full time worker’s pay of £34,963. This represents an 9.5% increase on median CEO pay levels as of March 2023, while the median worker’s pay has increased by 6%. The figures come against a backdrop of calls from leading figures in the city and big business for UK CEOs to be paid more. In December 2023 Legal and General Investment Management adjusted their executive pay guidelines to permit firms they invest in to offer more generous incentive payments, while earlier in the year the London Stock Exchange Chief Executive argued that low CEO pay levels create a risk to the UK economy. How other top earners compare We have used other publicly available data to estimate how long it would take other top earners to surpass the median UK worker’s full time earnings. Other FTSE 350 executives (comprised of FTSE 100 executives other than the CEO, plus CEOs and other executives of FTSE 250 companies), median pay £1.32m, will need to work until 10th January for their pay to overtake the annual pay of the median UK worker A partner at a ‘magic circle’ law firm, average pay £1.92m, would need to work until 8th January A partner at a ‘Big Four’ Accountancy firm, average pay £871k, would need to work until 16th January A top banker (so-called ‘material risk taker’) at one of the five FTSE 100 listed banks, average pay £807k, would need to work until 16th January Everyone in the top 1% of full time UK earners, making at least £145k, will have overtaken the annual pay of the median full time worker by 29th March The research has been covered widely in the media including by the BBC, the Guardian, the Independent, the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Mirror."

RISHI'S RAW DEAL -Pay £10 more tax and get £2 off

Poster campaign launched today in Wellingborough where Labour candidate, Gen Kitchen is campaigning to replace disgraced Tory MP, Peter Bone.

Hat tip Independent "From Saturday, the main rate of national insurance will be cut by two percentage points to 10%, as promised by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the autumn statement in November.

Ministers have previously said cutting the main rate for employees is a tax cut worth £450 for the average employee on £35,400 in 2024/25.

But Labour point out that income tax and national insurance thresholds, which have been frozen since 2021, mean that many families have been drawn into higher tax bands.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Under Rishi Sunak’s raw deal, for every extra £10 people are paying in tax they are only getting £2 back.

“Working people know that this month’s tax con is just a cynical giveaway from a weak and out-of-touch Tory government that is desperate to cling onto power, rather than a credible plan to fix our broken economy".

TUC Pensions Conference 2024: pensions under the next government

I have just registered. https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/tuc-pensions-conference-2024-pensions-under-next-government

Overview

Registrations are now open for the TUC Pensions Conference 2024 on Wednesday 13 March at Congress House, London. 

With a general election on the horizon, the conference will explore the challenges facing an incoming government in pensions policy, including: 

• Helping more low paid workers to save for retirement 
• Raising employer contributions so more workers build up an adequate pension pot 
• Helping workers to turn their pension pots into a retirement income 
• The future of the state pension age 
• The role of pension schemes in funding infrastructure 

There will also be a range of workshops for pension fund trustees and union reps, covering subjects such as promoting sustainable investment, handling member complaints, and bargaining with employers. 

Join us at Congress Centre to hear from a range of trade unionists, policy makers and pension experts. 

Countdown to London 26 Mile Winter Walk 2024 - 24/25 days training days to go

I am taking part in a sponsored 26 mile walking marathon at the end of this month for the homelessness charity St Mungos with colleagues from work. 

Most of the recent holiday was spent walking in the Peak district which was good cross training but I only averaged around 13500 steps per day. For the 26 mile walking marathon I will have to complete around 55,000 steps. It should take between 6-8 hours of walking at a reasonable fast pace. 

I am trying to go out walking 3 times a day (early morning, lunch and evening) for short walks and plan longer ones in the weekends. Listening to BBC sounds on my headphones or making telephone calls is a great way to get some walking practice. 

Yesterday evening I went to Westfields to check out suitable walking footwear but could not find anything I like, so I might take part in my normal sports shoes but I think I will need more cushioning for concrete/tarmac. 

I am raising money via this Just Giving Page. Please consider sponsoring me if you can. 

 

Blog "Let’s make 2024 a success - Vote in our service group elections and celebrate UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ Workers" Christina McAnea

"Happy New Year to everyone in UNISON and here’s to a successful year for you and your families.

I have high hopes for 2024 – 12 months of campaigning for UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ workers and for a national care service, securing pay deals across all public services and a general election that will push the chaotic Tories out of Westminster and bring in a new government.

A new government is a must for our members and for our public services. Our NHS, schools, local councils and emergency services are on their knees and stuck in a state of crisis. The current government’s legacy is one of slashing jobs, squeezing budgets, and falling living standards for millions of working people. We need a Labour government that will rebuild our public services, put workers first with a new deal for working people and create a national care service.

Campaigning for that change in government will be a big part of our mission this year, but we won’t let election fever take over our daily task of fighting for our members’ pay and conditions. Day in, day out, our activists and organisers are supporting members in workplaces across the UK, and our teams in head office are mounting legal challenges, influencing politicians, preparing campaigns and helping members when they need us most.   

We’ll also be celebrating our Year of LGBT+ workers in UNISON style – continuing to be loud and proud against homophobia and transphobia, and ensuring that UNISON always remains the best trade union for LGBT+ public service workers.  

And later this year, there’s something that every working member can get involved with. From 22 April to 17 May, voting will be open for your representatives on UNISON’s service group executives (SGEs) – the lay leaders who decide on campaigns, pay claims, strike ballots and industrial action. Ahead of that member ballot, from next Monday (8 January) until 9 February, branches can nominate their preferred candidates.

Our SGEs are so important in UNISON. They’re powerful groups of activists that keep UNISON with you throughout your working life, campaigning for fair pay and conditions, safe and healthy working conditions, job security, work-life balance, equal pay and against discrimination.

So if you want some more new year’s resolutions, here’s two for you – have your say in UNISON’s SGE elections and get involved in our Year of LGBT+ workers activities that will be taking place throughout 2024.

From everyone in UNISON, we hope you have a happy, healthy and successful 2024".

"E7 Now and then" relaunch (& today is 133th Anniversary of the deaths of 26 Boys at Forest Gate Workhouse)

 

The Forest Gate, (Newham, London) local history site "E7-Now and then" is being relaunched after a 5 year gap. Which is really good news for people like me who live in Forest Gate and is fascinated by all history. Until I read about it in the site I had no idea that the British Union of Fascists had an office and headquarters 200m away from me nor that 26 boys had died in a fire in a workhouse nearby caused by official negligence. 

But anyone interested in history would find something to look at in this site.There is already over 200 articles. 

John Walker is the author/publisher of the site and he has also written a very moving book about the deaths of the boys in workhouse - and the pretty dreadful conditions children endured there for over 70 years. check out :-

"Out of Sight, Out of Mind - Abuse, Neglect and Fire in a London Children's Workhouse, 1854-1907 https://www.newhambooks.co.uk/ ISBN 978-1-7399142-0-2.

We had hoped to mark the anniversary today (fire took place 1 January 1890) as we did in 2021 https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2021/01/an-awful-new-year-day-calamity.html but it didn't happen but maybe next year. 

Follow the site also on twitter 

E7-NowAndThen

@e7_nowandthen