UNISON @ Newcastle Hospitals

Branch office: Level 2 Freeman Hospital High Heaton Newcastle NE7 7DN Tel/Fax:0191 2231373 Email:unison@nuth.nhs.uk
Home     About UNISON     Branch Information     Contact Us     Branch Newsletter     Agenda for Change     Update Page     Learning with UNISON     Equality in UNISON     Join UNISON     Legal Assistance     Membership Benefits     Links      
 
 
 
 

 
 
Welcome to our branch website. UNISON represents around 3000 staff in the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, including (but not exclusive of) nurses, health care assistants, porters and clerical staff. We negotiate for better pay and conditions, help individuals in trouble and campaign for a safer, fairer society.

UNISON is Britain's biggest union, representing almost 1.3 million people across the UK's public services.

 

You can use this site to...

 

  • Get help and advice
  • Contact the branch
  • Find out about benefits of UNISON membership
  • Check up on branch news and info
  • Visit other useful websites

 

                                                                                                                                           

 

22/02/2010

Women one step closer to pay justice

 

A ten-year battle for equal pay moved one step closer to victory for 160 women, including cleaners, telephonists, kitchen, laundry, ward hostess staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle. Today's decision by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Armstrong v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust clears the way for them to claim equal pay for work of equal value in respect to bonus payments previously only available to men at the hospital.

UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union, first took up the women's fight for equal pay in 2000 when it lodged claims on their behalf. Subsequently, the Trust has raised complex legal arguments at every stage, leading to a decade long legal wrangle.

When the case was first lodged, men working as porters at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle were typically paid bonuses of around £20 a week, which the women were not entitled to claim. As the women were earning around £4.17 an hour at this time, this was a significant loss of potential earnings. UNISON challenged this distinction, arguing that the women were entitled to equal pay for work of equal value. The Trust countered the challenge with a catalogue of complex legal defences and appeals.

Bronwyn McKenna, UNISON Head of Organising and Membership Services, said:

"It has taken ten long years to get just one small step closer to equal pay for work of equal value for these women. It is a mystery to me why employers waste huge amounts of time and public money defending claims for equal pay on spurious legal grounds.

"The law surrounding equal pay is complex and open to different interpretations, so we often end up in long legal battles. It is time we had a simpler system to ensure that women get pay justice without forcing them to jump through so many legal hoops.

"UNISON is now set to take this claim forward and we hope that these low paid women will finally get the pay justice they deserve."

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION RING 01912231373 or email unison@nuth.nhs.uk

 

 

 

 

 

UNISON Launches It's Million Voices for  Change Campaign

  

 

 A Million Voices for Change is UNISON's campaign to create a fairer society. If, like us you want to see changes that put people before profit and deliver social justice, good jobs and quality public services, then support our campaign
We want you to join our campaign because we think it really is time to create a fairer society. For too long our employers and our politicians have put profit and private gain before people and the public interest. A tiny minority have been getting rich at the expense of the rest of us.

Now, because of a crisis caused by the irresponsibility and greed of that minority, we are seeing people lose their jobs, their homes, their pensions, and all their hopes and dreams in the worst global recession since the second world war.

We need to say - never again. We're not going back to business as usual - tax cuts and bonuses for millionaires while everyone else works longer and harder to make ends meet and look after their families.

Now is the time for real change. Now is the time to build a fairer society and a more balanced and sustainable economy - based on social justice, good jobs, and quality public services.

Why public service workers are important

Public service workers are on the frontline of dealing with this recession - helping people in financial difficulties, guiding people back into work, creating new opportunities through education and training, dealing with increased rates of homelessness, family breakdown, and mental health problems.

We want to make sure our members get the support and the resources they need to help people through hard times and lay the foundations of our economic recovery.

 

Working with other unions

This is an international crisis, it's the crisis of an international economic system that has got out of hand and let people down.

We are working with our international allies, representing public service workers in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands, all standing together for action to beat the crisis and build a fairer future.

Add your voice

We're calling for:

  • social justice - help for those facing redundancy, repossessions and poverty - not bonuses and tax cuts for millionaires
  • good jobs - environmentally sustainable and socially useful jobs, with decent pay and pensions and a strong union voice
  • quality public services - no more privatisation. Increased investment in accountable public services like health, education and housing.

 

Add your voice to our million voices for change

NDC 2009: A million voices for change

 

 

We want to know you opinion, if you have any comments or feedback on the deal please email: unison@nuth.nhs.uk