About UNISON

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

UNISON members are people working in the public services, for private contractors providing public services and the essential utilities. They include manual and white collar staff working full or part time in local authorities, the NHS, colleges and schools, the electricity, gas and water industries, transport and the voluntary sector.

Most people join a union because they want protection at work - help with pay and conditions of service, legal or health and safety advice or representation in case things go wrong at work. That's what we're here for. UNISON negotiates on pay and working conditions at every level - local, regional and national. But we also do a lot more. Being a UNISON member gives you a range of benefits and unbeatable deals.

Every member of UNISON belongs to a local branch which is made up of people working for the same type of employer, e.g. local government.

Local stewards are there to represent you at work and help find the answers to your problems. They are volunteers and play a vital role in recruiting new members and organising your branch. If you have a problem, talk to your local steward. If they can't handle the problem on their own, they can talk to other branch officers or full - time union experts on your behalf.

Anyone can face problems at work sometimes but if you are a member of UNISON, you don't have to face them alone. We can provide advice or representation on things like pay, rotas, leave and sickness procedures. We are also there to help you make sure your workplace is healthy and safe, support you in case of disciplinary action, dismissals or redundancy

UNISON Angus Council Branch represents over 1500 members, with the majority working for Angus Council.

However we also represent members in Rossie Secure Accommodation Services, Tayside Valuation Joint Board, Angus Business Centre and the Voluntary Sector. The members are concerned in every aspect of local government in Angus, including housing, legal, financial, local assessors, registrars, roads, planning, education, leisure, social work, environmental and consumer protection.

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.

Reasons why workers are better off in unions

Value for money

Most union contributions represent only around half a percent of workers' earnings but the pay back is considerably greater.

Support at work

You have the legal right to be accompanied by a trade union representative if you have a workplace grievance or if you are facing disciplinary action.

Better pay - especially for ethnic minority and women workers

Trade union collective bargaining produces a better rate of pay for workers. Average earnings are around eight per cent higher in workplaces where the bulk of the workforce is covered by collective bargaining.

Black and Asian trade unionists earn almost a third more than their non-union counterparts. For white workers the union premium is ten per cent.

Pensions

Workplaces are more likely to have a pension scheme where a trade union is recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining.

Sick pay

Workers in unionised workplaces are more likely to get sick pay paid at higher than the statutory minimum than those in non-unionised workplaces.

Annual leave

The average trade union member in the UK gets 29 days' annual leave a year compared with 23 days for non-union members.

Equal opportunities and family-friendly working

Workplaces with union recognition are 20 per cent more likely to have an equal opportunities policy than workplaces where no union is recognised and 12 per cent more likely to have parental leave policies in place.

Women in unionised workplaces are better off in terms of career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and support for family responsibilities than women in non-union workplaces.

Job security

Trade union members are only half as likely to be sacked as non-members and if they do they get better compensation.

Three quarters of union-organised workplaces in an LRD survey had a procedure agreement on redundancy consultation, 80 per cent had agreed measures to avoid redundancy and almost three quarters had a redundancy pay scheme better than the statutory scheme.

Health and safety

Studies found there was a 50 per cent reduction in major injuries in workplaces where there were trade union safety reps and consultation. In trade unionised workplaces there was a 33 per cent improvement in health and safety.

Legal Compensation

Unions won over £321 million in legal compensation for their members who were victims of work-related illness and injury in 2000 - an average of more than £6,000 per case.

UNISON won £35 million for its members in personal injury cases alone in 2001 and many millions more in employment tribunal cases.

A majority of unions also offer legal help in non-work related cases, such as claiming social security benefits, representation in road traffic cases, free wills, and so on to members and their families.

Unions win or achieve settlements in 77 per cent of cases lodged with tribunals compared with 45 per cent of cases overall.

Training

Workers in unionised workplaces are more likely to receive job-related training than those in non-unionised workplaces.

Other membership benefits

Unions offer additional fringe membership benefits such as cheaper mortgages and insurance, holiday clubs, shopping discounts, credit cards, discounted car breakdown membership and so on.

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