About UNISON

Our Members

UNISON members are people working in the public services, for private contractors providing public services and for 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, such as:

• Help with pay and conditions of service,
• Legal or health and safety advice
• 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 employer. Please see how UNISON membership can benefit its members by visiting the 'Services' page.

Stewards

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 sometimes face problems at work 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 or support you in case of disciplinary action, dismissals or redundancy.

Something about the structure of UNISON

UNISON Regions
UNISON is divided into 12 Regions across the country. Our Branch is in the Yorkshire & Humberside Region which has its Head Office in Leeds. Each Branch has a Regional Officer assigned to it; ours is Tony Pearson. Regional Officers are full-time staff employed by UNISON.

UNISON Service Groups
UNISON has 6 Service Groups bringing together members working in similar areas. These are:

• Business & Environment
• Community & Voluntary Sector
• Education
• Local Government
• Police
• Health Care

Our Branch is part of the Education Service Group. Our Branch Secretary is currently Vice-Chair of the Regional Higher Education Service Group Committee.

Branch Documents

Here you can download the current (AGM 2009) copy of Branch Rules (63kB Word doc.) and some interesting FAQs about the work of Branch Officers and Stewards (25kB Word doc.)