Blog: Tags > Equalities
OCTOBER 10, 2022
Acevo identify that gender pay gap grows to 11 per cent amongst charity chiefs
The annual survey of chief executives, conducted by the umbrella body Acevo, found that the median annual salary for a male leader is £60,000, compared with £53,500 for women. The Pay and Equalities Survey for 2022 found that gender pay gap ... Read more
OCTOBER 10, 2022
The World Health Organisation recognises World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year. The theme of this years World Mental Health Day, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is 'Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority'. For over ... Read more
JULY 21, 2022
March and Demonstration for action on homeless crisis
Unite the union is lending its support to a demonstration and march in Belfast called by The People’s Kitchen and a wider coalition of homeless charities in response to the recent spate of deaths on the streets. The initiative has ... Read more
JULY 14, 2022
Cost of living crisis threatens pre-pandemic fall in child deprivation
Deprivation levels among disadvantaged families seen were falling before the Covid-19 pandemic but now there are concerns that these reductions could be reversed by the cost-of-living crisis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published its annual living standards, poverty and ... Read more
JUNE 29, 2022
New evidence of the ‘year of financial fear’ being endured by UK’s low-income families has been published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation with analysis of the toll taken by the current cost of living crisis on the 40% of households ... Read more
JUNE 13, 2022
Government Food Strategy Misses the Mark
The government’s long-awaited food strategy has been branded a “pale imitation” of proposals put forward by an advisor to reduce food poverty in England according to an article published in Children and Young People Now. The strategy“focuses on longer-term measures to ... Read more
MAY 17, 2022
International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Unite is proud to recognise International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on 17 May. Known as IDAHOBIT for short, this date was chosen as it commemorates the date of the decision to remove homosexuality from classification as a mental ... Read more
MARCH 21, 2022
Unite ‘Red Box’ protest outside parliament
Members of Unite Community will head to parliament on Wednesday, the day of the chancellor’s spring statement, to protest at Rishi Sunak's failure to provide meaningful help for the UK’s poorest households through the deepest cost of living crisis for ... Read more
MARCH 08, 2022
Unite the union - always defending and advancing women's jobs, pay and conditions
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias. Celebrate women's ... Read more
FEBRUARY 07, 2022
Support for Regina Coeli House
Barbara McIlwrath (Sec) and Carolyn Lowry (Chair) of the CYWU NI Branch 114, (The Community, Youth and Playworkers in Unite) presented Bernie from Regina Coeli House with £200 in Sainsbury’s vouchers donated from the branch to help support the workers ... Read more
JANUARY 12, 2022
Care workers rely on food banks as bosses stop sick pay
Two committed Bedford Borough Council care workers are relying on food banks to survive, after the council stopped paying them due to absences caused by long Covid used up all their sick pay allowance. Unite the union said this case raised ... Read more
JANUARY 12, 2022
High court rules that the VIP Lane for awarding PPE contracts was unlawful
The government's use of a "VIP lane" to award contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) to two companies was unlawful, the High Court has ruled. Campaigners claimed the VIP lane was reserved for referrals from MPs, ministers and senior officials and ... Read more
DECEMBER 10, 2021
SHAMEFUL OUTSOURCING OF TURING SCHEME TO CAPITA
Education unions and MPs have criticised a government decision to outsource a £6.27m contract to run the Turing Scheme - which replaced Erasmus+ - to private firm Capita. The Turing Scheme was introduced by the Department for Education as a replacement ... Read more
DECEMBER 01, 2021
Call on Tory MPs to stop constituents facing `heat or eat' choice this winter
WHEN: Wednesday 1 December, and then 6-18 December 2021WHERE: 25 towns and cities across Northern England and the Midlands (see note to editors for full details), first stop Dewsbury Unite Community members are to tour 25 ‘Red Wall' seats in the run up to Christmas to ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 13, 2021
Unite calls for a ‘New deal’ for ‘Shared Lives’ foster carers looking after 14,000 vulnerable adults
Employers have been urged by Unite the union to give a ‘new deal’ to the UK’s 10,000 ‘Shared Lives’ foster carers who look after about 14,000 vulnerable adults, many with learning difficulties, in their homes. Unite said that many of the ... Read more
AUGUST 16, 2021
Young people to be hit hardest if UC uplift scrapped
Over 620,000 families with children have started claiming Universal Credit since the start of the pandemic, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions – a 51% increase. Youth homelessness charity Centrepoint reports that claimants under the age ... Read more
AUGUST 03, 2021
A Sky Pool and the ghettoisation of Nine Elms
While the rich splash about in the city's most indulgent swimming pool, those down below are living very different lives. If you’re an affordable housing tenant then the Sky Pool is not for you. Private residents of Nine Elms basked in ... Read more
JULY 30, 2021
Child Poverty Action – Universal Credit: what needs to change to make it fit for families?
Universal credit: what needs to change to reduce child poverty and make it fit for families? calls for design and funding changes to improve claimants’ experience of universal credit and to reduce child poverty. It includes new analysis by IPPR which ... Read more
JULY 19, 2021
Social Mobility Commission – State of the Nation Report
In its report for 2021, the Social Mobility Commission reflects on the impact of the pandemic in the UK, as well as three years of its own reporting, and says 'There could not be a more pressing time for the ... Read more
JULY 16, 2021
Unite National Black & Asian Ethnic Minority Committee Statement
Unite’s National Black & Asian Ethnic Minority Committee (NBAEM) strongly condemns the racist abuse and comments posted on social media targeting England football players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho. Like the rest of the country watching the UEFA Euro ... Read more
MAY 03, 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) sets out the latest picture of what is known about depression and adults during the pandemic so far with findings estimating that one in five adults have experienced some form of depression during the ... Read more
APRIL 14, 2021
LGBTQ+ charity condemns government decision to disband LGBT advisory panel
Organisations supporting young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have condemned the government’s decision to disband its LGBT advisory panel with no immediate replacement. Following the resignation of three panel members last month over claims the government was creating a ... Read more
MARCH 31, 2021
Race report fails to address endemic inequalities
Unite has said that the government’s report on race and ethnic disparities has ‘extinguished any hope in addressing rife and deep seated inequalities’. Unite was commenting on The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities which was set up after Black Lives ... Read more
MARCH 17, 2021
Unite calls for action on violence against women amid domestic abuse bill victory
Unite and other unions are demanding safety, justice and equality for women after Sarah Everard’s murder has reignited a national conversation about violence against women. Earlier this month, Sarah Everard went missing after last being seen walking home from a friend’s ... Read more
MARCH 14, 2021
The fundamental freedom to protest is under grave threat, Unite has warned, as new draconian legislation significantly expanding police powers over public demonstration is being rushed through Parliament this week. MPs will be weighing up the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts ... Read more
MARCH 08, 2021
This government is actively anti-women
Unite national officer Siobhan Endean: On International Women’s Day, let’s organise to hold this government to account It couldn’t be clearer. The Tories are completely out of touch with the realities for women of the impact of the pandemic and have ... Read more
FEBRUARY 18, 2021
Into the clutches of poverty and hunger
Growing calls to cancel £20-a-week Universal Credit cut as new research shows 420k children will be plunged into poverty if extra payment is axed Pressure on chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift continues to mount as the ... Read more
JANUARY 23, 2021
Young people struggling with life amid pandemic
Research finds that four in 10 young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) have said they feel "unable to cope with life" since the start of the pandemic. The Prince’s Trust Tesco Youth Index found that a quarter of ... Read more
DECEMBER 11, 2020
More than half the country wants the £20-a-week boost to Universal Credit made permanent
More than half the country wants chancellor Rishi Sunak to continue permanently with the £20-a-week uplift in Universal Credit (UC) due to end in April 2021, according to a survey carried out by Survation for Unite the union, as millions ... Read more
DECEMBER 09, 2020
New study finds rapid growth in destitution across the UK
The third report in the Destitution in the UK series by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reveals that even before the COVID-19 outbreak destitution was rapidly growing in scale and intensity. JRF found that since 2017 many more households, including families ... Read more
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
Massive increase in food bank usage during pandemic underscores necessity for welfare reform
New figures released today reveal 2,600 emergency food parcels were provided for children every day on average by food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network during the first six months of the pandemic. Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK network saw a shocking 47% increase in need during the crisis, building on record ... Read more
NOVEMBER 05, 2020
Attacks on sign language interpreting opportunistic
‘Opportunistic’ attacks on sign language interpreting/translation services during the coronavirus pandemic will cause ‘long term misery’ on deaf communities struggling during the crisis, the National Union of British Sign Language Interpreters (NUBSLI), a branch of Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The pandemic ... Read more
NOVEMBER 03, 2020
Unite launch Christmas appeal for struggling families
The Covid crisis has resulted with thousands of Unite members losing their jobs and many are now relying on a completely inadequate social security system. The union is determined to do all it can to help and has launched a Christmas ... Read more
OCTOBER 19, 2020
Axing Union Learning Fund short-sighted and self-defeating
Plans to axe the Union Learning Fund, which has helped thousands of people to gain new skills for the workplace, has been branded as ‘short-sighted and self-defeating’ by Unite. Unite is strongly supporting the TUC’s Save Union Learning campaign, following the shock ... Read more
OCTOBER 09, 2020
Ground-breaking agreement to promote tolerance
Unite’s Unity Over Division campaign has been given another big boost with Caerphilly County Borough Council becoming the first local authority, in Wales and in the UK, to formally agree the adoption of a “Unity over Division” Charter. The Joint Trade ... Read more
OCTOBER 05, 2020
Time to insource social care services
Social care in this country is broken and the global pandemic and the UK government’s failure to protect social care users and staff has laid bare the broken system like never before. Covid-19, with its horrific death toll among both residents ... Read more
AUGUST 12, 2020
New domestic violence policy agreed with Peabody
Unite have signed off a new policy on domestic violence with Peabody, a London based housing association, which includes agreement to provide up to seventy hours of paid leave for employees experiencing domestic abuse and to be flexible with annual ... Read more
AUGUST 05, 2020
Charities and unions call on parliament to suspend Tory MP accused of rape
A joint statement by the TUC, Centenary Action Group, The Fawcett Society, Women’s Aid and trade unions representing parliamentary staff (Unite, Prospect, PCS and FDA) said sexual assault and harassment was “endemic” in parliament, as in other workplaces. The statement calling ... Read more
JULY 29, 2020
Government accused of a ‘negligent’ approach to social care during coronavirus
The damning report by MPs into hospital patients in England being discharged into care homes without a Covid-19 test reinforces the need for a public inquiry, sooner rather than later, into the government’s handling of the pandemic. The influential cross-party Public ... Read more
JULY 15, 2020
#UniversalDisCredit Day of Action
The continued use of benefit sanctions just as the country is entering a period of heavy and sustained job losses is ‘unnecessary and particularly cruel’ and must be stopped. The Unite Community campaign to reform the most punitive elements of Universal ... Read more
JUNE 16, 2020
Groundbreaking agreement in fight against racism
Unite’s Unity Over Division campaign has been given a big boost after an employer in Nottingham was the first to sign the anti-racism initiative’s charter. Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) becomes the first employer to sign up to Unite’s Unity over ... Read more
APRIL 06, 2020
#WhateverItTakes for Social Care
In our blog on 1st April, we highlighted the vital need for social care workers to be provided with adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) to enable them to work safely providing the much needed care in the community. The call for ... Read more
MARCH 05, 2020
An equal world is an enabled world
International Women's Day 2020 is celebrated on Sunday 8th March and this year's theme is #EachforEqual, drawn from a notion of 'Collective Individualism' where working together, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender equal world. We can ... Read more
FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Unite demands a joined-up government response to eradicate rough sleeping
The ‘disgraceful’ number of rough sleepers across the country demands a joined-up government response which has been lacking over a decade of Tory rule which has seen a ‘revolving door’ of housing ministers hinder plans to eradicate rough sleeping. Unite said that the lack ... Read more
JANUARY 09, 2020
One in four workers on minimum wage illegally underpaid As the government’s mandatory minimum wage is set to rise to just £8.72 an hour in April, new research by The Resolution Foundation report has revealed that an astounding 25 per cent of minimum ... Read more
NOVEMBER 06, 2019
£1 million cuts plan: Peabody workers announce strike ballot
Peabody housing plan £1 million cuts to housing management budgets by March 2020 with potentially devastating consequences to residents and workers. Unite members have voted overwhelmingly to start a formal strike ballot. In the spring management launched a brutal restructure and ... Read more
NOVEMBER 05, 2019
Apology from St Mungo’s after sharing rough sleeper information
St Mungo’s Chief Executive Howard Sinclair has apologised for sharing information about migrant rough sleepers with the Home Office saying, “The executive team takes full responsibility for this and is sorry it happened.” Despite St Mungo’s management being repeatedly warned by ... Read more
OCTOBER 24, 2019
ONS show highest year-on-year increase in homeless deaths
In 2018, there were an estimated 726 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales, 129 (22%) more deaths than in 2017 when there were 597 estimated deaths. The increase is statistically significant and represents the largest year-to-year increase in ... Read more
OCTOBER 16, 2019
Employment Tribunal finds that St Mungos victimised female worker
A recent judgement from by an Employment Tribunal found that St Mungos had victimised a staff member following her submission of an equal pay questionnaire. The HR director, Helen Giles, had told the staff member that she would never work in the ... Read more
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
Bombshell report launched today laying bare the misery of Universal Credit
A ‘bombshell’ report and survey of nearly 1,200 Universal Credit claimants by the community section of Unite lays bare the misery of the scheme’s failed introduction with evidence of people becoming suicidal, going without food, being forced into debt and unable to ... Read more
AUGUST 20, 2019
Charity workers share personal experiences of racism via social media
The hashtag #CharitySoWhite has been trending on Twitter as people in the sector share their experiences of racism and discrimination. By 5pm on Tuesday, there had been over 2,000 tweets, with many of them liked and retweeted multiple times over, and ... Read more
AUGUST 13, 2019
Wage growth stuck in the slow lane
British workers are set for more wage pain as figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed earnings growth slowed in the three months to April, reporting that average total wages grew by only 2.5 per cent year-on-year ... Read more
JUNE 04, 2019
‘Stop exploiting staff goodwill’
Our survey reveals staff in the community and voluntary sector including for big name organisations such as Save the Children, RSPCA, Friends of the Earth, Citizens Advice, Oxfam and others found that 80% have experienced workplace stress in the last year with ... Read more
MAY 17, 2019
Recognising IDAHOBIT and raising awareness
Unite the Union is proud to recognise International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia , known as IDAHOBIT for short, this date was chosen as it commemorates the date of the decision to remove homosexuality from classification as a mental illness ... Read more