SURVEY ON WORKING PRACTICES  We are inviting you to take part in our survey on working practices. The purpose of this survey is to gather information that can be used to help us in future discussions with employers on a fair and sustainable return to work....

*** School Uniform Grant *** If you have kids going back to school soon, you may be able to get help with the cost of their uniforms. They are one-off grants of £50 per school age child, up to a total of £150. To find out more information, head over to the...

**FREE WORKSHOPS ON TRAUMA AND PTSD** Our colleagues at Unison Scotland Learning and Organising have secured funding for one hour digital workshops on Trauma and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) awareness. Many public sector workers and those working...

*FOR ATTENTION OF OUR EDUCATION MEMBERS - SAFE RETURN TO SCHOOLS & EARLY YEARS INFORMATION PACK* UNISON has produced an information pack and safety checklist for members working in schools and early years. UNISON stresses that we need risk assessments,...

Local Government workers' survey Members, please take part in UNISON Scotland's latest survey. Your views are important and they will help shape our campaign for local government. Take part here: https://unison-scotland.org/local-government-workers-survey/...

** COVID-19 - PPE UPDATE** Today UNISON said: The situation with regards to PPE for key workers in Argyll & Bute has been at best mixed and at worst disgraceful. The situation on the ground for too many key workers has been lack of clarity and lack of...

** CORONAVIRUS UPDATE **We hope you are all keeping well during this unprecedented time.We want to thank all of you for your continuing to work hard and providing an essential public service for when our communities need us most.The situation is changing...

SOCIAL WORK MEMBERS Please see our flier below which details all our upcoming social work meetings. Social Work Members Meetings 2020 We hope to see you there. Please get in touch at unisonargyllandbute@gmail.com if you need any further...

Get help with your winter fuel bills Are you on a low income? Help is on hand! There for You has set up a limited fund to help UNISON members. If your net income is £18,000 or less you may be eligible to receive a grant of £40. To apply and download the...

*Letter sent the Council Leader and Policy Lead for Health and Social Care to urge the need for the Council to look into insourcing for home care* UNISON believes it is time for Argyll & Bute Council and the HSCP to look again at how care at home services...

This competition is now closed! Congratulations to Pamela McNaughton! Thank you to all members who took part and updated their contact details on...

  We are currently in the process of planning out 2020 AGM and hope to communicate with members electronically. The only way to make this possible is for members to make sure their membership details are accurate and up-to-date. We are asking you to...

***Backdated Pay Award*** Argyll and Bute Council's pensions and payroll team is working hard to ensure the backdated pay award will be paid to council employees before the end of March. This follows the Scottish Joint Council for Local Government...

AGM 2019  A massive thank  you to all our members who attended the AGM last Wednesday, 27 February 2019, in Helensburgh. It was brilliant to see such a good turnout. For those of you who couldn't make it, here are the minutes from the meeting:  Minutes...

Thank you to all of you who voted in the recent local government pay ballot. 91% of you voted, and in record numbers, to accept the employers offer. UNISON communicated that to the employer as soon as the ballot concluded. Since then we have been waiting...

Pay ballot results are in... and UNISON members overwhelmingly vote to ACCEPT the pay offer. Read UNISON Scotland's press release here for more info: http://www.unison-scotland.org/unison-members-overwhelming…/ Thanks to all our members who voted! What a...

Members, We would like to invite you to our upcoming Annual General Meeting, open to all members and non-members to attend. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Date: Wednesday 27 February 2019 Time: 12 noon – 2pm Venue: Marriage Room, Helensburgh and Lomond Civic...

FOR ALL OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEMBERS - THE PAY OFFER ONLINE BALLOT IS NOW OPEN. Please check your emails (and your junk folder) as you will have been sent a personalised link from UNISON for your vote. If you have not received this email, click on the...

Good morning members, We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We thank you all for your hard work over the year and for continuing to support the branch and UNISON. We also thank those members who are working over the holidays. In the...

Did you know that UNISON can help with staying warm this winter. "There for You" has a fund to help UNISON members on low income by way of a one-off payment of up to £60. The fund opens on 3 December 2018 and is open until the 15 February 2019 -  for more...

We would like to thank all our members who voted in the recent pay ballot! The result of the consultative ballot is: 79% of those voting voted to reject the offer 67% of those voting voted to take industrial action, up to and including strike action in...

YOU CAN NOW VOTE ON THE PAY OFFER. You should receive an email with details on how to vote. if you don't get an email you can vote at https://unison.tfaforms.net/52 or by phoning Unison Direct 08000 857...

Members will be able to vote on this year's pay offer from Tuesday 16th October. You should receive an email giving details of how to vote. Over the course of this summer thousands of you participated in UNISON’s ONE Team campaign to improve the 2018 pay...

Are you a UNISON member and fancy being in the chance of winning £100? The branch is looking to reduce our carbon footprint and we are hoping that all communication about  the 2019 AGM can be done digitally. The only way to make this possible is for...

UPDATE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT PAY OFFER 2018 UNISON is about to consult members with a recommendation that you reject the latest local government pay offer of a 3% increase on a 1 year deal. Members need to know that the branch is in support of rejecting this...

Are you or anyone you know interested in attending a computing and online basics course, in Rothesay? UNISON is running a fully funded course, open to all staff and non-members. The course will involve... Introduction to computer, keyboard and mouse;...

UNISON Scotland is launching the next phase of the Local Government Pay Campaign! We are asking all members to send a postcard to the President of COSLA before the next meeting of COSLA leaders on 31 August. Any improvement to the pay offer would have to...

  Welfare Report – June 2018 Hi, my name’s Brenda Nicholson. I’m the Welfare Officer in the UNISON Argyll and Bute branch. There for You is an independent charity, supported by Unison. Unison is the only union which has an in-house charity to provide...

Hello members, the closing date for the UNISON's school uniform grant is soon approaching, so please send in your application form as soon as possible. You can find an application form below, along with some general Q and As about the grant. The last day...

Members - whether you’re new to learning, returning to study or want to upgrade your Continuing Professional Development (CPD),  The Open University (OU) in Scotland have developed a range of resources that meet your workplace learning needs.  The OU works...

Hello members. We're calling on you to support and share UNISON's latest Education Campaign: It's ONE team - we all deserve fair pay. During the month of June, UNISON will highlight the fact that education is delivered by a whole team and not solely by...

Hello members, we just want to let you know that we have been continually pursuing the issue of those members who have had leave deducted when they couldn’t get to work during the severe weather warning. Just because it didn’t snow in Kilmory the impact of...

Argyll & Bute Council Joint Trade Unions have written to the Chief Executive of Argyll and Bute Council (ABC) and the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) about the proposed redundancies for a number of council posts in the Kintyre Community Care...

Message from our Welfare Officer, Brenda Nicholson... Did you know that UNISON offers financial help for those on a low income? The fund can help towards the cost of school uniforms. To apply, visit the following page and download the application form...

MEMBERS – PLEASE READ THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PAY AWARD 2018 UPDATE FROM UNISON SCOTLAND BELOW: Local Government Pay You will be aware that UNISON, along with the other trade unions representing members in Local Government, submitted a joint pay claim to your...

Hello members! The Open University will be running two Mental Health Awareness workshops that are free to attend for members: Date: Monday 23 April 2018 or Tuesday 24 April 2018 Time: 9.30 am - 3.30 pm Location: Oban The course objectives are as follows: -...

Check out the latest UNISON Scotland LGBT newsletter! OUT 2 newsletter

Speaking today after the meeting of the Integrated Joint Board of the Argyll & Bute Health and Social Care Partnership Simon Macfarlane UNISON Regional Organiser said: “UNISON campaigned against devastating cuts to jobs and services that were considered...

In order to enable more people to participate the Argyll and Bute Branch of UNISON will be holding two AGMs this year. All members are invited! First AGM - Venue: Corran Halls, Oban - Date: Friday 23 February 2018 - Time: 12:00 – 14:00pm Second AGM -...

The government needs to safeguard services and protect staff Responding to today’s (Monday) news that Carillion has gone into liquidation, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “This is a terrible time for the thousands of people employed under...

The Menopause in Work survey, which was launched at the STUC women’s conference in Glenrothes on 30th October, is open until 1st December 2017. The STUC women's committee is interested in investigating how Scottish employers are responding to menopause in...

In these difficult financial times Modern Apprenticeships are often the only way for youngsters to get into work.  We recognise that the “wages” for these trainees are extremely low so to help these employees the Branch is offering to subsidise free membership to...

A message from Mike Kirby - UNISON Scotland Secretary   We cannot miss this opportunity to put pressure on both UK and Scottish Governments to pay all public service workers a fair pay rise. Please join me and assemble at 11am, Johnston Terrace,...

3 hour course supporting people in transition from work to retirement and in later life. 9 November 2017 1-4pm, Lochgilphead Are you over 50? Are you thinking of retiring or recently retired? Are you facing redundancy? Then this course is for you.   In this short...

Did you know you might have to wait longer than expected for your state pension. If so, you fall into a group of women who have been particularly badly affected by the changes to your state pension age. UNISON believes that this is unfair and has been...

UNISON National Conference, Brighton, June 2017 Kevin McIntosh, our Branch Chairperson, attended the conference in Brighton and sent back this report……. Tuesday the 20th of June 2017 A slower start this Tuesday morning as the National delegate conference...

How UNISON changed the law UNISON has just won the most significant legal challenge in the history of British employment law. The result of our four-year legal battle with the government is that no-one has to pay a fee to get access to justice at an...

  Recruiting and Engagement Event Argyll & Bute Branch, Kilmory HQ Monday Aug 7th 2017 from 10.30am The purpose of my visit is to: Recruit new members (happy to answer any questions you have about the benefits of membership, the support you can...

Welcome to this new look Argyll and Bute UNISON branch website.  This website is now smart phone friendly with lots of new features, news, offers and more....... Get in touch if you want to add anything to the website or just fancy a chat........

I am delighted to tell you that UNISON Legal Services has been successful in its challenge to Employment Tribunal Fees. Today, the Supreme Court, the UK'S highest court, ruled that the Government acted unlawfully when it introduced fees to bring claims in the...