UNITY is Strength: February Review
As the Scottish political commentariat immerses itself in the SNP leadership campaign, back in the real world workers, trade unions and community groups are engaged in the fight for better pay and conditions and are supporting working people who are on the frontline of the cost of living crisis.
At UNITY Consulting Scotland we are supporting a number of trade unions and organisations in their campaigning work.
This month alone we have completed a major report for the Wheatley Group on the impact of Universal Credit on tenants. The report will be launched later this month.
We organised a drop-in session for ASLEF at the Scottish Parliament where union reps met MSPs to discuss the list of priorities identified in their 'A vision for Scotland's railways' report.
As the Fire Brigades Union prepared for possible strike action over pay we provided media training to over 60 FBU reps. We assisted the FBU with the media in the aftermath of the tragedy at Jenners in Edinburgh.
In February the Office for National Statistics published new figures showing record numbers of workers on zero hours contracts we helped publicise this resulting in a major piece in the Sunday Herald. We also signed up several new employers to the Zero Hours Justice accreditation scheme.
With the postal dispute ongoing we helped facilitate the second meeting of the Communications Workers Union Scottish Parliamentary Group. Many MSPs visited picket lines at their local sorting office to show their support for the union.
As part of an initiative launched by the Baker Food and Allied Workers Union, we are working with academics, activists and campaigners to help develop research on food, food insecurity and work. Tommy Kane from UNITY Consulting chaired a session of the Food and Work Network in Liverpool and will be involved throughout the project.
This week the UNITY Consulting Scotland team were on the ground at the MOWI seafood plant in Rosyth speaking to workers as part of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union recruitment campaign. To complement this grassroots organising we produced social media content and a video.
The Public and Commercial Services Union represent civil servants across the UK. They are currently involved in targeted industrial action across government departments. UNITY Consulting is providing media, social media and strategic advice to the union in Scotland.
As a social enterprise we provide pro bono services to organisations whose values we share and are currently helping Blackburn and Seafield Credit Union and Scottish Hazards increase their profile and reach.
With industrial action and pressures on the trade union and voluntary sectors showing no sign of receding, it looks like March is going to be even busier.