Brighton & Hove Unison

27/09/2026

A survey of UNISON members has found almost half are losing sleep worrying about those who rely on them.

• 87% say their workload has increased in the past year.
• 79% are being asked to do more with fewer resources.

This can't go on.

After years of cuts and underfunding, public services are at breaking point. The Government must act now with the investment public services urgently need.

Read more 👉 unsn.uk/47hW9q0

19/09/2026

An average day in the office for UNISON. Fighting to save public services and public assets in a climate of continuing managed decline and underinvestment.

Closing Wellington House makes a mockery of Labour's pledge to usher in a new generation of insourcing.

The impact on the individuals who go there and their families and our members who work there is going to be devastating.

17/09/2026

SAVE WELLINGTON HOUSE!

Our opinion piece calling on all members of Cabinet at Brighton & Hove City Council to vote to save this vital day centre for adults with learning disabilities from closure today.

Brighton Hove and District Trades Union Council Brighton & Hove Labour Group Brighton & Hove Green Party Save Wellington House Day Centre Cllr Bella Sankey Brighton and Hove Speak Out

The closure of the day centre at Wellington House, in Brighton, risks costing much more than the £340,000 saving outlined

20/08/2026

Brighton and Hove UNISON unequivocally supports the statement of our General Secretary, Andrea Egan, on the tragic death of Professor Jason Arday.

It is a sign of the times that we have had to turn off comments outside of groups and people we follow on this post. This is because social media activity around the Professor's death has included the most vile, overtly racist, callous comments and we are not prepared to create a space for any more of that, particularly as we know the majority of it is generated by bots, that are coming from and funded by extreme far right organisations and authoritarian states.

If you would like to do something practical to express your support for Professor Arday's family and all those that knew him, you can sign The Good Law Project's petition for an independent inquiry: https://goodlawproject.org/petition/jason-arday-letter/, and lodge a complaint to IPSO via Newscord's campaign page, which takes just minutes to complete: https://newscord.org/action/jason-arday-pile-on .

You can also read excellent investigative reporting on the organisations behind the systemic attack on Professor Arday in Byline Times: https://bylinetimes.com/2026/08/18/the-peter-thiel-linked-race-science-network-that-penetrated-cambridge-university-and-targeted-jason-arday/.....................

"I join the national Black members committee and Black members across UNISON in expressing deepest condolences to the family of Professor Jason Arday.

His tragic death raises many questions and no doubt has caused a profound sense of anger, shock, and grief. He was a highly respected Black academic whose life was unjustly subjected to relentless, biased, and disproportionate scrutiny by the media.

Professor Arday was not just an academic; he was a beacon of hope and inspiration for many in the Black community and beyond. His contributions to education and advocacy for equality were invaluable, yet the media's portrayal of him during his life and now in death, has been nothing short of disgraceful. The relentless coverage not only invaded his privacy but also perpetuated harmful stereotypes that continue to affect Black individuals and communities.

We are deeply concerned about the role that the media has played in this tragedy. Serious questions must be asked regarding how the media has fulfilled the Editor's Code of Practice, which is designed to uphold standards of accuracy, fairness, and respect for individuals.

The disproportionate focus on Professor Arday, particularly in a manner that has been overwhelmingly negative, raises alarming questions about the ethical responsibilities of media outlets in their reporting on Black individuals.

The anger, shock, and grief felt by Black members, the wider Black communities, and Professor Arday's family cannot be overstated. Professor Arday’s death is not merely an isolated case; it is indicative of a broader systemic issue where Black lives are scrutinised and sensationalised without regard for dignity or humanity. We stand in solidarity with Jason's family and all those deeply impacted during this time of mourning.

As a trade union committed to social justice and equality, UNISON demands accountability. We will be writing to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and to the culture secretary Lisa Nandy, urging them to take immediate action through a thorough investigation into the media's conduct surrounding Professor Arday's coverage. It is imperative that we hold the media accountable for their actions and ensure that no other individual suffers the same indignities.

We expect a prompt response outlining the steps that will be taken to address these serious concerns. The time for change is now, and we must work together to ensure that the dignity of every individual, is respected and upheld.

Andrea"

UNISON Brighton Hove and District Trades Union Council Brighton and Hove Black History Brighton & Hove Stands Up To Racism HOPE not hate

16/07/2026

Incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has an historic opportunity to end over a decade of decline and pay cuts in our council and schools. Pay increases bring in more tax payments to the treasury and put money back in local communities so make sure you look out for your purple ballot envelope and vote YES for strike action on pay.

Brighton & Hove UNISON is the only union balloting council and schools’ staff in the city on this year’s pay offer. 3.3% is way below the National Joint Council unions (UNISON, UNITE and the GMB) demand of 10% and does nothing to address the historic shortfall in pay against inflation which means council and schools’ staff are effectively working a day a week for free.

The ballot is open till 6 August, and anyone who joins UNISON by 23 July can join the fight back for fair pay.

UNISON have moved swiftly to ballot as delays to pay increases have adverse affects to those, in particular, in receipt of in-work benefits where bulk back-payments can affect Universal Credit payments in particular.

Work out how much pay you've lost: https://unisonpaycalculator.co.uk/

Pledge to help get the vote out in your workplace: https://unison.org.uk/activity-pledge-council-and-schools-pay

UNISON ✊👊💪 See less

13/07/2026

🚩UNISON’s council and school members vote on pay strikes! 🚩

Around 200,000 council and school workers at more than 500 employers in England and Wales, including Brighton and Hove City Council begin voting today (Thursday) on whether to strike over pay. The ballot runs until Thursday 6 August. Look out for your purple envelope in the post over the coming weeks!

Anyone who joins UNISON in the next two weeks can be included in the ballot. So join now if you want to be a part of the fightback.

The ballot follows the union's rejection of a 3.3% pay offer from local government employers, which UNISON says falls well short of restoring the value of staff pay after years of decline. Teaching assistants, social workers, waste collection staff, trading standards teams, housing officers and librarians are among those voting in the four-week ballot.

UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said today: “Council and school workers kept vital services running through years of brutal austerity, with rising demand and relentless pressure. They deserve far better than another pay offer leaving them falling ever further behind:

“This huge ballot is the direct consequence of employers expecting staff to accept less while delivering more, year after year. That's taken a growing toll on workers, on local services and on the communities depending on them.”

Earlier this year, local government employers wrote to the three main unions – UNISON, Unite and GMB – outlining the 3.3% pay deal for 2026-27. All three rejected the deal. UNISON and Unite are now balloting over potential strikes.

UNISON says the employers' offer does nothing to reverse years of falling pay across local government and schools. Staff have seen the value of their wages fall by an average of around 26% since 2010, when adjusted for inflation.

The impact has been felt across the workforce. Typically, for a teaching assistant that is equivalent to around £7,000 in lost real-terms pay, as much as £18,000 for a social worker and almost £19,500 for a housing officer.

Low pay is also making it harder for councils and schools to recruit and retain staff, which adds pressure on vital local services and the communities relying on them, the union says.

Andrea added: “No one chooses lightly to take strike action. And there's still time for employers to improve this pay offer and avoid a dispute.

“Failing that, it should come as no surprise if workers decide the only way left to secure the fair pay and respect they deserve is to walk out.”

If the ballot is successful when would we go on strike?

If workers back industrial action, walkouts could begin early in the autumn.

08/07/2026

UNISON has warned that government plans to extend the wait for settlement rights from 5 to 15 years could worsen staff shortages in social care by driving overseas workers away. The changes build on earlier 2025 visa restrictions that already reduced international recruitment.

UNISON has warned that government plans to extend the wait for settlement rights from 5 to 15 years could worsen staff shortages in social care by driving overseas workers away. The changes build on earlier 2025 visa restrictions that already reduced international recruitment. The union argues tha

01/07/2026

UNISON rep Alex Eades has been raising money for the charity, Charlotte’s BAG, which supports research into brain tumours. The charity was set up in honour of Charlotte Eades, Alex’s daughter, who died of a brain tumour in 2016, aged 19.

UNISON rep Alex Eades has been raising money for the charity, Charlotte’s BAG, which supports research into brain tumours. The charity was set up in honour of Charlotte Eades, Alex’s daughter, who died of a brain tumour in 2016, aged 19. Charlotte was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer i...

29/06/2026

SAVE WELLINGTON HOUSE! ✊🤝⏰❤️❗️📣

Our branch was at today's protest outside Hove Town Hall, representing our members who are skilled and experienced support workers and advocates for many of the city's most vulnerable adults with learning disabilities. We stood with parents and carers today who talked of their devastation at the possibility of the centre closing. This isn't just about uprooting their children and loved ones from a service they have known for years - it's about tearing apart a community, that they and their families rely on.

Wellington House is THE LAST council run day centre for adults with learning disabilities. It has the capacity, the skilled workforce and the space to become a centre of excellence for our learning disabled community.

The council must:

▶️focus on the growth of the service and the development of it and the building's potential to raise revenue.

▶️stop the sell off of our city's assets and focus on prevention through the insourcing of excellent service provision.

▶️make a decision in September based on the feedback and ideas of service users families, LD organisations and campaign groups, our trade union and our members and consider alternative proposals to closure.

▶️make a decision based on human rights not money. Service users are not a 'unit cost' they are people!

If just two home-care relationships break down due to the pressures of changed provision, the projected savings from the closure could be written off through high-cost residential provision in just 2 years. And if more than two broke down through the lack of proper provision in the city it would go even quicker and potentially lead to being a cost rather than a saving.



Brighton Hove and District Trades Union Council Amaze Disability Pride Brighton Brighton & Hove Labour Group Brighton & Hove Green Party UNISON

26/06/2026

How any union can support a non Net Zero Chancellor when people are dropping dead all over Europe with heatstroke is beyond comprehension. They should instead be focusing all their efforts on a just transition for fossil fuel and arms workers so they can stop doing jobs that contribute to killing trade union members in other countries.

Exclusive: Head of trade union backs energy secretary to replace Rachel Reeves, but two other big unions are opposed UK politics live – latest updates