Should i join unison or unite

Our members aren't troublemakers - but they do want to ensure that Birkbeck is a fair place to work. That's why we're all part of the union. What is the employer duty of care? Do you know about the employer duty of care? Employers have a duty of care to their employees, which means that they should take all steps which are reasonably possible to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing. Demonstrating concern for the physical and mental health of your workers shouldn't just be seen as a legal duty - there's a clear business case, too.

It can be a key factor in building trust and reinforcing your commitment to your employees, and can help improve staff retention, boost productivity and pave the way for greater employee engagement. Find out more about the duty of care - and if you think Birkbeck is failing in its duty of care, contact the union.

Which union should I join? If you are a member of professional support staff at Birkbeck although professional support staff on Grade 9 and above usually join UCU , you should join Unison. If you are an academic member of staff, a teaching and sessional staff member, or a researcher, you should contact UCU.

If you are a member of technical staff or a craftsperson in Estates and Facilities, you should contact Unite. What has the union ever done for members? We often hear people ask this. They'll tell us that they're wasting their membership fees, as we aren't doing anything for them. This couldn't be further from the truth. We do an awful lot for our members: we save people's jobs; we help them through disciplinaries; we engage with the college on health and safety; we push for equality; we challenge the college on policies and implementation - much of what we do is negotiated throughout the year, and we know we don't always tell you about everything we do mainly because we don't have enough resources to write up our successes , but you definitely benefit by being a member of our union.

Two particular examples of where we have made a difference to your life: Have you studied a course at Birkbeck, funded by Birkbeck? If you haven't benefited personally from this, we're sure you know someone who has - and it's a perk not offered by many other London colleges. Have you seen how much London weighting you get now incorporated in your salary? You would not have received that increase otherwise. At a national level, you may have heard that employment tribunal fees will be scrapped.

That's because Unison nationally took on the government to challenge the imposition of fees - which means that, outside of the union, people could no longer afford to challenge illegal practices at work. Join and start sharing your opinions with the world By signing up you accept our terms of use and privacy policy. Share Poll. Poll link. Sign in Sign Up. Our Privacy Notice governs your membership of our Influencer Panel, which you can access here.

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Share your opinion and get rewarded just like GeysirGal. Sign up to start earning now! GeysirGal months ago Which union is the best and is it worth joining one? I was wondering what others on here think about unions, and which one is the best to join, as I have been thinking about it for a while - not because of any particular problems, but just because it seems a good thing to do.

I work as a housekeeper for a large chain of care homes not the NHS , and have done a little research. Unite charge slightly more but are of course a much bigger union, so in theory at least should have more resources - their helpline for one thing is open longer hours, and at the weekends, which as I work weekends may be important.

Until a few years ago my employer had a collective agreement with them, but this was sadly scrapped. You can earn more Trade union members earn, on average, 10 per cent more than non-members.

You could get more holiday Unions are the people who brought you the weekend. Unite campaigns to protect your holiday entitlement. You can get a better deal Unite negotiates terms of maternity or paternity leave, pensions and redundancy, winning you more than the legal minimum. You are less likely to be injured There are 50 per cent fewer accidents in unionised workplaces. Is there any evidence of union organisation in your workplace? I've been a member of Unison only within fairly big employer based branches - I've no idea how good they are at representing individuals in 'non union' workplaces.

GMB seem to be able to cope with individuals from a friend's experience - she's a mobile care worker at a firm that's largely non union - can't speak for Unite. Yeah the shit hit fan probability is quite high in this job. I've worked with young people for about 9 years now, but in outdoor ed, where I've always felt a bit more supported, if only because if there was the smell of it would taint my employers.

It's definitely not a unionised workplace. I think there are only six staff with a few more who do the odd shift. Again from a position of ignorance I was kind of hoping there might be a smaller union that dealt more with my industry, so if there is problem they would be in a better place to help.

Could the bigger ones still be able to do this, if they don't know all the ins and outs. It's slightly frustrating that I don't know anyone else who works in different places, as I've come at this as an outsider, so can't find out there advice. So I accept I'm being thick here, but is public service not the same as public sector then?

Public sector means employed by a statutory organisation like the NHS or a council. There was, the youth and community workers union, but they were incorporated into Unite.

Public service is not necessarily the same as public sector; who pays your wages? I would have thought you're private sector as most councils have outsourced their kids homes to private companies. I am with Unison because they represent the most social workers and tbh they had the cheapest deal for training students and also because most social work is still carried out by those within the public sector.

If Unison in my work place wasn't recognised, or I stopped doing stat social work I'd consider Unite because of their association with youth and community work, so I'd hope they had an iota of a clue wtf our jobs entail and what we try to do. It would also depend on which union my work place recognised. That's what I thought A public service is a service provided to the public. Other than that rather glib answer, I don't think it has a specific meaning. Dillinger4 Es gibt Zeit. Not all such services are provided directly for "the general public" - e.