The ballot on pay officially opened on 4th September and you will soon receive your purple envelope in the post.
Are you ballot ready?
Your ballot paper will be posted to the home address we have on record for you. If you haven’t already done so, please check that your contact information is up to date. You can either do this by emailing us at the branch office via unison@npt.gov.uk or by logging into MyUNISON here:
https://www.unison.org.uk/my-unison/
To register for MyUNISON, you will require your membership number which you can find by emailing the branch office.
I haven’t received my ballot paper – help!
The ballot will be sent out in the post in a purple envelope. This is a postal ballot only and for your vote to be counted, you need to send it back by 16th October. We would recommend posting your ballot paper no later than Monday 14th October in case of any postal delays.
If you have not received your ballot paper by the 17th September, you can request a new one by logging into My UNISON (this is the same link as above) or by calling the ballot hotline on 0800 0 857 857 – it’s open between 17th September and midday on 9 October.
I’m not a UNISON member but I want to have my say in this ballot
Join before 3rd October and you will be entitled to a ballot paper. You can either join online by following this link https://join.unison.org.uk/ or by completing an application form and returning it to the branch office.
I don’t really know what the ballot is about
The NJC committee is a group of union members like you who negotiate on our pay at a national level. In our 2024 claim, we asked the employers for a pay increase of £3,000 or 10%, whichever was greater. The offer of £1,290 falls far short of this.
Following a consultation of members, our NJC committee, made up of leading activists, decided that we would proceed with an industrial action ballot. The ballot will ask if you are prepared to take part in strike action over pay. We know that the decision may not be easy to make depending on your individual circumstances but you can find out more information about the full offer and how it would affect you on UNISON’s dedicated NJC pay webpage:
https://www.unison.org.uk/our-campaigns/fair-pay-now-council-school-workers/
UNISON must remind you that strike action will always be the last resort in any industrial action plans and we will always look to explore all avenues before any decisions are made, for example targeted industrial action, work to rule, paying staff to take industrial action on our behalf through the strike fund, etc. However, voting to strike is sending a message to the new Labour government to further negotiate on our pay as local government and schools workers. If you are worried about potential strikes or losing money, please do not hesitate to contact us on the below contact details.
Additionally, we will be out and about visiting workplaces to answer your questions over the coming weeks but if you miss us in person, we will also be holding online meetings every week during the ballot period which you can join by clicking the link below:
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 376 123 043 678
Passcode: 5jirTp
The online meetings will be held as follows:
- Tuesday 17th September at 12pm
- Thursday 19th September at 5pm
- Tuesday 24th September at 12.30pm
- Thursday 26th September at 9am
- Monday 30th September at 4.30pm
- Wednesday 2nd October at 8.30am
- Friday 4th October at 12pm
- Monday 7th October at 12.30pm
- Wednesday 9th October at 5pm
- Friday 11th October at 9am
- Monday 14th October at 9am, 12.30pm and 4.30pm
The same link can be used for each online meeting.
Why is UNISON contacting me?
You may receive phone calls or texts from UNISON asking if you have received and returned your ballot paper. It is extremely important that your voice is heard and your vote is counted.
If you feel that a phone call or text message is suspicious, please do not provide any personal information and report any concerns to the branch office.
You can also opt out of correspondence at any time via MyUNISON or by emailing the branch office.
Kind regards,
Mark Fisher
Branch Secretary
UNISON Neath Port Talbot Branch
01639 763820 or 07971 255130