Unite is a member-led union and will campaign for issues that matter to you. If there is a particular workplace, social or political issue that matters to you, contact an official to discuss how we can work on this together.
Current campaigns
Bring Council services in-house
We believe Council services can best be delivered by Council staff with fair work, fair pay and proper training. Reliance on the private sector can mean
- poorer quality work
- demoralising the Council workforce
- poorer conditions and pay for the workers
- putting public money into the pockets of shareholders, rather than back into the community.
- funding companies with suspect practices
We are working to ensure services can be brought back in house for the benefit of workers, citizens and the local economy.
Past campaigns
Pledge for Public Services
April 2023
The Council Budget 2023 threatened to remove the ‘no compulsory redundancy’ pledge and to privatise services via Best Value reviews. In response, the joint trade unions of Edinburgh Council (Unite, Unison and GMB) campaigned to
- keep the no compulsory redundancy pledge
- bring public services in-house
- demand funding for local authorities from the Scottish Government.
2021 to present
Save Our Care Homes
June 2021 and on-going
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board wants to close 5 Council residential care homes. This would remove publicly owned and operated residential care from the city.
We have worked tirelessly to fight this and protect residential care as an option for older people, working alongside trade unionists, community activists and families to call for a solution that works for service users, families and workers.
The homes were due to be closed in 2022. They have been saved for now, but change will come in 2024. When it does, we’ll be ready for it.