Communications
REPORT 2006
Equal Pay and Single Status challenge
Branch Magazine: We have not issued as many as we would
have wanted this year. The magazine takes about three weeks
from writing to getting into workplaces and for major issues
this is too long when developments change so quickly in negotiations,
especially with the Equal Pay issues.
Where things need to be communicated quickly, we have therefore
concentrated on specific bulletins on specific issues, in particular
Pensions and Single Status. We have also used letters to members
and one-off single-issue briefings. We have also ensured that
all news goes on the Branch Website.
The Branch Website has become a very important tool
not only in getting out news quickly in situations like the
pensions campaign but also as a resource for more detailed documents.
Check out 'UNISON Edinburgh' on Google and you will see how
significant the site has become. The site now has over 500 pages
and is running at over 750,000 hits a year. Many members use
it to update their details and many used it this year to give
their views on pay. We are trying hard to build a full email
list to contact members directly. The site also serves as a
portal to the Scotland and UK sites.
Media: We continue to try to get our members' views
across in the media. The main issues this year were Pensions
(where we got the biggest coverage of any branch in the Scottish
and UK media, including STV, BBC and Sky), Equal Pay, Child
Protection and the new Council HQ. To see just how much coverage
we get, go to the Evening News/Scotsman site and search for
UNISON Edinburgh and you will get over 100 results for 2006
alone.
Single Status and Equal Pay have given us huge challenges
in communications. This is because of the constantly changing
legal advice and the fact that so much has to be checked over
at Scottish or UK level.
John Stevenson
Communications Officer
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