The University of Southampton branch of UNISON represents support staff across the University.  We recognise the value of  support staff and work towards raising awareness of the vital contribution they make. After all, without support staff, there would be no admissions processed, no students accommodated, no fees collected, no IT support, no students graduating...  The list is endless!

Unison negotiates on pay and working conditions. All pay awards are negotiated by the campus trade  unions and we have secured a pay rise of 3% over two years as the result of strike action. Our health and safety officers make sure the working environment is safe and deal with issues raised by members. We defend holiday and working hours and we are working to persuade the University to become a Living Wage Employer

We support members facing issues of harassment, discrimination or bullying and we support members facing disciplinary or capability hearings. We attend meetings with the member and support them through what can be difficult times.

 We work hard to make sure our members opinions are heard: through meetings with management or through the Joint Negotiating Committee which meets three times a year. We represent members views on policy and procedures and are involved in discussions around changes to these. We also have trained representatives on the Hay Panels for job evaluation.

We represent your views nationally and regionally. You can find out more about some of the campaigns UNISON has been involved in nationally on the main website.

The Branch is run by a committee consisting of elected officers. These range from  Stewards, Health & Safety Rep, Equality Officer, Treasurer or Branch Secretary.

All the branch officers are volunteers, employed in other jobs by the University. They care about where we work and how we are treated. Our stewards, health and safety reps and officers want to make a positive contribution to their working lives and the lives of their colleagues. Its hard work, but we feel we are having a positive impact. It’s hard to beat the feeling that you helped someone. 

Unison is run by and for the membership. We have a huge organisation behind us that can advise and expertly train you - but the person who best knows how your office works, what your job entails and what the best way to deal with issues is you and we’d like you to get involved. We hold regular committee meetings, including the Annual General Meeting in March.  There is information about getting involved in UNISON on this website but if you’d like to know more  please email the Branch Office.