Older People Must Continue to Have a Voice

Older people must continue to have a voice on the issues that matter to them, general secretary Dave Prentis said on Tuesday when he spoke to the national council of the National Pensioners Convention (NPC).

The NPC is Britain's biggest pensioner organisation representing more than 1,000 local, regional and national pensioner groups with a total of 1.5m members.

Taking time out from the union's national leadership seminar, Mr Prentis told the meeting that he was privileged to be the leader of a union with more than 100,000 retired members.

He spoke of the impact of the economic recession on older people and said the blame lay squarely with the private sector who had selfishly put the pursuit of profit before all else.

As more people fall deeper into poverty and deeper into debt, it is UNISON members employed in the public services that they turn to for help, he said.

The union’s Million Voices campaign, he said, "is about putting people before profit, and putting public services at the heart of our strategy for building a stronger economy and a fairer society.

"I can assure you that as part of this campaign UNISON will add its million voices to that of the NPC in defending the welfare state and public services."

Mr Prentis announced that UNISON will be supporting the NPC's march and rally on Saturday 10 April to defend the welfare state and public services.

"There has never been a more urgent or more appropriate time to show our support for public services," he declared, and the April event will play an essential role in countering the attacks on public services by the media.

"It is a fact that the public services are doing more to help people through this recession, and lay the foundations for an economic recovery, than anyone in Westminster or the City."

Information on the NPC march and rally can be found here and will be distributed to UNISON branches in the near future.

Life does not stop once you stop working - nor does your role in the union. You can keep in touch with old work colleagues, attend branch meetings, take part in campaigns or help in the branch office.

Many branches have retired members groups meeting on a regular basis. You can enjoy social events and outings, keep up to date with UNISON campaigns and support issues of concern for older people.

At RCT Unison we are developing a retired members section. We intend to produce a regular Newsletter with articles of interest to retired members, and to organise regular social events and talks from various speakers.

If you are interested in attending meetings at our new office, or would like information on what Unison can do for retired members (or just want to keep in touch with former colleagues) call the Branch Office on 01443 400401 or call Ron Eveleigh on 07976 713290.

HOW WE ORGANISE

UNISON is unique among British trade unions in having a Retired Members Organisation. Our structure mirrors that of the working members. This means that retired members can participate in UNISON's democratic machinery at all levels.

UNISON organises retired members at every level of the union. Retired members can attend branch meetings and have representation on the branch committee and regional council. You can also send representatives to National Delegate Conference.

Retired members committees are also represented on regional councils and are able to feed views to the rest of the union. Furthermore, a National Retired Members' Committee meets regularly.

Each year our retired members conference enables retired members from branches to debate the issues important for them and submit two motions to the agenda of the National Conference.

Don't forget, UNISON retired members enjoy all the benefits of UNISON membership including: Legal advice, welfare support & special discounts/offers on a wide range of financial and other services.

If you've been a UNISON member for at least two years on the day you retire and have either achieved state pension age, or get a pension, you can become a retired member.

For an application form, contact UNISONDirect on 0845 355 0845. Membership is either free or you pay a one-off £15 subscription, depending on when you joined UNISON.