Unite or Unison

ToriP

As an NHS employee, does anyone have any thoughts as to which Union to join?

ohreally

Dept?

Unite tends to have members in estates, med physics and labs.

ToriP

Ophthalmology.

I was thinking unison as they have more membership within the NHS I hear

ohreally

Probably Unison, find out which union colleagues belong to.

Try and find out how effective the branch are though and chat with the local stewards first.

ToriP

Will do.

I've been doing some online research but there doesn't seem to be anything on the surface to seperate them for me

Unison seems to be more specialised for public sector employees, including specifically healthcare

TobyJugg2

Its an old thread, but having been a member of both, and politics aside, I have unquestionably found Unison to be the far better union in all areas.

(30+ years a union man)

aife

It really does depend on which is stronger in your workplace
Talk to your colleagues
Look out for posters / noticeboards - are there any meetings advertised ? Does it look as if it's been updated recently ?
Also google the branch and look at their website and any social media
If there really seems to be nothing to choose between them , then Unison has a stronger presence in the NHS

vreemt

I know this is an old thread, but have I joined Unite last year and found them to be a bit spammy (trying to get you to sign up to things, 'news' is mostly offers for paid services/products) and useless. Where I worked a few years ago, Unison had a good presence and they seemed friendly.

Hope those finding a union have more luck than I did, as I also had trouble choosing, especially when I found out there's many more than just the big ones. And then there are professional organisations who can offer similar kind of help...

Goatan

In my experience unite is more interested in protecting its senior members and getting money out of its members than standing up for them.

tikki999

Agree with the spammy comment re. Unite.
Was a member a while ago, but didn't renew after a year.
Got fed up with the emails and the fact that when I did try to ask a question about something, they just passed me around several people and no-one really paid attention. Took me a while to convince them I really DID NOT want to continue my membership and was clear on why.