Union welfare

Public services union UNISON has allocated £250,000 for a special COVID-19 Response Fund to give speedy help to members hit financially by the pandemic. The union’s There for You charity, set up to help members in difficulties, receives donations, often from branches.

But trustee and national executive member Carol Sewell said branches are finding this more difficult currently as they are not able to operate normally. And, because more people are struggling than usual, “we need to ensure we’ve got money that can support people immediately”.

The fund can provide eligible applicants with a one-off grant of £250 to help with essential expenses such as food and bills.

Meanwhile, the NUJ journalists’ union welfare charity NUJ Extra has urged members who have been severely financially hit by the crisis — either through inability to work or to get enough work — to apply for assistance.

The union reckons that up to a third of freelance journalists are not currently eligible for the government’s Self-employed Income Support Scheme.

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2020/06/help-there-for-you-be-there-for-them

https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/nuj-extra-update-on-covid-19-response