Basw Or Unison

[minnie76]

Which would be the better union to join as a qualified social worker?

[fiction-factory]

I'd ask your colleagues

[bednobs]

where i work, if you want to be in a union, you are forced to be in one of two. i was already in a union when i went to work there, but wasnt allowed to be represented by them. i'd also ask collegues. It will depend on what they offer i suppose (for example my first union had a "no strike" rule so if you wanted to strike you had to go to another one)

[Buenchico]

My instinct would be to go with the union that only represents social workers. (i.e. SWU/BASW).

Let's say, for example, that you found yourself working for a local authority which, because of budget cuts, was being forced into choosing between reducing their expenditure on bin collections or reducing the money spent on social work. UNISON would find themselves in a difficult position, as they'd be representing both bin men and social workers, whereas SWU (which is the trade union part of BASW) could concentrate on looking after social workers alone.