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In an increasingly precarious sector such as ours, joining a union should be one of the first things to get sorted when in a new post. I'm surprised it even has to be a topic for discussion. Some people think unions don't do much but they do a lot of work behind the scenes, and when you need them they will support you (unless you don't join one!!). Prospect https://prospect.org.uk/ Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) https://www.pcs.org.uk/ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + GEM list: Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] Anyone can join for free at any time by sending this message to [log in to unmask]: Join GEM Firstname Secondname Include only the text above, without email signature etc. The title of the email doesn’t matter. Send it to [log in to unmask] If you are going on holiday or have an out of office message for some other reason, you can send this message: Set GEM nomail When you get back: Set GEM mail You don’t 'miss' any messages by doing this as they are all available via main GEM list web page as above. Finally, if you need to change your email address, but stay subscribed to GEM, just send your new email address like this: CHANGE GEM [log in to unmask] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +