Our objectives 2020

UNISON, the largest union in the UK and one that is also growing, will seek to represent all our members wherever they work and whatever they do and campaign for the services they provide.  We will call for additional funding across all public services to address social need.

Our key objectives are:

  1. Recruitment and organising

  • Enhance our capability to recruit and retain members and meet the organising and representation challenges facing the union in the changing world of work.
  • Ensure our union is relevant to all members who provide public services – including those who work in the community and private sectors.
  • Identify and develop leadership and encourage union activism from across the union, particularly among young members and provide support and resources for them to lead campaigns
  • Enhance our democracy by increasing and widening participation of our activists and members.
  • Identify strategic growth areas such as social care and under-5s education and implement a national organising strategy in those sectors
  • Encourage the recruitment of local stewards and Health & Safety representatives
  • In all trade union activity to promote the benefits of the organising approach
  1. Bargaining and equalities

  • Deliver increased funding for public services and secure real terms pay increases, improved terms and conditions, and high-quality employment and pensions for UNISON members.
  • Build confidence for industrial action when required, identify and support strategic industrial disputes at national and branch level and seek to co-ordinate action wherever possible.
  • Promote equal pay and equality in public, community and private sectors
  • Actively challenge all forms of discrimination including racism and sexism; against LGBT+ people; against disabled people; and discrimination based on age, religion or social class.
  • Provide support to migrant workers
  • Bargaining and lobbying to end two-tier workforce in outsourced public services and rolling out a strategy to ensure national agreements are awarded to outsourced workers
  • Provide assistance to those branches supporting outsourced members
  • Campaign for better facility time arrangements for our members in public services
  1. Campaigning and influencing

  • Campaign against climate change and work with other relevant organisations to achieve a net-zero carbon economy in the UK at the earliest opportunity and recognise that the Climate emergency is a trade union issue and commit to sharing our values in order to protect our planet.
  • Develop our campaigns in support of quality publicly owned public services and in defence of the NHS, education, local government, social care, police, probation, Energy, WET and all public services including private and community sector
  • Build our political influence, forging alliances with other unions and appropriate campaigning and community groups to challenge the austerity programme, including attacks on the welfare state.
  • Campaign for the election of UK governments and councils that value public services and working people, rejecting the arguments of the Tory government and far right parties.
  • Promote the new political fund arrangements to increase participation and opt-in.
  • Promote the union’s international work.
  1. Building an efficient and effective union

  • Ensure that the union’s structures including organisational, lay member, ICT infrastructure, digital and internal management systems and the distribution of our resources are accessible, efficient and effective to meet the changing needs of all sections of the union and its members especially in relation to global sustainability and to include the ability to take effective industrial action when required
  • A root and branch review of the union’s structure and operations taking account of climate change including travel, waste and efficiency
  • Ensure that branches are provided with the support they need, promptly, when they need it