- Conference
- 2003 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 23 October 2002
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes with concern that it is impossible, or only possible at a very high personal cost, for women to organise in UNISON without adequate paid facility time.
Conference recognises that women are the primary care providers and should not be forced to use their valuable leave to conduct UNISON activities.
Many branch facility time agreements have not been reviewed or amended for several years, perhaps not even since UNISON came into being. Those who benefit from them have little incentive in ensuring that this is done nor that facility time is distributed in a way which reflects the needs of a modern organising union with a majority of women members.
Conference instructs the national Women’s Committee:
1)to raise this issue as a matter of urgency with the appropriate national committees;
2)to seek, with them, ways in which a review of these agreements can be made a priority within our union, and good practice guidance to branches issued on how facility time can better be distributed to meet our policies and organising agenda.