- Conference
- 2004 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 30 October 2003
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is concerned about the proposed changes to Employment Tribunal practices, which have prompted UNISON to consider changes to its own criteria for supporting race complaints.
Currently, UNISON supports race complaints to tribunals using a more than 50 per cent chance of success baseline. This baseline is currently under review with likelihood that UNISON will change the criteria to that of ‘reasonable prospect of success’. This change is being portrayed as a positive step that should encourage more cases to reach tribunal.
However, UNISON’s proposed changes are being considered against a backdrop of proposed tribunal changes which aim to increase the responsibility on employers and employees to settle disputes before they reach tribunal. This expectation is underpinned by an increased threat of costs and reductions in awards if tribunal applicants and representatives are unable to demonstrate resolution paths.
Conference believes that black members will be adversely affected by the cost issue. Conference also remains concerned about the effect these changes will have on the ability of black members to pursue race complaints against a current employment protection backdrop within the union that appears to consistently and constantly frustrate the needs of black workers in relation to setting race based employment disputes.
Black members continue to experience difficulty in finding appropriate representation to resolve race disputes; members continue to experience difficulty in obtaining relevant advice related to race disputes; and, members continue to experience apathy at a number of crucial points in the representation service when relying on that service to take race complaints seriously in order to ensure that correct legal advice is obtained in relation to the prospect of success if complaints reach employment tribunal.
Against this backdrop, conference is concerned that the proposed changes place black workers in an even more vulnerable position since little work has been done to strengthen the representation processes at branch and regional levels. This means that whilst UNISON and Employment Tribunals intend on tightening the rules governing how cases can be heard in tribunals using cost implications, more black members will be put off from pursing complaints when faced with union, branch and regional representation responses which are poorly focused at best and apathetic at worst.
Conference therefore instructs the National Black Members’ Committee to:
1) seek an urgent meeting with the relevant National Executive Council committee to set up a working party to liaise with black members, branches and so on to investigate concerns about this issue and establish a list of priorities for action;
2) develop an action plan with time limits and so on for addressing priorities identified;
3) bring forward necessary motion/emergency motions to the 2004/2005 National Delegate Conference to support identified priorities.