- Conference
- 2004 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 2 January 2004
- Decision
- Carried
Conference recognises the excellent work being carried out by the Nursing Sector in regard to Nursing Students, Overseas Nurses and Health Care Assistants.
However conference notes:
1.According to the union we have more qualified nurses in the union than nursing students or HCA’s, and qualified nurses make a massive contribution to the union through subscriptions, yet we have no recruitment material for qualified nurses;
2.There appears to be very little publicity regarding nurses in UNISON and no circulation to members of minutes of Nursing Sector meetings;
3.There is no strong focus within the union for nurses. Unlike our sister unions there Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees in the USA and the Services Industrial, Professional & Technical Union in Ireland, who have a much wider membership than UNISON but a stronger nursing identity. AMICUS also promotes a strong nursing image through it’s Community Practitioners & Health Visitors Association and Mental Health Nurses Association sections;
4.The Community & District Nursing Association, Community Practitioners & Health Visitors Association, Mental Health Nurses Association and the Independent Federation of Nursing in Scotland have less nursing members, even combined, than UNISON but all produce regular nursing journals/magazine;
5.That the Ambulance Sector has now increased its presence for ambulance staff through newsletters, the internet, conferences and publicity materials;
6.There is a great opportunity for recruitment amongst nursing staff and a need for a professional union for all nursing staff as opposed to a professional association which has an interest in industrial relations.
Conference therefore instructs the Health Care Executive and Nursing Sector Committee to review UNISON’s nursing organisation, public profile and recruitment and publicity material and to consult with branches and individual members on how to improve UNISON’s organisation and representation of nursing staff.