- Conference
- 2007 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 24 September 2006
- Decision
- Carried
This conference notes that a New Deal Plus is a Government initiative by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to engage with unemployed people over the age of 50 to access training and employment.
Conference is deeply concerned that only 17 out of 32,000 adults in the Reading area who were placed via the New Deal Plus initiative were black men. 3 out of every 10 black men over the age of 50 in the Reading area are unemployed. At this stage we do not have information whether black women are also suffering.
Conference is concerned that there is a clear disparity in engaging with unemployed black men over the age of 50; especially in the light of current age discrimination legislation.
This conference calls upon the National Black Members Committee to work with the National Executive Council to:
1.work with the DWP to ascertain whether black women are similarly affected
2.establish the true extent of this apparent disparity across the country and address the disparity; and
3.work with UNISON Learning Representatives to ensure they are trained and supported to take on these issues to their local Learning and Skills Councils.