Disabled Members and the anti-cuts campaign

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Conference
2010 National Disabled Members' Conference
Date
6 October 2010
Decision
Carried

Conference notes that the Comprehensive Spending Review announced on October 20th will have a devastating effect on disabled people. With local government losing more than a quarter of its funding over the next four years, disabled people and their families are likely to see their services and support drastically affected.

Conference believes that now more than ever disabled people must be involved in the co-ordinated campaign being organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) against public sector cuts.

Conference deplores the misinformation being promoted by the government and media about the cuts being the only way to reduce the budget deficit. We need to effectively challenge this assertion and get across the message that these cuts are clearly based on political ideologies and not economic imperatives.

UNISON, along with other TUC affiliates, has compiled comprehensive information on the budget deficit and ways of increasing income which would significantly reduce or even avoid altogether the need for the government’s public sector cuts. This information needs to be disseminated as widely as possible in order to counter the perceived wisdom that cuts are the only option and disabled members of UNISON have an important role to play in achieving this. As trade union activists we can play a key role in doing our bit to oppose these cuts which will have a detrimental effect on all our lives.

Conference therefore instructs the National Disabled Members’ Committee to:

1.Liaise with the National Executive Council about ways in which disabled members can be involved in the anti-cuts campaign;

2.Publicise the important role disabled members can play in this campaign

3.Encourage regions and branches to involve their disabled members in all strategies opposing the cuts.