- Conference
- 2016 Higher Education Service Group Conference
- Date
- 4 November 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that it was our union’s national collective bargaining that established many equality protections long before they were enshrined in law. For example, our predecessor unions secured recognition of same sex partners for the purposes of workplace benefits before workplace discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation was banned and many years before the first same sex marriages.
However, conference notes the increasing numbers of higher education workers who are outside national bargaining and, in some cases, outside any collective agreement, on individualised contracts.
Conference acknowledges the challenges of collective bargaining for higher education members in the outsourced sector, which has numerous small employers. Further, many private sector employers mistakenly believing they do not need to deliver on the Equality Act 2010, nor put in place strategies to promote equality.
Conference also acknowledges the challenges of building union density and organisational strength in these types of higher education workplaces, to support collective bargaining.
Conference believes that our union’s proud track record on equality and self-organisation is a great resource in meeting this challenge. For example, participation in UNISON’s LGBT group unites scattered and isolated members around a shared identity and purpose. Many higher education activists have begun their union activism within self-organisation or young members organisation.
Conference therefore calls on the higher education service group executive, in liaison with the national self-organised groups and national young members forum, to:
1)challenge attacks on higher education collective bargaining agreements and on collective bargaining in general;
2)raise awareness of the value of collective bargaining in relation to equality rights;
3)publicise and promote best practice in entrenching collective bargaining in community, voluntary and private workplaces that fall within the higher education service group;
4)increase efforts to build higher education workplace density and organisation to support bargaining, including via supporting and promoting our self-organised groups and young members organisation.