- Conference
- 2017 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 3 October 2016
- Decision
- Carried
This Conference believes that the impact of Britain leaving the European Union has the potential to be extremely damaging for workers, and public service workers in particular.
This conference also believes that young women will be amongst those hardest hit as the scramble to establish trade deals will not only see an attack on crucial equality rights created through EU membership, but will also see a ‘race to the bottom’ on pay and conditions under the guise of ‘efficiency’, ‘profitability’, and ‘flexibility’.
This conference further believes that public services that provide essential support for ourselves, our families, and our communities will be under greater threat than ever before as commitments to opening them up to further privatisation etc. is written into trade deals. This will also impact on jobs in the public services.
This conference notes that young women are already discriminated against and face barriers of institutional sexism that already affects their chances of finding work with decent pay and conditions. It is young workers who will have to live longest with the result of Britain’s exit from the European Union, and suffer longest the consequences to their careers and their lives more widely.
This conference calls on the National Women’s Committee to seek to work with the National Young Members Forum to ensure that young women’s voices are heard and their interests properly represented in UNISON’s call for the defence of working people’s rights and the defence of public services in any negotiations around the British exit from the European Union.