- Conference
- 2024 National Disabled Members' Conference
- Date
- 5 July 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that UNISON was one of the founder members of the Disability Employment Charter which:
a) Sets out nine demands of government, including a two-week deadline for responses to reasonable adjustment requests
b) Has been signed by over 180 employers in the public, private and community sectors, disproving the Tory lie that disability rights are “red tape” and a “burden” on businesses.
Conference welcomes Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) agreeing the following charter demands:
i) Simpler and more timely access to reasonable adjustments
ii) Mandatory disability pay gap reporting
iii) Time off for trade union disability reps
iv) Extending access to statutory sick pay
v) Taking equality policies into account in government procurement
Conference believes there is still work to do after securing some, but not all, of these commitments in Labour’s manifesto. We want the new Labour government to commit to including these charter demands in its policy programme during their first term in power.
The charter also calls for further changes including reform of Access to Work and Disability Confident and raising the statutory sick pay rate.
Conference therefore calls on the National Disabled Members Committee to work with the National Executive Council, National Labour Link Committee, Service Group Executives and other Self Organised Groups to:
1) Encourage employers, particularly those where UNISON organises, to sign the Disability Employment Charter
2) Lobby the government to include the charter demands as a priority in their policy programme
3) Write to the new Labour Minister for Disabled People to hold Labour to account on delivering the commitments on disability rights in their election manifesto and the wider charter demands
4) Lobby the Labour government to reinstate the Access to Elected Office fund
5) Call for the creation of a programme similar to the Bernie Grant Leadership programme and the Jo Cox Women in Leadership programme to support and encourage disabled people to stand for elected office.