- Conference
- 2025 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 19 February 2025
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference recognises:
1) The social care system in the UK is in crisis, characterised by chronic underfunding, fragmented services, and a workforce that is undervalued, underpaid, and overworked;
2) The devastating consequences of a privatised and market-driven care system, which prioritises profit over people and fails to deliver the quality care that individuals and communities deserve.;
3) Migrant workers have played a vital role in sustaining the care sector, often filling staffing gaps and providing essential care with dedication and skill, yet they face exploitation, discrimination, and insecure immigration statuses;
4) UNISON has long campaigned for a National Care Service (NCS) that is publicly funded, publicly delivered, and free at the point of use, ensuring high-quality care for all and fair terms and conditions for care workers;
5) The Labour Party has committed to establishing a National Care Service, and it is essential that this promise is delivered in full, with adequate funding, workforce planning, and a commitment to ending the outsourcing of care services.
Conference believes:
a) A National Care Service must be rooted in the principles of universality, equality, and human rights, ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality care, regardless of their income, background, or postcode;
b) The contribution of migrant workers to the care sector must be recognised and valued. This includes ensuring fair pay, safe working conditions, and secure immigration statuses, free from the threat of exploitation or deportation;
c) The government must be held accountable for delivering on its promise to establish a National Care Service, with clear timelines, transparent funding commitments, and meaningful engagement with trade unions, care workers, and service users;
d) Privatisation and outsourcing have no place in Adult Social Care. The profit motive must be removed from care provision, and all services should be brought back in-house under public ownership and democratic control.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive;
i) To continue campaigning for a National Care Service that is fully aligned with UNISON’s policy, including public funding, public delivery, and free access for all;
ii) To work with UNISON’s Labour Link structures to;
A. seek to ensure a Labour Government delivers on its commitment to establish a National Care Service within its first term;
B. recognise the vital contribution of migrant workers in the care sector by granting them secure immigration status, ending exploitative practices, and ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect;
C. hold the Labour Government to account at every stage of the development and implementation of the National Care Service, ensuring that UNISON’s policies and principles are upheld and that the voices of care workers and service users are central to the process.
iii) To oppose any attempts to outsource or privatise care services under the guise of a National Care Service and to campaign for all care services to be brought back in-house;
iv) To work with all parts of UNISON, other trade unions, community organisations, and service users to build a broad-based campaign for a National Care Service that puts people before profit and delivers the care system we all deserve.
