- Conference
- 2025 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 17 February 2025
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the increasing number of severe weather events taking place across the world, including the UK, because of global warming and climate change. The science is clear that this is because of the burning of fossil fuels and that these events will only be more frequent and more serious in the future.
Conference recognises that severe weather has a significant impact on local government and local government workers.
During the recent Storm Eowyn, which saw record wind speeds recorded, local government workers were exposed to life threatening danger as they attempted to deliver essential services and to respond to emergencies.
In South Lanarkshire a Home Carer’s vehicle was hit by a falling tree, residential workers had to work double shifts as they could not travel home, roads department workers were asked to grit roads at the height of the storm and housing workers had to carry out emergency re-housing as damage occurred to tenants’ accommodation. In the days after, workers in several departments worked overtime to enable services to be restored. The cost to the Council of repairing damage is likely to run into millions of pounds.
This is becoming a common experience as we deal with the effects of storms, floods, freezing temperatures and heatwaves.
Conference welcomes UNISON’s campaigning around climate change issues but recognises that there are specific actions required in local government to cope with severe weather and to contribute to reaching the target of Net Zero Carbon Emissions to prevent further catastrophic climate change.
Local Government Conference calls on all local authorities in the UK to
1) Develop robust emergency plans for each possible severe weather event. This should include identifying what services are essential, which service user will require a service, and having in place plans for how these services will be secured, whilst at the same time minimising risks to the workforce;
2) Ensure that the necessary equipment is available to staff to enable them to be safe;
3) Negotiate Severe Weather Emergency Plans with UNISON branches.
Local Government Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to-
a) Develop guidance for branches on severe weather emergency planning;
b) Raise with governments the need for councils to be appropriately funded to meet the cost of maintaining and recovering services during and after severe weather events;
c) Support the sector committees to raise these concerns within the bargaining forums seeking consistent policies to protect staff and services.
