- Conference
- 2025 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 19 February 2025
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Industrial disputes – better and stronger in UNISON!
Context:
1)The Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill means strike laws are set to change dramatically, lifting the restrictions that have stifled industrial action and, since 2016, have prevented some UNISON disputes progressing beyond ballot stage.
2)The union must use these changes in strike laws to deliver not just more but better and stronger disputes in support of the union’s bargaining objectives.
Rationale:
a)Used effectively, consultations, formal ballots and industrial action are powerful tools to support our bargaining objectives. This has been apparent in the disputes taken under the Organising to Win campaign, where high levels of member support at ballot and strike stage have driven significant settlements. Even in our larger bargaining groups, where action has grown ever more complex to deliver, approaching ballots and action strategically has resulted in industrial action that has improved outcomes for significant numbers of members.
Conference notes and supports the ongoing Winning for the Future project which has been laying the groundwork for the union to improve ballot and dispute planning, including through:
i)Embedding ballot readiness in the annual Organising Framework;
ii)Developing and rolling out of activist training;
iii)Sharing learning to strengthen decision-making and strategic planning;
iv)Generating access to consistent, reliable and accurate information about the status, outcomes and impact of disputes.
This work, coupled with learning from Organising to Win disputes, must be consolidated in order to respond to and capitalise on the legal changes to come.
By doing this, the union can protect against creeping complacency and a performative approach to disputes. Otherwise, we risk low levels of participation in consultations and ballots, a drop in focus on organising and action being taken that is not well supported or sustainable and therefore not an effective tool in winning disputes.
Low levels of participation undermine members’ confidence that ballots and industrial action can deliver results. If we want our union to be a fighting union, where we continue to use industrial disputes as an effective tool, we must ensure UNISON is in a position to adapt quickly to the legal changes and anticipate and respond to a potential increase in volume of requests to run ballots and take action.
Actions:
A)Conference therefore asks the National Executive Council to work across the union including with service groups and regions to consider the implications of the changes to strike laws. Topics will include (but not be limited to):
I)UNISON’s internal processes and protocols related to industrial action;
II)Interaction between different decision making bodies on industrial action matters;
III)Implications for collective bargaining;
IV)Practical support for ballots and action.
Findings, and changes made or recommended from this work, will be set out in a report to National Delegate Conference 2026.
In undertaking this work, it will be particularly useful to learn from colleagues in Northern Ireland (where action has not been subject to the current restrictions in place across Great Britain) as well as the Winning for the Future project and the successful Organising to Win campaigns.