Academies

This Conference is alarmed that the new coalition government announced plans on 25 May for an immediate Academies Bill to allow more schools in England, including primaries and special schools, to be fast-tracked into academies. They will not have to consult with the local authority and it is unclear if there will even be any […]

Shared Services

Conference notes that Shared Services are becoming a major issue for our members in Local Government – with the recession privatisation proposals are inevitable. The London Boroughs of Sutton and Merton has direct experience of shared services through a shared HR function. Despite resistance and arguments against the management proposals the Councils went ahead and […]

Cuts to Jobs, Pay and Services – A Strategy to Oppose that Puts Members First

Conference is appalled by both the speed and the scale of cuts that have already taken place and the extent of cutbacks that are being built into future expenditure plans by local authorities across the UK. This includes unnecessary and damaging plans by all political parties to freeze or cut Council Tax, with disastrous implications […]

Social Work

Conference welcomes: 1)The Changing Lives programme of social work reforms in Scotland 2)The final report of the Social Work Task Force for England 3)The review of the roles and tasks of social work in Northern Ireland 4)The Social Work Task Group in Wales Conference notes that the acute problems afflicting social work and qualified and […]

Personalisation

Conference notes the increased focus on personalisation of social care and its proposed role in the future of social care provision. Conference recognises the negative impact on jobs, pay and conditions and service provision and therefore the importance of maintaining UNISON’s personalisation campaign – “Cash for Care” – across the UK. This shift in the […]

Stranded Health Staff

Conference expresses its sympathy to those health workers and their families that have become stranded abroad due to the flight restrictions caused by the Icelandic volcano. However, Conference has become increasingly concerned at reports from NHS Trusts and other NHS employers that staff who are stranded and phoning in are being told that they will […]

NHS Pay Strategy

Conference recognises that the political and economic challenges facing the NHS across the UK in the immediate future and the longer term require UNISON to develop a coherent strategy for both defending and improving future pay, terms and conditions. Whilst there are increasing differences in the way in which the four UK administrations choose to […]

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

UNISON welcomes the report by Robert Francis QC into the care that patients received at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009. The report published on 24 February 2010 makes harrowing reading for patients, staff and the service. The Francis report supports many of the findings of the Healthcare Commission (now the Care […]

Defend our NHS Family Health Services

This Conference notes that: 1)At a meeting with NHS Derby City – Family Health Services staff, held on Tuesday 6th April 2010, proposals were presented to outsource all Family Health Services (FHS) functions in the East Midlands, to NHS Shared Business Services (SBS): thereby creating a real threat to jobs and services across the nine […]

National Campaign for a Public NHS

2010 is a general election year and politicians from all parties will want to claim they have the NHS’ interests at heart and services will be safe with them. In reality the staff know that services have been trimmed and cut over many years now and bear no resemblance to the holistic care package that […]

Million Voices in Defence of the NHS

Conference notes UNISON’s long-established policy of opposition and resistance to privatisation and marketisation in the NHS. We continue to lead the way in challenging government reforms that threaten to undermine the NHS through increased competition and greater private sector involvement in health care. UNISON branches and members have been at the forefront of campaigns over […]

Protection of Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions

This conference is concerned about the growing numbers of staff who are being downgraded following organisational changes within NHS trusts. Conference notes that UNISON fought long and hard to get a new set of terms and conditions in the health service. Agenda for Change is a UK wide, nationally negotiated agreement which delivers equality for […]

KSF and Learning in the NHS

Conference notes that the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) is the custom-built development tool that supports career and pay progression for all NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts. As an integral part of Agenda for Change, the KSF gives staff a contractual right to access learning and development opportunities at work. Conference recognises […]

Organising and Recruitment

Conference welcomes and endorses the Million Voices for Public Services campaign, which highlights that UNISON members care passionately about the services they provide and want to see changes that put people before profit and public interest before private greed. As the largest trade union in health, UNISON is best placed to ensure that those working […]

Partnership Working and Twin Track Approach

Conference welcomes the achievements that partnership working at national, regional and local level has brought over the past decade. UNISON has worked to pioneer partnership working throughout the NHS and in all four countries of the UK. The experience has shown conclusively that partnership can deliver real gains for health staff and union members as […]