Autism in the Workplace: Autism and trade unionism

Autism is a term which covers a wide range of conditions that reflect neurological differences among people. A neutral descriptive definition is: Autistic Spectrum Conditions. Conference this is a trade union issue for a number of reasons as it affects both adults with autism who experience difficulties in the workplace, their parents, carers and children […]

Disabled Students Allowances

Conference is concerned about the changes to Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) announced the Government are proposing. When these were first announced in April the Ministers for Universities said he was announcing ‘measures to minimise DSA’ what he actually meant was cuts that will be devastating to disabled members. DSA isn’t just for University Students. It […]

Domestic Abuse, Hate Crime and Disabled People

This Conference is concerned about the high number of domestic abuse that some disabled people are facing. The World Health Organisation’s 2013 World Report on Disability highlighted abuse as a leading cause of death among disabled people. However, little is known about the true extent to which disabled people experience abuse and whether associated issues […]

Welfare Reform

That this Conference recognises that the current Government’s Welfare Reforms are an attack on the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society. With the return of a Tory Government in May, and their commitment to make a further £12 billion of cuts to the Social Security budget, there is no doubt that the level of […]

Stop the destruction of passenger transport services

Conference, we understand that across the country the slashing of transport services to the public will result in the abandoning of printed timetables, the closure of travel centres, information centres and ticket offices. This will significantly disadvantage disabled people as due to their disability not everyone is able to use internet technology to access time-table […]

Induction Process for New Self Organised Group Officers

Taking on a new role is always a challenge; there are new people to meet, rooms to find, processes to learn and documents to read. These challenges are often magnified when they are faced by a disabled person. There is currently no process in place to help new Self Organised Group Officers to learn their […]

Minister for Disabled People

Shortly after the General Election this year the prime minister announced that the new minister for disabled people would be Justin Tomlinson, Conservative MP for North Swindon. Tomlinson has a strong anti-benefits and anti-human rights background. Tomlinson is a former national chairman of Conservative Future, the youth wing of the Conservative party and has been […]

Access to Work

This Conference recognises the importance of the Access To Work Scheme which enables disabled people in employment to have support including specialist equipment, a support worker or sign language interpreter or taxis to and from work, for example. This support is vital to ensure disabled people can continue to attend work and make a valuable […]

Supporting Black Members with learning difficulties

Conference recognises the work that has been done at all levels of UNISON to encourage and meet the access needs of Black disabled members that are actively involved at all levels of UNISON. Conference notes the disproportionate numbers of Black people with learning and physical disabilities. Conference further notes the commitment of the union in […]

Access to Work

ACCESS TO WORK The Access to Work (AtW) programme is a fund that helps disabled people start a new job, or remain in employment, with practical support that goes beyond “reasonable adjustments”, which employers are required to make by law. Without AtW many disabled people would be prevented from doing their jobs because of the […]

Recruitment and Retention of Activists

Conference condemns the large number of job losses in Local Government which are a result of the Tory led coalition cuts. Conference acknowledges the particular impact this has had on Local Government branches, the loss of members and often the loss of experienced activists. Conference is angry but recognises that these losses will continue for […]

A Lobbying and Campaign Strategy for Local Government Pay

Conference notes that local government pay and conditions remain the lowest in the public sector and that the effect of funding cuts on the Local Government workforce is largely overlooked by elected members and politicians. However, a reduced role for local authorities leads to greatly diminished local democracy. Conference also notes that:- 1)The 2015/16 Local […]

When is a Co-op not a Co-op

Conference Notes:- 1)The continued promotion of co-ops, mutuals and social enterprises by the Coalition Government as being a preferred delivery of local council services. By giving public sector workers a right to form mutuals, co-operatives and other arm’s length companies, the government claims to be giving power to local communities and offering a greater role […]

Low pay and women

Conference notes that the erosion of pay in local government has had a particularly detrimental effect on women workers. 1)Women now make up the vast majority of staff in local government, but are disproportionately represented in the lower grades; 2)The majority of staff on zero hours contracts are women, with many of those women receiving […]

Towards a £10 per hour Living Wage

This conference notes and applauds the major campaign being waged by the BFAWU (Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union) within the national fast food takeaway companies, in partnership with the Fast Food Rights Campaign and Youth Fight For Jobs. The main thrust of this campaign is to recruit and organise young people into trade unions […]