Education Cuts in Northern Ireland

Conference is aware of the escalating levels of cuts in education in Northern Ireland. UNISON members are facing the severe impact of an imposed budget by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland . More than 70 million pounds has been slashed from immediate spending. This follows on from a previous demand that £200 million […]

Defend Abortion Rights

Conference asserts that the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court is the biggest attack on abortion rights since the 1970s. There are many US states ready to bring in bans following this ruling. These bans will not stop abortions. But they will stop safe abortions, and they will make it a […]

Harassment – It’s Not Part of the Job

Conference notes the findings of the 2018 Trades Union Congress (TUC) report into third party harassment of young workers titled “Not part of the job”, the 2016 TUC report into sexual harassment at work titled “Still just a bit of banter?”, TUC research into experiences of sexual harassment of Black workers (2017), young workers (2017), […]

Rule D Young Members’ Seat

D 2.5.1 Delete “will be aged 26 or under” and replace with “will be aged 30 or under” Rule Q Delete “YOUNG MEMBER means a member aged 26 or under.” and replace with “YOUNG MEMBER means a member aged 30 or under.”

Defending and Improving Women’s Rights Internationally

Conference notes the words of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, “Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world.” Conference believes that identifying, celebrating and increasing visibility of women’s achievements worldwide can help forge equality and combat gender bias, and […]

Increasing Participation of Lower Paid Women in Our Union

Conference notes proudly that UNISON is a union with over a million women members and that we reach every corner of the UK and every corner of the public sector. Conference also notes that our collective labour as women contributes billions of pounds to the economy, and our human contribution keeps our society running, exceeding […]

2023 Year of the Black Worker

Celebrate 2023 as the UNISON Year of Black Workers. Conference notes that we are half way through the UNISON Year of Black Workers. Over the past two years we have seen the disproportionate impact of Black workers and communities being hit particularly hard during the pandemic. Working on the front line, exposed to Covid-19, and […]

We Need to Talk About Palestine

Conference welcomes the comprehensive Amnesty International report, Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime against Humanity, which sets out how massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians are all components of a system which amounts to […]

The Northern Ireland Peace Process 25 Years On

Conference recognises that 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Conference recalls the repeated support our union has shown for the Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland. Conference notes however that at the time of writing, Northern Ireland does not have a devolved government in place. Conference further notes that […]

Ethnicity Pay Gap

Conference believes that the ethnicity pay gap (EPG) is a major cause of in-work poverty experienced by Black workers and the cause of severe intergenerational inequality in Black communities. Conference welcomes the moves made by the National Black Members Committee (NBMC) to highlight and campaign to close the gap. The EPG is as high as […]

Menopause awareness and support in local government

Conference notes that as a union of one million women, women will always be at the heart of UNISON. Conference also notes that UNISON has proudly campaigned for many years to remove what many campaigners and activists call the last great workplace taboo. Conference further notes that the demography of UNISONs membership in social care […]

Council provided care

Conference notes the campaigns for a National Care Service in each of the 4 nations and UNISON’s support, in principle, for such a proposal. Local government in Scotland, Wales and England and that any proposals for a National Care Service should respect and build upon this. Conference notes that social care is essentially a community-based […]

Local government funding – a national crisis

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have published as part of their “Save Our Services” bulletins a projected funding gap of £1billion for 2023/24. Scottish local government branches are already engaged in discussions with employers about cuts to jobs, cuts to terms and conditions and we note that some councils looking at wholesale restructuring […]

Caring for our carers

Conference notes that many local government branches currently support care workers both employed directly by local government employers but also those employed by private companies contracted by local government employers to deliver care for elderly, disabled people – both adult and children. Approximately 80% of the social care workforce are women. Only a small percentage […]

Using school forums as an organising tool

Conference notes that the continued fragmentation of the school system, together with the geographical spread of schools, provides organising challenges for UNISON. The use of school forums to bring together activists from across schools in branches is well established as best practice to develop collective responses to the common issues we face. The ability to […]