Emergency Motion 1: Tax Break for Marriage

Conference notes the Prime Minister’s announcement on 28th September that the government plans to introduce an option for some couples who have married or who have registered civil partnerships to transfer £1,000 of their personal tax allowance from one partner or spouse to the other. This proposal affects UNISON members in all membership categories. As […]

Winter Fuel Allowance

Conference is very concerned that the Coalition Government’s Budget on 21 March 2013 did nothing to help pensioners who are unable to cope with high winter fuel bills. The Winter Fuel Allowance was reduced in March 2011 by £100 (down from £400 to £300) for the over 80’s households and by £50 (down from £250 […]

RETIRED MEMBERS ORGANISING IN UNISON

Due to the Coalition Government’s twin track to on the one hand selling off as much of the public sector as they can, and on the other hand frantically slashing any services and budgets they still control in order to cut their way out of the recession caused in part by their policies in the […]

Carer’s Allowance

Conference believes that as many older people as possible who need care and support should, where practicable, be able to remain in their own homes. Conference believes that both the current and proposed means tested Carer’s Allowance is inadequate and results in many people choosing not to be carers to family or friends because they […]

Liverpool Care Pathway

This Conference notes that the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) has been the subject of emotive reporting across all media recently. These reports have included allegations that NHS staff are using the LCP to justify prematurely ending the life of older people who are bed blocking and/or costing too much to treat. It has also been […]

Privatising The Probation Service

This conference condemns and is opposed to the decision made on 9th May 2013 by the Ministry of Justice to forge one new National Probation Service for England and Wales to manage high risk cases whilst the majority of the current work undertaken will be privatised. The Government propose to 1)Dismantle the very bodies who […]

One in Eight – Make it Count!

Conference notes that of UNISON’s membership of 1,306,500 at 30 September 2012, over 160,000, nearly one-eighth, were Retired Members. Conference also notes that the general management and control of the union between National Delegate Conferences is vested in the National Executive Council (NEC) which has full power and authority, subject to the rules and National […]

UNISON Website – Retired Members’ Page

Conference notes that, in contrast to the rest of the UNISON website, the Retired Members’ page is sparse, seldom revised, badly out of date and has been so for a long time. Conference believes this reflects poorly upon UNISON. Conference instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee to seek to have the page maintained to the […]

UNISON Charter for Older People

Conference recalls the UNISON Charter for Older People which was, it found, useful material to retain members at retirement and to promote UNISON, its Retired Members’ Organisation and trades unionism generally to old people and their organisations. Conference is disappointed that the charter is long out of print and there are no plans to re-issue […]

Pension Credit

Conference notes that: 1)there are two kinds of Pension Credit, Guarantee Credit which sets a minimum income for everybody over the qualifying age, and Savings Credit, which seeks to ensure that people over 65 who have saved a modest amount for old age are better off as a result; 2)four in ten pensioners qualify for […]

Stop Privatisation Campaign

Conference applauds the success of the West Midlands Police branch in fighting privatisation of the police service at West Midlands Police. Conference further notes that this success was achieved by: 1)The branch developing a proper plan and working jointly with the West Midlands Regional Office and the National Office. 2)Lots of branch activists taking an […]

Privatisation of Policing

This conference notes its concern that recent developments within the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)/Crime Prevention Initiatives (CPI) include the decision that some Crime Prevention work currently undertaken by Police staff/officers will now be able to be carried out by private consultants (retired Police Officers/staff). There has been no consultation with Forces, UNISON or […]

Transforming Rehabilitation

Conference notes with grave concern the Government’s plans to break apart the Probation Service in England and Wales, as set out in ‘Transforming Rehabilitation: A Strategy for Reform’, published in May 2013. If the plans were to be achieved, it would lead to: 1)The splitting of the current Probation workforce into: a)a small residual public […]

Police Force Mergers

Following the merger of Scotland’s Police Forces it is anticipated that forces in England and Wales are likely to face similar proposals. To ensure Regional Service Groups and Branches are in a position to respond to the challenges which will arise it is important that we develop a coherent national strategy. Conference therefore calls upon […]

Police Integrity

Conference welcomes the initiative led by the Home Secretary to improve standards of integrity in the police service in England and Wales. Conference notes that: 1)A number of chief constables in England and Wales have been suspended and others have been the subject of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) or criminal investigations. 2)The Leveson […]