Amendment to Standing Orders In Standing Order number 8, motions and amendments insert a new section *.1 to read as follows: “8.1 Motions and amendments may be submitted to Conference by the following bodies: • Branch Retired Members’ groups • Regional Retired Members’ groups • National Retired members’ Committee • Retired Members’ Womens’ caucus • […]
Conference motions
Conference welcomes UNISON’s new campaign “Let’s Make Care Work” which is campaigning for a National Care Service in England. Plans for a National Care Service for England were first presented 13 years ago by the last Labour government shortly before it’s election defeat. Since then, adult social care and support has gone downhill fast and […]
Conference notes with real concern the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has impacted significantly on the costs of food and energy particularly. Conference notes that for older people on fixed, low incomes, rising costs place them under great financial pressure. Conference notes that increasing numbers of pensioners in Northern Ireland are living in poverty, […]
Given the current disarray in the provision of Public Transport, with cutbacks, cancellations etc. the model of privatised services has shown itself to be totally unsuited to the needs of the populace (particularly the needs of the older population). We therefore commit ourselves to a different model of Public Transport (eg, buses, trains etc.), one […]
Justice for the Windrush Generation Conference is extremely concerned at the continuing detriment suffered by retired members (or their heirs) who migrated to the United Kingdom in the 1950’s and 1960s, mostly from the Caribbean, who comprise the “Windrush Generation named after the ship, Empire Windrush which sailed from Jamaica to the UK exactly seventy […]
Conference notes with concern how badly served pensioners are by rail services and that matters have gone from bad to worse since privatisation. We are faced with cancellations; overcrowded trains; inadequate staffing at stations, on platforms and on trains; inaccessible platforms; closure of ticket offices; and lack of toilets and refreshment facilities on trains. The […]
This conference deplores the continuing decline in local bus services throughout the UK. Not only have services been substantially cut but those services that have been retained are often unreliable, unpredictable and infrequent. Buses are an essential part of the local, regional and national economies, playing a vital role in the transport system, especially for […]
Conference notes that 2023 has been the Year of Black Workers and its focus has been ‘Establishing legacy to generate change’. This year is not, itself, the change we seek. It is the opportunity to generate change. Black workers often find themselves in low-paid, insecure work with poor terms and conditions. Besides immediate effects, this […]
This conference notes the campaign by the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy (CAPH) to end the barbaric practice Hysteroscopies being carried out in the NHS with inadequate or no offer of pain relief. As the CAPH point out, unlike NHS Colonoscopy or Gastroscopy procedures, women undergoing Hysteroscopy are NOT offered a safely monitored conscious sedation. The […]
Yes, we acknowledge that some pensioners are millionaires and, yes, we acknowledge that some Government Ministers are millionaires or multi-millionaires. Whereas some pensioners, including our Unison retired members, are living in abject poverty, we have yet to find one Minister living in abject poverty. When your life is full of luxury, it may be difficult […]
Conference notes that Domestic Abuse is a workplace issue, with 1 in 3 women reporting domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime. Conference further notes a sharp increase in reported cases of domestic abuse throughout the pandemic. The cost of living crisis now means that the situation has deteriorated even further. It had previously […]
Conference notes the significant changes to working patterns and practices that have happened since the pandemic, including a large rise in remote and hybrid working. Conference believes greater flexibility should be welcomed where this works for staff – for example, some disabled workers may find more home working is a useful adjustment, and workers with […]
Conference notes the December 2021 government policy paper ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’, published after 100,000 women shared their personal experiences around the way the health and care system listens to women. The document looked at the approach to women’s health by putting women’s voices at the heart of this work. […]
Conference notes that: • Abortion has been legal since the Abortion Act in 1967. • There are very strict conditions that must be met for two doctors to agree to facilitate the process whether it is via medical or surgical conditions. • Abortion legislation was devolved to Scotland in 2016 and the issue remains a […]
Conference notes that the exponential rise in energy costs, the highest interest rates in decades and the staggering increases in the cost of food are having a massive impact on our members’ standard of living. Following a decade of austerity, below inflation pay awards and pay freezes, in work poverty is soaring. Poverty in the […]