Equal Pay

Equal pay is nothing new, in 1910 Mary Macarthur led the women chain makers of Cradley Heath to victory in their fight for a living wage by leading a strike to force the employers to implement the rise. In 1968 a group of women workers followed suit at the Ford factory in Dagenham which led […]

Democracy in the University – Encourage & Support

UNISON HE Conference Notes: a) That many universities have, or have had, elected staff positions on the “council” or board of governors / trustees. In Scotland, elected trade union reps are included in courts. b) That this small glimmer of worker democracy is relatively unusual compared to other sectors in the UK economy. c) That […]

Women and Gambling: Making the Invisible Visible

Conference at least one suicide a day in the UK is linked to gambling harm. Durham PCC (Police and Crime Commissioner) Joy Allen who is the joint national lead on Addiction and Substances Misuse, has spearhead the pioneering work nationally and regionally to look at better supporting the impact by gambling addiction. Durham is here […]

Fair representation for Disabled Members

UNISON is a union that strongly believes in equality, diversity and inclusion. We recruit and encourage activism from members of all backgrounds and our self-organisation structure is recognised as an example of good practice. We work hard to promote the rights of disabled people and are proud of everything we have achieved. We estimate that […]

ERWC Motion: Year of the Black worker, the legacy and celebrating Black women past, present and future.

2023 was designated by Unison as the year of the Black worker. Conference, it was an incredible year to be part of both as members and as Black female activists. On a national level at the Delegates and other national conferences, many events and initiatives celebrated this, including fringe and the Black members events. Having […]

Prioritising Women’s Health in the Workplace

Conference believes that too often, women’s health is treated as private, and that the ‘world of work’ is still not designed with women workers in mind, meaning policies aimed at addressing health issues do not respond to actual need. Health issues arising from menopause, menstruation, or conditions such as endometriosis, continue to adversely impact women’s […]

Cost of Living Crisis sees Loan Sharks Thrive

Conference In the past 3 years over three million people have turned to illegal money lenders (loan Sharks) and as the cost of living continues to bite into 2024. An extra 1 million vulnerable people and families are expected to turn to illegal lenders as the safe high street lenders turn them away due to […]

Inspiring Trade Union Women Make Herstory

Conference notes with concern the continuing under-representation and muting of women’s voices, particularly working-class women’s voices, across many sections of society, from politics to the arts to the workplace. Conference believes that if we want the role of women in any campaign to be remembered, we need to be the ones that tell that story. […]

Time to Smash the Gender Pay Gap

Despite The Equal Pay Act coming into force over 50 years ago, there remains a persistent gender pay gap in workplaces across the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. According for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), median hourly pay for full-time employees was 8.3% less for women than for men in April 2022, while median […]

Neurodiversity and Women Members

Building on the work of a previous conference in 2018, this motion aims to further address the issue of neurodiverse women in the workplace and how they can be appropriately supported in careers. More women are being diagnosed as neurodiverse, yet many women are still waiting for tests and a diagnosis of Autism and ADHD. […]

Misogyny and Online Abuse

Conference notes that the proliferation of misogyny online continues to increase, which has a terrible impact on women and girls. According to Amnesty International, one in five UK women have experienced online abuse or harassment. This type of behaviour silences women and girls and prevents them fully taking part in society, in an age where […]

Work Life Balance and the right to Disconnect

There have been significant changes to working patterns and practices that have happened since the pandemic, including a large rise in remote and hybrid working. Greater flexibility should be welcomed where this works for staff. Some disabled women and women with caring responsibilities may find more home working is a useful adjustment to give them […]

Supporting branches to tackle Sexual Harassment in the workplace

Conference, sadly, we know that sexual harassment in the workplace is an all too regular occurrence, in fact, recent statistics make for bleak reading; with 45% of women reporting to have experienced sexual harassment at work, and 85% of those women who did report it, believing their claims were not handled correctly by their employers. […]

Women suffering the burden of a broken childcare system.

Conference, we know the childcare system in the UK is in crisis. Wages for those delivering childcare are often too low to live on, but the costs for parents are going up and up. This has a disproportionate impact on not only the women working in the sector but those women who bare the brunt […]

Women Health & Safety Reps / Officers in the NHS

UNISON has approximately 5,000 Health and Safety representatives across the union working hard to defend members’ health and safety at work. Over the past few years health and safety has emerged again as critical for protecting members’ rights at work. However, the gender balance of Health and Safety representatives in UNISON does not reflect the […]