Surprise, surprise! You will receive 25 whole pence age allowance each week when you reach your 80th birthday!

This age addition increase was introduced in September 1971 by Sir Keith Joseph, a Conservative MP. He said it was to recognise ‘albeit in a small way the special claims of very elderly people who need help rather more than others. As they grow old their possessions wear out and they need help for necessary […]

E-scooters and Older People

Conference is concerned over the increasing use of electric powered motorised 2-wheeled scooters (e-scooters) on roads and pavements throughout the United Kingdom. Conference notes that, although versions of e-scooters first appeared on London streets as long ago as 1916, It is only recently that steps are being taken to have them formally classified as motor […]

Exploit modern communication systems

During the period of the pandemic many of us have grown used to attending meetings, talks and conferences via the internet using such intermediaries as Zoom. Whilst not matching the intimacy and desirability of a head-to-head meeting, they have allowed active if limited participation to continue. For some retired members the ageing process in its […]

WOMEN’S PENSIONS UNDERPAYMENT

Conference notes that the Government announced earlier this year that there had been an underpayment of up to £3 billion in total of pensions for some who reached SPA before April 2016 and fall into certain categories. These sums affect thousands of women and some men who were underpaid their state pensions and not all […]

Access to GP services

This conference notes with concern the findings of the survey carried out in December 2020 by the Birmingham UNISON Retired Members Section, that during the pandemic it has been increasingly difficult to access GP services. As the survey has indicated, there is a major problem with the more vulnerable elderly section of society – where […]

Widowers’ Pensions

Conference notes that – 1)Public service pension schemes pay pensions to widows of male scheme members in respect of contributions since 1972; 2)As a result of a Supreme Court decision in 2017, scheme members’ surviving same – sex spouses and civil partners, irrespective of gender, are now treated the same as widows; but 3)Widowers of […]

Gender Pension Gap

Conference notes that in 2018/19, the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) gender pension gap – the percentage difference in average gross pension income of women pensioners compared to men – stood at 40.3%. Conference also notes this was the second year running the gap had widened. An earlier trend of gradually diminishing pension inequality appears to have […]

No going backwards on LGBT+ equality in Energy

Conference acknowledges that even before Covid, equality was increasingly being seen as a luxury in many Energy workplaces, with some employers barely abiding by the law. There is now a risk of going backwards. Conference recognises that equality is at the heart of UNISON, and that self organisation is an essential tool to achieving UNISON�s […]

LGBT+ workers health and wellbeing

Conference welcomes the increased recognition that mental health is a serious workplace issue for staff working in the Water, Environment and Transport sectors. It also has a strong equalities dimension. Even without the impact of the pandemic, people vulnerable to discrimination face worse levels of mental ill health. In the wider community, around 1 in […]

Health, Safety and Wellbeing in a post-pandemic working environment

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many health, safety, and wellbeing issues for WET Service Group members. We ask that this Service Group Conference aims to secure a post-pandemic working environment that supports the needs of all our members, on a COVID secure basis, with employers meeting their full range of health and safety responsibilities […]

NET Zero

This conference notes that the UK Government has previously announced an acceleration on the progress to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Previously, the Committee on Climate Change had looked at the possibility of reaching net zero earlier but concluded that this was not credible. They acknowledged it could be possible in the […]

Homeworking as a reasonable adjustment in post-COVID WET workplaces

Conference notes that many disabled staff in WET workplaces have previously requested to work from home as a reasonable adjustment and been refused. However, COVID-19 has sparked a revolution in home working and as a union we need to build on the positives for disabled workers whilst also guarding against any detrimental impact. UNISON�s National […]

Facilitating Disabled Workers to continue to work from home post pandemic

Prior to the pandemic there seemed to be practices within Energy employers where managers suggested that jobs such as back-office work and call centre work couldn�t be done from home due to technological limitations. People�s physical and mental difficulties can mean their conditions make it hard for people to get to and from offices. This […]

Accessing reasonable adjustments during COVID-19

Conference notes that a UNISON survey of disabled members working from home during COVID-19, including Energy workers, found that 53% did not receive any reasonable adjustments from their employer to help them to overcome the barriers they faced as a disabled person working from home. Only 5% had help from Access to Work, the flagship […]

Organising in Energy as we drive towards Net Zero

This special energy conference notes that to achieve Net Zero substantial investment will be needed within the Energy sector, both with established employers with whom we have an existing relationship, and likely new (and as yet not in existence) employers too) This could and should bring about new job growth within the energy sector over […]