Motion to Retired Members Conference 2018

Conference notes with concern the growing trend in certain sections of the media to place the blame on our generation for many of the problems being met by younger people. It seems to be convenient to forget, or ignore, the social, political and economic history of the post Second World War years. We know that: […]

Campaigning for the Future

Conference notes with deep concern repeated attempts by the Tories to turn the young against the old and build a negative perception of older people as a drain on society. Conference believes that the intergenerational gap between young and old needs to be bridged by building understanding and relationships. Conference calls on the National Retired […]

Abuse in Care Homes

There is an increasing demand for care in the UK. The proportion of elderly people requiring care in the future will place even more demands on a service that is already struggling. With year-on-year cuts to local councils, over 1.8 million people are already denied access to care. This will, as time passes, create an […]

CARE HOME CONTRACTS

Many private care homes in addition to charging high fees to residents and/or their families, continue to make charges even after the resident has died or moved to alternative accommodation. These fees can be charged for weeks and sometimes months depending on the wording of the contract. This despite the care home having rapidly re-let […]

REPRESENTATION ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME PENSION COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT VEHICLES (CIVs)

Retired members form a significant minority of the present members in the Local Government Pension Scheme. For instance, in Cambridgeshire there were 24,854 active members and 14,991 pensioner members as at 31 March 2017. This pattern is replicated across the country. The formation of CIVs (Joint Pension Investment Pools) gives no opportunity at present, for […]

England Needs a Commissioner for the Rights of Older People

The vast and important role older people have to play in supporting the economy and social wellbeing of family life in British society in today’s world is widely recognised. However, pensioners are often portrayed by politicians and some of the media as a burden on the NHS, the economy and society in general. Apart from […]

POST OFFICE CARD ACCOUNT

This conference instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee (NRMC) and calls upon the National Executive Council (NEC) to raise awareness, by any means at their disposal, to the pending threat of the removal of the Post Office Card Account (POCA). This account is used by thousands of pensioners and less able people as a safe […]

Older People and Loneliness

This conference calls on the National Retired Members’ Committee (NRMC) and requests the National Executive Council (NEC) to liaise with other agencies to raise awareness of loneliness and its affects in particular, on older people. Loneliness often comes about as a result of the lack of transport in rural areas together with the lack of […]

Bargaining for good Mental Health policies in WET workplaces

Conference notes that our workplaces are changing, with members in Water, Environment and Transport (WET) facing increased workloads as targets are increased year on year and working conditions often deteriorate under TUPE transfers. These pressures have made the importance of ensuring good mental health in WET workplaces clear. At least one in four of us […]

Lyme Disease

This Water, Environment and Transport Conference is aware of cases of Lyme disease to employees in the Water Industry and likely elsewhere to members within the Service Group. The disease is caused by bacteria transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick or other blood feeding insect. Most affected are likely to be […]

Angling Trust – Voluntary Bailiff Scheme

This Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive to work with the Environment Agency Sector Committee to investigate the cost / benefit of the Environment Agency funding a Voluntary Bailiff Scheme. The Environment Agency has used Rod Licence Income to fund staff at the Angling Trust to set up a volunteer system and has provided […]

WINDRUSH

Conference is appalled at the Windrush scandal and the treatment of too many of the British citizens affected. In particular Conference is concerned for the many retired people and pensioners caught up in this controversy whose status and rights as British citizens have been erroneously called into question. Conference recalls that Caribbean people were invited […]

Intergenerational Commission

This conference rejects the proposals contained in the Resolution Foundation think tank’s report of the intergenerational Commission, chaired by Lord David Willetts (nicknamed Two Brains), titled “A New Generational Contract”. Conference further rejects the myth of generational unfairness on which the report is founded, and which masks the fact that the real unfairness is based […]

Campaigning for quality clinical placements

The abolition of the NHS bursary in England took effect on 1 August 2017. The 2017 Health Conference called on the Health Service Executive Group to “monitor the quality of placements if there are additional training places” among other things. Conference notes that the finalisation of the funding arrangements for clinical placements in England happened […]

Agile or Fragile? Impact of Hot-desking on NHS Staff

Conference notes that NHS Employers are moving more towards agile working. The argument for implementing agile working is to increase productivity and to save money in the face of massive Cost Improvement Programmes forced on to NHS organisations. Conference understands that where agile working is implemented and driven as a measure to cut costs it […]