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 […]

Social Care and Wellbeing Support for Young Members in Community

Conference notes the well-documented crisis in social care, with low pay, high vacancy rates, job insecurity and poor working conditions creating a ‘perfect storm’ in which employers are unable to recruit and retain staff, workers are underpaid and overworked, and local authorities are in danger of being unable to fulfil their statutory obligations to provide […]

Using the Disability Employment Charter in Community

Conference is proud that UNISON is one of the founding members of the Disability Employment Charter which now has 150 organisations signed up to it, including trade unions, disabled people organisations, public service employers, charitable organisations, and private sector employers. The disability employment charter was founded because of the disadvantage that disabled people experience in […]

Organising to Win for LGBT+ Members in Community

Organising to win for LGBT+ Members in Community Conference welcomes the initiatives taken to date by the Community Service Group Executive (CSGE) to improve the participation and inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) members in our structures and democratic decision-making processes. Conference further welcomes the recommendations contained in the national Organising Recruitment […]

Year of LGBT+ Workers – Embedding LGBT+ Equality in Community

Conference notes that 2024 is UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ Workers and welcomes the opportunity that this provides to promote UNISON as the union for LGBT+ workers in the community and voluntary sector, raise awareness of LGBT+ rights, challenge discrimination, negotiate LGBT+ inclusive policies and recruit and activate LGBT+ members in community. The year highlights the […]

Social Care Migrant Workers in Community and the Skilled Worker visa

Conference notes that in February 2022, following recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee, the United Kingdom (UK) government made it easier for overseas social care staff to work in the UK. Home Office data (cited by the Migration Observatory) shows that in the year up to June 2023, 77,700 long-term work visas were granted to […]

Health and Safety in Community workplaces

Conference welcomes UNISON’s Organising Recruitment Strategy Development (ORSD) project recommendations and the linked Organising, Recruitment and Retention Plan which seeks to secure: Disaggregated membership targets of 1% growth in each regional service group; A 10% increase on 2022 levels of recruitment of stewards, Health & Safety reps and UNISON learning rep roles; Appropriate training and […]

Welcoming Migrant Workers in Community

Conference welcomes the re-launch in May 2023 of UNISON’s Migrant Workers Network. Conference notes that this is a new, informal network of UNISON members with a first-generation immigrant background including overseas and migrant workers who have subsequently naturalised as British citizens who have Indefinite Leave to Remain. Conference further notes that increasing numbers of migrant […]

Mandatory Qualifications for Housing Staff

The Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 will require all executives and managers in housing roles to have housing-relevant qualifications: executives at level 5 (equivalent to a foundation degree) and managers at level 4, equivalent to the old higher national certificate, and above A level. The Government estimates that these requirements will cover 25,000 staff across […]

Movement to Online Training in Major Charities

Since the start of the COVID crisis, many aspects of working life are increasingly delivered digitally. This has had many positive consequences, including enabling some members to achieve better work life balance through increased home working, and improving work access for disabled members or members with caring responsibilities. However there are also risks in “digital […]

Pensions in Housing Associations

Pension provision in housing associations is extremely variable. Some members are in the Local Government Pension Scheme as a consequence of TUPE arrangements dating back many years; others in the sectoral Social Housing Pension Scheme; but most, especially newer staff, are now in defined contribution arrangements of varying quality. We are now seeing pensions coming […]

Pay for the Real Responsibilities of all Care Workers

Conference notes that low pay for care workers doing a difficult and skilled job is the norm in the care sector. Care workers are undervalued by an underfunded, marketised and fragmented social care system which is built to drive down care worker terms and conditions and allows the government to dodge responsibility for the staffing […]

Recruitment and Retention Pressures in Housing Associations

Turnover across the Housing sector has increased markedly in recent years. According to Housemark, while voluntary turnover in the sector has historically averaged 10% a year, this has increased to 14% a year in the last two years, with particularly high turnover in customer-facing roles. Our members see this where they work. High levels of […]

The Real Value of the Charity and Voluntary Sector (CVS)

Conference notes the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) campaign for contracts and grants from government and public bodies to be uplifted to cover the true cost of delivery. Conference further notes that the voluntary sector delivers over £11 billion worth of public services every year. These are services that are critical to communities, including […]

Engaging and Developing Black activists in the Community Service Group

Conference notes the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) report Home Truths published in 2020 which indicated that 68% of Black charity workers had experienced or witnessed racism in the sector. This is despite Black workers making up only 9% of the charity sector workforce, lower than both the public and private sectors. […]