UNISON Buildings and Accessibility

Conference calls on the National Disabled Members’ Committee to campaign vigorously to the National Executive Council to ensure that all UNISON buildings conform to the Discrimination Disability Act 1995 (DDA) amended regulations relating to disabled access. The union has had five years to update its buildings and we expect UNISON to set an example to […]

Email policy

Conference notes the increasing use of email as a means of communicating with lay members, activists and officers within the union. With this increased use of email some disabled members are being disenfranchised and placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to others for reasons related to their disability. Branches need to be made aware that […]

Employability

Conference remains concerned that public sector employers do not have substantial and positive strategies for employing people with learning and physically disabilities. There are currently over a million disabled people in the UK who want work but cannot access employment. We are particularly concerned that existing arrangements within the disability benefit and tax credit systems […]

Public Transport

We have serious concerns regarding the commitment of the rail industry towards disabled people. Many stations have no ramps or lifts and platforms are only accessible by bridges across the tracks. When stations are refurbished disabled access on them does not improve either which clearly shows a lack of commitment towards disabled people using the […]

Disability Discrimination and Health and Safety at Work

Conference welcomes guidance produced by the European Safety and Health Agency that says that health and safety issues should not be used as an excuse for not employing or not continuing to employ disabled people. Its factsheet adds that a workplace that is accessible and safe for disabled people is also safer and more accessible […]

People with HIV

Conference welcomes the government’s response to the report of the joint committee on the draft disability bill with its commitment to extend the Disability Discrimination Act to provide new anti-discrimination measures for people with HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis that will be implemented in December 2005. We are pleased that these disabled people will no […]

Pay Per Mile Driving

Conference is concerned about the government’s plans to abolish road tax and petrol duty, charging motorists instead on a per mile basis to travel. A driver or passenger entitled to the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance should be exempt from any new charges. Pay per mile driving could be particularly detrimental to […]

The Disability Two Ticks Symbol

The disability two ticks symbol is a charter mark awarded through Job Centre Plus, Department for Works & Pensions (DWP) and is available to any organisation that can prove and attain five standards: 1)to interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities; […]

Access to Justice

Access to justice is the right of every person, it is a fundamental human right. It is an essential part of our democratic society. Equal access to an independent, impartial and speedy justice system is a fundamental pillar of democracy. Disabled people face barriers to justice as they often do not understand their rights or […]

Abuse of Disabled Parking Spaces

Conference deplores the use of disabled parking spaces by non-badge holders. These spaces have been reduced in numbers considerably, especially in supermarkets, which is bad enough, but when they are blatantly used by other than badge holders, this compounds the infringements on the rights of a disabled person to park near the shop entrance. Some […]

Investment in Public Transport

This Conference welcomes recent initiatives by the Government to invest in public transport within West Yorkshire, such as YellowBus, Yorcard and real time information, but notes with great concern that this is insufficient to redress the Tory legacy of inadequate investment in public transport provision. This Conference also notes that despite the recent problems with […]

Government 10 Year Transport Plan – The Role of the Workforce

Conference welcomes the Government’s decision to review progress on achieving the aims of its 10 Year Transport Plan which, so far, has failed to produce any major improvements in public transport provision, significantly reduce road congestion and reduce deaths and casualties on out roads and railways. Conference notes that policy makers often overlook the role […]

Nursing Recruitment and Retention Campaign

As part of the national campaign to recruit and retain nursing staff in UNISON, conference agrees that resources should be made available to enable all regions to establish or enter into relevant partnerships with existing library and nursing services databases to ensure that access to this range of professional services becomes a recruiting tool for […]

Fair Pay for All Staff

Conference notes that under Agenda for Change 16 different factors have been invented and have been weighted so that: ·hard physical work gains a maximum of 25 points but; · ·knowledge, training and experience is worth 240 points; · ·25 points are available to recognise tough working conditions yet; · ·360 points are available to […]