Amendment to Rule Option 1

Conference wishes the following to be considered as one of the choices for the two motions and/or amendments to Rule to be submitted by the Retired Members’ Organisation to National Delegate Conference 2024 in accordance with Rule D.1.10.4: “Rule D – Structure of the union at national level. In Rule D.2 – National Executive Council […]

Britain’s railway ticket offices scheduled for closure

Almost 1,000 ticket offices are set to close across the country with the loss of thousands of jobs and creating accessibility problems for different types of travellers, especially for older people and persons with disabilities not using smart phones or computers, without ticket offices and on station support a huge swathe of passengers could be […]

New Versus Old State Pension

This conference notes that whilst the retention of the Triple Lock for the year beginning April 2023 must be applauded, in no small part to our own campaigning, we need to be wary of what the future holds. Conference must not be complacent and we will need to keep fighting for its retention in the […]

Housing, older people and the cost-of-living crisis

There are almost 11 million people aged 65 and over in the UK which represents nearly 20% of the total population. Yet the government continues to ignore the plight of many pensioners and to place the interests of developers and the private sector housing providers before the housing needs of older people. Many pensioners facing […]

GP and Pharmacy Services

Conference notes with concern the Government’s pressure for people to consult pharmacists in the first instance rather than their GP surgery. This is the result of its continuing underfunding of the NHS and, in particular, general practice surgeries, with a large deficit of fully trained GPs. This is at a time when pharmacies across all […]

Maximising the Support of Retired Members

Conference notes that, as well as campaigning on issues that relate directly to retired members, we have the potential and a responsibility to support the campaigns of working members. This is not new but is now more important than ever in the current period of intense struggle against a government and employers who are intent […]

Stop rise in State Pension age

Conference notes the widespread opposition to the plan by President Macron to increase the State Retirement Age in France from 62 to 64 may well have been a factor in the decision by the UK Government to delay making a decision on the rise in the State Pension Age to 68, with reports that ministers […]

Renationalise the Royal Mail

The Royal Mail has a long and proud history. It was founded in the Tudor period in 1516 when Henry VIII established a “Master of the Posts”. The Uniform Penny Post was established in 1840 and effectively the system continued to operate successfully until, 2013 when the decision was taken to privatise the Royal Mail […]

PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF ENERGY UTILITIES

Conference believes: 1)Retired members have been particularly hard hit by the cost-of-living crisis and in particular the massive increases in energy bills since April 2021 that has hit millions of people. 2. Retired members who are at home during the day have faced the impossible juggling act of trying to keep themselves warm and still […]

Abolish Workers being charged for their DBS check

This conference believes that we need to stop the regressive practice of some organisations in the Community and Voluntary sector charging their new employees to get their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) done. In the midst of a cost of living crisis which is impacting the working of people the hardest, this conference motion contends […]

Income: £99.30 a week – the reality of sick pay in social care

Conference, it cannot be right, that employees within social care with increasing rent/mortgage payments, fuel, food and utilities, can be left when they fall ill on £100 a week. This is totally unacceptable. Everyone in this room will know someone working in the social care sector, that has fallen ill and has reached crisis point […]

Women in community jobs and the cost of living crisis

Conference notes that more than 82,000 UNISON members work in the community and voluntary sector. Many of them are women and a significant number work in social care, where women outnumber men four to one. Generally, women tend to have lower paid jobs and fewer hours than men. Also, there are three times as many […]

Sick pay in social care

Conference last year resolved to campaign on sick pay, noting that many workers in our sectors receive only statutory sick pay. That means they receive hopelessly inadequate pay when sick, and nothing at all for the first three days of any sickness absence. Workers are forced to choose between going into work sick and feeding […]

Charity Sector Pay

Conference notes the publication of the Law Family Commission on Civil Society study, carried out by Pro Bono Economics in August 2022 entitled “The price of purpose? Pay gaps in the charity sector” which identifies that charity staff in the UK are paid 7% less per hour on average than workers in other sectors and […]

Young Members in Community

Conference notes that UNISON membership is in decline and the current average age of a UNISON rep is over 50; In many Community workplaces, young workers are less likely to join a trade union, and those who do join are less likely to develop as an active member; An increasing number of young people are […]