Conference notes that the Government’s Disability Strategy was published on 27 July. This followed a period of public consultation via an online survey which has been much criticised. The Government failed to properly consult with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s) and this is currently subject to legal challenge. Consequently, the strategy has received criticism and been […]
Conference motions
Conference recalls that UNISON Disabled Members Conference 2018 passed the motion ‘Legal Recognition of British Sign Language’. The motion explained that although the UK government formally recognised British Sign Language (BSL) as a language in its own right in 2003, this did not give full legal status to BSL. Scotland is the only country in […]
Conference notes that Deaf workers rely on Access to Work to pay for BSL interpreters so that they can do their jobs and live independent lives. However during the pandemic the Access to Work system wasn’t as flexible or responsive as it needed to be in the changed circumstances. Long standing issues with the system […]
Conference is concerned about the increase in scams during Covid 19 and particularly how this has impacted on Deaf people who are native British Sign Language (BSL) users. Covid scammers are criminals who use the publicity around coronavirus as a chance to target people. They try to take advantage of people’s worries and uncertainty about […]
Conference notes UNISON’s ground-breaking Race Discrimination Protocol which means that cases that potentially involve racism are referred for legal advice at an early stage. Conference welcomes UNISON’s commitment to fighting racism in this way and notes that for many Black disabled workers it may not be clear if they are being discriminated against because of […]
Conference applauds the National Disabled Members Committee for the work undertaken to date to highlight the effects of austerity measures on disabled lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender plus (LGBT+) workers, the services we provide and the knock-on effects of the reduction in those services. Conference further notes that a range of governmental bodies, statutory services and […]
Conference recalls the 2019 Disabled Members Conference agreed the motion “What are they hiding? Missing PIP data on the experience of Black disabled people”. The motion asked the national disabled members committee to seek data on the percentage of Black claimants turned down for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) compared to white claimants. Conference notes that […]
Conference notes that Black people were four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people while almost 60% of deaths were of disabled people. The myth that COVID doesn’t discriminate has been unmasked. Black and disabled people were hit the hardest and we continue to be disproportionately impacted as we hopefully come out […]
Covid-19 and Disability Inclusion in the Workplace With one in five employees being disabled its important that employers make our workplaces inclusive. Failure to make reasonable adjustments may amount to disability discrimination. Conference is aware that there can be particular benefits to disabled people from working from home; however, this is an individual assessment and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This special energy conference notes that in November in Glasgow the previously delayed (due to Covid restrictions) COP 26 will take place. This will bring together nations from across the world to report on progress made since the COP 21 Paris Agreement was reached in 2015. This conference also notes that since 2015 the UK […]
At its inception in 2016, the Energy and Utilities Skills Partnership, made up of 30 utility organisations; gas, power, water, and waste management, recognised the underrepresentation of Black workers across the sector, citing, �Workforce diversity and inclusion levels for the sector continue to be below the UK averages, with only 7% of the sector�s employees […]