Stop First Homes Proposals

Conference notes the government consultation which opened on the 7th February 2020 over the new First Homes housing policy. This proposal seeks to divert section 106 funds away from the provision of affordable homes and instead use it to offer discounts on new properties for purchase in England. Conference notes that opposition to these proposals […]

Promoting the EU Settlement Scheme to Community members

Conference notes the outcome of the General Election on December 12th 2019 which resulted in the re-election of a Conservative government. The �Skills for Care� workforce development charity that operates as a delivery partner for the Department of Health and Social Care estimates that there; 1. are 1.52 million social care jobs within local authorities, […]

GENDER PAY GAP

2020 is the 50th Anniversary of the introduction of The Equal Pay ActConference celebrates the successes of UNISON in using the legislation to achieve equal pay for large numbers of its low paid women members, in particular those in local government. Conference welcomes that in 2017 the Government introduced compulsory gender pay gap reporting for […]

MENOPAUSE

Roughly half of UK workers are women, all of whom will experience the menopause in some form. Conference notes that the definition of menopause is a lack of menstruation for one full year. It usually begins between the ages of 45 and 55 but it can develop before or after this age range.In the UK, […]

Inclusive Workplace Policies for Non-Binary Members in the Community Sector

Conference notes the motion passed at last year�s Community Conference on Inclusive Workplace Policies in the Community Sector which called on the community service group executive to: 1. Gather good practice examples from branches organising in the community sector of inclusive policies and practices, including in record-keeping, language, any dress codes and in the provision […]

National standards for social care � protecting disabled workers

Conference notes that many of our community members work in social care where they provide care services to older and disabled people. This includes members employed as personal assistants (PAs) via personal payments budgets. Additionally, some of our disabled members in Community are also recipients of social care which allows them to overcome barriers they […]

ENGAGING BRANCHES IN THE COMMUNITY SECTOR IN LGBT+ RECRUITMENT AND ORGANISING

Conference notes that at National Delegate Conference 2019 delegates unanimously agreed to change UNISON�s rule book so that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) self organised group is now the LGBT+ self organised group. Conference recalls that the community conference unanimously passed policy last year supporting the group becoming LGBT+ and that many branches […]

Community employers, Accessibility Passports and Access to Work

Conference notes that although disabled workers are legally entitled to reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, some community employers continue to delay or seek to avoid implementing reasonable adjustments. In particular, adjustments agreed with one manager may disappear when staff move teams or change managers. Many members in community are also unaware that Access […]

Inclusive Workplace Policies for Non-Binary Members in the Community Sector

Conference notes the motion passed at last year�s Community Conference on Inclusive Workplace Policies in the Community Sector which called on the community service group executive to: 1. Gather good practice examples from branches organising in the community sector of inclusive policies and practices, including in record-keeping, language, any dress codes and in the provision […]

Supporting People

Supporting People Conference the time has come to recognise the specialist work being carried out by UNISON frontline workers employed through the Supporting People Programme and back those UNISON members in their call for an independent review into the Supporting People Programme. UNISON members working in Supporting People funded programmes continue to deliver vital services […]

Right to buy and shared ownership in Housing Associations in England

Conference notes that In October 2019 the then Secretary of State for Housing, Robert Jenrick MP issued a press statement stating that the government wished to work with housing associations on a voluntary basis in regard to introducing shared ownership right to buy. The press release stated: �For those tenants in new stock, there will […]

Recruiting and organising Black members in the fragmented workforce

The National Black Members Committee welcomes the work that the Community Service Group Executive has been doing over the past year in building and strengthening Black community links. The development of racism within the workplace survey will help explore effective ways of dealing with race discrimination in the workplace going forward. We thank conference for […]

Health and Safety representation

Conference notes that nationally the number of UNISON Health and Safety representatives in the workplace is diminishing. This continues to be of particular concern to the Community Service Group where, out of a collective membership of almost 75,000 members, less than 250 across all our nations/regions are accredited Health & Safety Representatives. Our workplaces are […]

Recruitment and organising: Building community links

Recruitment and organising: Building community links Conference notes that Citizens UK has built diverse civil society alliances in London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Cymru/Wales, Tyne and Wear and Leeds, building coalitions between trade unions, faith communities, statutory and community organisations in order to both enhance capacity and to take forward common objectives benefitting […]

Community services for women � a lifeline removed

Conference notes that support services for women are under ever increasing threat from funding cuts with many organisations reducing services, losing staff or closing altogether. The community and voluntary (C&V) sector provides a range of services to women, children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK. The services are wide […]