Recruiting and increasing the activism of Young and Retired members

With an average members age being 56 UNISON is a middle-aged union. Conference recognises that two key areas of under representation within UNISON’s membership categories are retired and young Members. This is also evident within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Self Organised Group (SOG). The 2017 Retired Members Conference reported that; “UNISON has […]

How to be a good ally to Bi People at Work

Conference applauds the work that was done by UNISON in developing the ‘How to be a good trans ally’ document, produced last year. The feedback on this document has been extremely positive and has showcased UNISON’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, supporting all of its members. Conference is aware that for many within the trans […]

Racism within the Bi community

We in the bi caucus have become aware of racism within our own bi community spaces. Stonewall have released research which shows the scale of racism that exists within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Britain. Just over half of all Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people (51%) report experiencing discrimination […]

County Lines – impact on children, young people and families

County lines, or ‘going country’, is a national issue involving the use of mobile phone ‘lines’ by groups to extend their drug dealing business into new locations outside of their home areas. This generally involves a group from an urban area expanding their operations by crossing one or more police force boundaries to more rural […]

Pride in London

At the Pride Parade held in London, on Saturday 7th July 2018, a transphobic protest took place at the front of the march and stole the limelight from Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and NHS workers. The ‘hi-jack’ of the front of parade was carried out by ten lesbians who held a banner that […]

Happy 50th Birthday Stonewall

Conference next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. These events had a profound effect on the advancement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights. They were the catalyst for many movements and groups and also had an influence that led to led to Pride events that commenced a few years […]

Flexible working

Conference notes that the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees in 2014. However, the experience of reps and members within the energy sector is that many employers are only prepared to agree to flexible working patterns for certain groups of staff, and then only on limited terms. Further, new shift working […]

Getting the balance right on the NEC

Conference notes that in 2017 national women’s conference carried a motion calling for the NWC to work with the NEC to address the issue of proportionality in our union. 1 million of UNISON’s 1.3 million members are women – 77% of the total membership. Conference further notes that UNISON’s currently has 66 seats, comprised of […]

Misogyny is hate crime

Misogyny and hate crime is on the increase in society. In 2016 Nottinghamshire police were the first force to re-classify wolf whistling, cat calling and other misogynistic harassment as hate crime and handled 30 cases in 5 months. Following on from that 15 other police forces are now looking at following Nottinghamshire Police’s lead. In […]

Carers – The forgotten members

1 in 8 adults or 6.5 million people in the UK are carers according to carers UK with this figure set to rise to 9 million by 2037. Every day 6,000 people take on a caring role and 58% of the careers are women. In 2011, females were more likely to be unpaid carers than […]

Fair pay in universities

Conference believes that there is an inherent unfairness in the way in which our universities are being run, and the way in which the most senior staff are being rewarded whilst UNISON members and staff working in support services are paying the price. Recent research in the Guardian revealed that among 17 university heads who […]

Low Pay and Women in UNISON

UNISON’s principles of proportionality and fair representation means that some seats on elected bodies, including the NEC, are reserved for women and low-paid members, so that the make-up fairly represents the wider union. We have a variety of places where low paid seats exist, and low pay is included in branch delegations to national delegate […]