Conference notes that UNISON has established policy to undertake work to develop, train and elect members to become effective trustees or member representatives of private and public pension funds. The importance of member involvement can be illustrated by the Local Government Scheme (LGPS). Collectively the LGPS would be the largest pension fund in the UK […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that in recent years UNISON has evolved from an organisation with a servicing culture to one with an organising approach. The union is more likely to get good results where it has strong membership organisation. Strong membership is based on the following organising principles: i.Working collectively; ii.Listening to members’ views; iii.Knowing where our […]
Conference believes that although we are firmly committed to the restoration of the earnings link we should also seek to strengthen the link to price increase. Conference notes that the “shopping basket” used to calculate the price index contains many items that are not relevant to pensioners, for example, video games. Conference therefore requests that […]
Conference deplores the abolition of the 10p income tax band and its impact on pensioners especially those aged 60-64 for whom it will have a particularly adverse effect. Conference believes it was not the intention of Gordon Brown, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to disadvantage pensioners in this way, but also recognises that initiatives should […]
Conference believes that the few retired people who, on retirement, want to pursue higher education in the form of undergraduate and graduate courses should enjoy an exemption from tuition fees. Apart from these fees being grossly unfair they assume an affordability which will not be the case for the majority of pensioners undertaking these courses. […]
At the 2007 Retired Members’ Annual Conference, an Emergency Motion was carried, with the third highest support, calling for a single Government Minister for responsibility for the Elderly. Since then a Commissioner for the Elderly has been appointed for Wales, by the Welsh Assembly, with responsibility for ensuring all aspects for the elderly receive appropriate […]
Conference notes the ever increasing closures of post offices across the whole of the UK. Post offices are not just somewhere to buy stamps or post letters and parcels but are in fact a vital asset both in rural and urban areas. Many pensioners do not have a banking account and particularly in rural areas […]
The age addition to the over 80s was first introduced in 1971. The value was set at 25p representing 5% of the weekly State Pension of £5. It was a welcome addition. If it had risen relative to the State Pension it would now be worth about £4.50 a week. The mighty amount of 25p […]
Conference regrets that in his March 2008 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, again failed to increase the basic state pension to restore its value if the link to average earnings had not been broken by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government. Pensioners should have an immediate rise now to restore the pension value and […]
This conference recognises that the government’s simplification of dental charges was a worthy aim. However, it has recently been announced that dental charges paid by NHS patients have increased by over £1 million per week. There are three bands of charging and it would appear that many treatments are charged at the highest band of […]
Conference has been appalled to read in the press that a retired couple elected to commit suicide rather than face being separated into different care homes when one partner becomes unable to care for the other. It is unacceptable that couples who’ve been together for most of their lives are separated at a time when […]
This Retired Members’ Conference deplores the inequality in Social Care in the Community. Having closed Old People’s Homes and promising that this was so that the money could be used to assist people in their own homes, it appears to be another postcode lottery as to what assistance is given and to what is free […]
Conference notes that 3.5 million older people in the UK live alone due to factors which include bereavement and social isolation. Women are particularly affected as they are more likely than men to be widowed e.g. 3 in 5 women aged 75 and over live alone. Conference further notes that for single persons or persons […]
The NHS has many staff at every level, up to and including Executive Directors and Chief Executives, who work for or have interests in private healthcare providers. This is particularly relevant in the ambulance sector. Private healthcare providers who actively compete for and win Patient Transport Services contracts in England, have been historically staffed by […]
Increasingly workers in the NHS face car parking charges as a ‘tax’ for working in an essential public service. We should start with the premise that parking should be free. Conference, therefore, seeks the issuing to branches of a negotiating guide and a national campaign on car parking based on the following principles (to be […]