Conference notes with concern that community, health and local government social workers have long been vilified in the media when things go wrong. Individual social workers have seen their careers destroyed when they have been held to account for the failures of the employer to fund the service properly. Portrayal of social workers in television […]
Conference motions
Conference is concerned about the level of discrimination currently faced by disabled people. Cuts to public services, welfare reform, changes to health and social care, reductions in disabled students allowances and bedroom tax have all targeted disabled people. To fight this campaign against disabled people, disabled people need to be politically and societally active. We […]
For the past 30 years the economic philosophy has been that wealth would ‘trickle down’ to working people, and it has also been argued that austerity was necessary to build a future for subsequent generations and lift living standards. The reality has been that ordinary people have not seen the quality jobs and higher living […]
Conference is deeply concerned that job insecurity, in-work poverty and workplace exploitation have become the hallmarks of the so-called economic recovery in the UK. While the growth of zero hours contracts has rightly attracted the public’s attention, they are only the tip of the ice berg. The proliferation of short hour contracts, false-self employment and […]
The challenges facing the trade union movement in relation to developing and training activists have rarely been as difficult as they are now, yet the need to ensure our representatives are confident and skilled is greater than ever. Last year the coalition government announced that full funding for trade union education at level 3 and […]
Conference notes the decisive role that UNISON must continue to play in campaigning for effective public services that embody the values of a good society – care and compassion, dignity and respect, fairness and equal treatment, accountability and the public good. Conference further notes that the context in which we must campaign is characterised by […]
Conference condemns the large number of job losses in Local Government which are a result of the Tory led coalition cuts. Conference acknowledges the particular impact this has had on Local Government branches, the loss of members and often the loss of experienced activists. Conference is angry but recognises that these losses will continue for […]
Conference notes that local government pay and conditions remain the lowest in the public sector and that the effect of funding cuts on the Local Government workforce is largely overlooked by elected members and politicians. However, a reduced role for local authorities leads to greatly diminished local democracy. Conference also notes that:- 1)The 2015/16 Local […]
Conference Notes:- 1)The continued promotion of co-ops, mutuals and social enterprises by the Coalition Government as being a preferred delivery of local council services. By giving public sector workers a right to form mutuals, co-operatives and other arm’s length companies, the government claims to be giving power to local communities and offering a greater role […]
Conference notes that the erosion of pay in local government has had a particularly detrimental effect on women workers. 1)Women now make up the vast majority of staff in local government, but are disproportionately represented in the lower grades; 2)The majority of staff on zero hours contracts are women, with many of those women receiving […]
This conference notes and applauds the major campaign being waged by the BFAWU (Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union) within the national fast food takeaway companies, in partnership with the Fast Food Rights Campaign and Youth Fight For Jobs. The main thrust of this campaign is to recruit and organise young people into trade unions […]
Conference notes that increases in workload are causing severe problems for many school support staff across the UK. UNISON’s survey of over 15,000 school support staff members showed that:- 1)80.4% (10,804 respondents) said they were concerned about workload. The majority of respondents; 2)74.0%, said they regularly worked unpaid overtime; 3)81.0% of those working unpaid overtime […]
Conference notes: – 1)The damage that the Coalition’s ‘austerity’ programme has inflicted on local services and local communities across the UK and the future damage that could occur if the plans set out in the Autumn Statement 2014 are followed; 2)The warnings from the Public Accounts Committee that discretionary local services may disappear and that […]
Conference notes with alarm the continuing attacks on facility time in local government over the last year. These attacks are part of a political attack on trade unions in local government. In 2014 the Department for Communities and Local Government issued revised guidelines on data transparency, which require local authorities and fire and rescue authorities […]
Conference notes that negotiations are underway between the European Union (EU) and the United States on a new trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which could serve as a model for all future trade agreements. TTIP will not just remove trade tariffs but would also harmonise regulatory standards; open markets in the […]