It has been reported that the Government is considering introducing means testing for the Pensioners Bus Pass. This is a short sighted policy that will bring little benefit to the taxpayer. It will however bring isolation and misery to those pensioners who rely on public transport to travel but who will not be able to […]
Conference motions
Conference welcomes the Coalition Government’s planned increase in rail investment, but questions the value for money, rape of the environment and a 12 year wait for completion of the HS2 high speed rail line at this time of austerity when the project will cut just 45 minutes off a journey from Birmingham to London. Conference […]
Having an integrated, efficient public transport network is vital to the economy and to the daily lives of millions of people. While billions of pounds will be spent on building the HS2 rail line money is being cut from local authority budgets which leads to bus services being stopped, threatening the jobs of our members. […]
With a static or decreasing number of members in our branches we need to review how we organise within the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group (WET). As moves are made to change our branches we need to find a structure that suits us before one is imposed. There seems to be a coordinated effort […]
Conference notes that workplace equality issues are often portrayed as problems, difficult to handle, a minority interest and all about discrimination and prejudice. Conference believes that equality is not a problem but rather is something to celebrate in our Water, Environment and Transport (WET) workplaces. By celebrating equality and celebrating diversity we can help end […]
Conference welcomes the work done over many years by UNISON negotiators and representatives in water, environment and transport (WET) to highlight and tackle workplace stress. Conference is concerned that the current climate, with persistent threat to jobs, is placing particular stresses on WET members. There is micro-management, ever more pressure to meet targets, with fewer […]
Conference as well as forming a significant part of the public sector workforce Black people are also primary users of public services. Cuts to funding are closing services while putting significant pressure on those remaining staff, as well as community and voluntary organisations supporting Black people and other vulnerable communities at a time when they […]
Mental health problems affect about one in ten children and young people. Mental illness come in may forms including depression, anxiety and conduct disorder, and are often a direct response to what is happening in their lives at home and at school, college or university. It can lead to self harm and suicide – particularly […]
Conference welcomes the groundbreaking report into the effects of austerity on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers and service users, including local government workers, commissioned by UNISON’s National LGBT Committee and funded by the General Political Fund (GPF). The research, carried out by the well respected independent social research organisation NatCen, includes evidence of […]
Conference welcomes the move from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to invest more resources into the regulation of health and social care services. It also welcomes the return to a specialist form of inspections which UNISON has long called for. Although this change in inspection methodology is welcome it is vital that regulation of hospitals […]
This Conference welcomes the work being done by the Business and Environment Equal Opportunities Working Group (BEEOWG) to promote the equalities agenda. Equalities have long been a priority with the WET Service Group. Within the WET service group we have a long and proud tradition of fighting for equality for all our members. Over the […]
Conference notes with dismay that cuts to pay and terms and conditions in local government are hitting women hardest across the UK. Local government is a highly gendered workforce – seventy-six per cent of National Joint Committee (NJC) workers are women, over half of all jobs are part-time and women carry out 90% of those […]
Conference notes that the Food Standards Agency is too close to the food industry without being sufficiently robust in protecting independent meat inspection, despite the recent and ongoing horsemeat scandal. Conference recognises that de-regulation and privatisation is the preferred direction of travel of our government and the European Union (EU). This was clearly shown in […]
Conference notes that Water, Environment and Transport is the only UNISON service group where male members outnumber female. This is despite the predominance of women staff in the administrative and clerical roles, in common with the UK workforce as a whole. Women in any workforce continue to face discrimination in pay and access to training […]
Conference notes that: a) The existing branch structure within the Environment Agency was established at the time that the Environment Agency was created and was based largely on water company boundaries. b) The structure of the Environment Agency has changed significantly since this time and concern has been expressed that certain bargaining groups are no […]