Conference notes and deplores the racist comments made in April by Sun columnist Kelvin McKenzie about Everton FC midfielder Ross Barkley. Further comments made in the same column were derogatory about the City and people of Liverpool. These comments were made just days before the 28th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. Conference notes the appalling […]
Conference motions
This Conference notes: a. The decline in UNISON membership in the Bus Sector. b. The difficulty in recruiting activists and forming viable Bus Sector branches. c. That to address the above, UNISON has increasingly moved members who work for bus operators into larger employer-led branches. d. That these decisions are determined locally based on the […]
Conference notes that in recent months the employers at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) have made clear their intention to serve notice to withdraw from the Passenger Transport Forum (PTF). This is a consultative body for the Combined Authorities and PTE’s and also the […]
Conference notes the Supreme Court ruling in January 2017 on the FirstGroup V Pauley case, and the issue raised under the Equality Act 2010 for “reasonable adjustment” and whether a bus companies policy or “provision criterion or practice” (PCP) was been met in relation to wheelchair users. In particular, whether a bus driver should compel […]
Conference celebrates our union’s rich history of international work and recognises that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group has incorporated this into its own work. UNISON continues to raise LGBT issues in the different international forums in which we work and raise trade unionism in all LGBT forums in which we engage. Conference […]
Conference notes the increasing numbers of our water, environment and transport members working in call centres. Call centres can leave workers chained to their workstations under extreme pressure to provide faster responses to more and more callers. Conference welcomes UNISON’s Call Centre Charter, launched in 2012, to seek to establish a decency agenda for these […]
Conference welcomes Motion 121 passed at National Delegate Conference 2016. It notes that Motion 121 was intended to introduce a new process of activity-based budgeting, which would meet branch needs by facilitating funding for the activity required for branches to be successful in meeting the union’s objectives. Motion 121 acknowledged the vital role branches play […]
Over the last thirty years, the regulated market in water supply has enabled steady investment, predictable price increases enabling water customers to budget, steady improvements in water quality and low levels of customer complaint and dissatisfaction. Now, though, Ministers have expressed a wish to introduce competition for households, following the introduction of competition for commercial […]
Conference notes with concern the negative and profoundly damaging images of older people, both as individuals and collectively, that are continually and consistently put out by the mass media in Britain. This includes portrayal of the age group as having access to large pensions, doing little that is worthwhile and at the same time being […]
This conference notes the ever increasing need for safety improvements in the WET sector and especially in the light of the ever decreasing enforcement from HSE and government cuts. Yorkshire Water Branch would like the sector to adopt the approach being taking at Kelda where we have two Health and safety reps seconded into the […]
Trade unions and employers are dealing with an increasingly diverse workforce. There are higher proportions of women and people from black and minority ethnic communities in the workforce than ever before. The population is aging, with many people intending to stay in work for longer and many trying to juggle work with caring responsibilities. There […]
This conference notes that a great deal of current UK environmental law has been derived from EU legislation over several decades, which in turn has ensured that the WET sector is good for the environment. Yorkshire Water branch would like the WET sector to support the adoption of ‘the Norwegian model’ by our government, so […]
Conference is concerned at the continued depletion of our bus services and welcomes UNISON’s support for the Campaign for Better Transport and applauds the support from the General Political Fund for research into defending and improving our bus services. Conference notes that although buses are the most flexible form of public transport, they receive far […]
Conference is aware that in recent years governments have increased the state pension for all women born on or after 6 April 1951. The Conservative government’s Pension Act (1995) included the provision to raise the pension age of women from 60 to 65, in line with men’s retirement age. The subsequent Pension Act (2011) implemented […]
Conference notes that in September 2016 the International Labour Organisation (ILO) launched the Alliance 8.7, an initiative which will bring together all interested parties to join forces in achieving UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development target 8.7, aiming at a world without forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. Conference welcomes the initiative, […]