Conference notes with concern the resounding victory of Donald Trump in the United States Presidential Election. This decision will have global repercussions. His first term, according to Amnesty International, was ‘marked by bigotry, xenophobia and white supremacist rhetoric, and led to extensive human rights violations’. The lives of young women, Black, LGBT+ and disabled people […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that, while the public sector proper was excluded from the increase in employers’ National Insurance announced on 31 October, this has placed significant financial pressures on private and third sector bodies delivering public services, such as universities and community organisations. Organisations like these both employ young workers and provide services young workers rely […]
Conference Notes That: 1 The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has announced that tuition fees for higher education in England will be increased by 3.1% for the next academic year, for new and continuing students. 2 This will bring full-time fees up to £9,535, and part-time fees up to £7,145. 3 This is […]
Conference notes that, according to research from the University of the West of England, over half of 16-24 year olds use buses every week and two thirds of this age group do not have access to a car. For many young workers in public services, buses are essential as a cheap, convenient and environmentally friendly […]
This Conference condemns the violent protests called in early August by far-right and fascist groups following the tragic events in Southport where three children were killed and more were injured. They have sought to exploit this tragedy with lies and disinformation especially about migrant workers, refugees, Muslims and Black workers, leading to multiple instances of […]
This conference notes: 1. On 01October 2024 Israel launched a major bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon, causing thousands of deaths, and around one million people to be displaced. 2. On 26October 2024, Israel launched airstrikes on Syria, Iraq, and Iran. This conference further notes: 3. Israel’s war is an assault on young people and […]
Conference notes that the engagement and retention of Young Members can be challenging. However, engaging with young apprentices can often present attentional challenges, with there often being little to no education on what a Union is, while also feeling that their employment is tentative. Despite the fact there are approximately 135,000 Young Members in UNISON, […]
Conference notes the success of UNISON’s year of LGBT+ workers in 2024. Throughout the year, both the contributions of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Plus (LGBT+) people to the trade union movement and the exceptional work of UNISON to support its LGBT+ members have rightly been championed. Conference particularly welcomes the continued growth of the […]
Conference notes the successes of the Organising to Win strategy in increasing recruitment and retention. Conference also welcomes that in 2023, UNISON saw net membership growth, particularly in the strategic campaigns prioritised by Organising to Win. Conference notes that of 2023’s new joiners 15% were young members, up from 13% of new joiners in 2022. […]
Conference notes that Motion 3 “Organising and Training to Win Ballots and Disputes” from the National Young Members’ Forum (NYMF) was resoundingly passed by National Delegate Conference (NDC) 2024, instructing the National Executive Council (NEC) to continue implementing the ‘Organising to Win’ strategy with young members as a priority and to work with the NYMF […]
Conference notes as part of our Organising to Win strategy, students and apprentices are being prioritised for recruitment and retention in our union, which stands to benefit UNISON, our young members and our trade union movement. We have seen recruitment and organising success with student movements from UNISON branches supporting those causes, such as University […]
Conference notes the effects that cuts to our public services are having on Young People. Youth services have been slashed over the last 14 years; there is a rise in poor mental health amongst young people – with one in three people aged 18-24 now having symptoms of a mental health disorder – whilst our […]
Conference notes the ongoing and impending budget cuts within local government across the UK, recognising that, as of September 2023, 86% of UK councils anticipated a budget gap, with a national cumulative deficit of £7 billion by 2025/26. At present, many employers are committed to a policy of no mandatory redundancies and favour service cuts […]
Conference notes that the trade union movement faces huge challenges in respect of membership and activism. The Trade Union Congress noted in 2020 that only 14.1% of young workers aged 20-29 are trade union members. Successive anti-union legislation has made it increasingly difficult to recruit and campaign and therefore reduced the profile of trade unions […]
Conference welcomes the achievements of UNISON’s year of LGBT+ workers, which was celebrated up and down the country in many ways. This year was used to celebrate all our achievements and highlighted the continued discrimination faced by LGBT+ communities. One of the central objectives of the national LGBT+ committee’s year of LGBT+ workers campaign was […]