CUTS TO DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES

Conference is deeply concerned at the cuts to women’s services throughout the country and particularly at recent proposed cuts in Devon. In January one of the major stakeholders, Devon County Council announced that it proposed to withdraw £1.2 million in funding for the Against Domestic Violence Abuse Project (ADVA). The severity and rapidity of these […]

UNIVERSAL CREDIT: WELFARE THAT WORKS

This Conference recognises that some aspects of government’s proposals published in ‘Universal Credit’ (November 2010) to reform the state welfare system are reportedly designed to make it easier for a single assessment of need. Such a system should relieve some of the burdensome pressure of women to make duplicate applications to a number of statutory […]

A MILLION WOMEN MARCH

Conference welcomes the news that the TUC has called a national demonstration for 26 March 2011 and understands that opposition to the austerity measures is gradually building up in the UK with demonstrations having already taken place as well as lobbies of Parliament and protests nationwide following the Con Dem announcement of eighty three billion […]

THE PRICE OF MOTHERHOOD

The adverse impact of motherhood on the gender pay gap is well known. The Labour Government has postponed its proposed extension of maternity pay to fifty two weeks, claiming it is inappropriate during the recession. We know that the coalition government will make no commitment to increasing maternity pay. The CBI attacked the Labour government’s […]

SURE START

Conference notes the disproportionate effects the cuts on public services will have on women, in particular cuts to Sure Start. Users of the services are almost exclusively women as are the staff employed. Sure Start provides vital services such as Early Years play and development, family bonding, speech and language and family support services to […]

HOW FLEXIBLE IS YOUR EMPLOYER BEING WITH FLEXIBLE WORKING REQUESTS

Too many employers view flexible working as only benefiting the employee. Some employers believe that a desire to work flexibly implies a lack of commitment, that it is primarily a benefit for working mothers and that it will breed resentment among those who don’t work flexibly. These attitudes represent the biggest obstacle to flexible working. […]

SICKNESS ABSENCE POLICIES THAT PENALISE WOMEN UNJUSTLY

The majority of employees in the public sector are women and many of them will experience at some time in their working lives health related absences that result in intrusive and harsh management responses as a consequence of rigid sickness absence policies – often based on the ‘Bradford Factor’ – a human resources tool widely […]

PROTECTED GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES

In her speech to the annual Women’s Aid National Conference in July 2010 Teresa May claimed “Violence against women is and always has been a priority for me and my ambition is nothing less than ending it”. She promised to ensure that ending violence against women would remain a priority for the coalition government. However, […]

WOMEN AND THE CUTS

This National Women’s Conference notes the attack on women that is being instituted by the ConDem Government. Their first budget showed a disproportionate effect on women which was highlighted by the Fawcett Society. We are all aware that the public sector is being made to pay the price of the excesses of the banking and […]

WELFARE REFORM AND IMPACT ON UNISON WOMEN

All political parties in the run up to the General Election had campaigns around fairness and equalities and the importance of family. As soon as the ConDem Government came into power they could not wait to introduce measures that had a disproportionate impact on women. Particularly in their sights on universal benefits such as child […]

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS AND WOMEN

Conference notes with concern the economic hardship public service cuts will have on women. Sixty five per cent of public sector workers are women and almost a quarter of working women are in public sector jobs. Women are also the greatest users of public services. With one in five women acting as carers for adult […]

WOMEN AND UK ONLINE

This conference notes that increasing pressure is being placed on households to communicate and gather vital information, and to carry out transactions such as buying licences and paying bills, via the internet. Conference is aware that there are very many current and retired women public service workers, on very low incomes for whom the purchase […]

FEMINISM IN UNISON

This conference is delighted to see the resurgence of a feminist movement that is gaining media attention and that is campaigning on a broad range of women’s issues. Young feminists are organising conferences and summer schools to raise awareness of feminist principles, and building coalitions to successfully campaign on specific and general issues. These groups […]

OVARIAN CANCER – THE SILENT KILLER

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK, affecting around six thousand and eight hundred women. It is the highest gynaecological killer of women in the UK and the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in women, with two out of every three cases of ovarian cancer being […]

DEFEND YOUR SCHOOL – PROTECT WOMEN WORKERS

Conference applauds the UNISON campaign to Defend Your School. The schools workforce is predominately female, with women part-time workers outnumbering part-time male staff by ten to one. The majority of these women will be in low paid jobs – as teaching assistants, schools meals staff, admin and clerical staff etc. Now, government proposals for the […]