Conference is concerned that good pension provision is continuing to decline. Defined benefit pension schemes that guarantee pensions based on final salary or career average are under threat. The main reason employers give is increasing costs and risk of further increases of providing the benefits and increased employer contributions. In the public sector (for example […]
Conference motions
Conference notes with concern the ongoing closures of libraries and worsening pay and conditions of remaining library staff. Data released last December by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) shows that spending on local libraries has fallen by £25 million and 478 libraries have closed across England, Scotland and Wales since 2010. […]
Conference notes that members working in homecare suffer some of the worst working conditions in any sector in the UK, with widespread abuse of zero-hour contracts, breaches of minimum wage legislation, and non-payment of the time spent travelling between domiciliary care visits. Conference recognises the work done by UNISON at all levels to highlight these […]
Conference notes that: 1) The apprenticeship levy comes in from April 2017 and all employers, with a pay bill over £3 million each year, will need to pay 0.5% of their pay-bill to invest in apprenticeships – almost all further education (FE) colleges will be paying the levy. The growth in apprenticeships over the coming […]
Conference notes that many local authority employers have anti-bullying and harassment policies in place. However, there are too many times when Black workers in the local government employers have reported experiences of bullying in the workplace. This conference also notes historical evidence from the TUC has shown that Black workers are reluctant to use the […]
This conference notes that a range of new employers and models of service delivery are emerging in local government e.g. combined authorities, local authority trading companies, public authority mutuals, ‘Devo Manc’ etc. This conference also notes that these changes have profound implications for the local government service group bargaining and organising agenda on staffing, pay, […]
Conference notes that outsourcing and privatisation constitute a failed economic model for local government services. It only serves to reduce our members’ pay, terms and conditions and maximise profits for contractors, consultants and shareholders. Conference also notes that services get worse following privatisation and outsourcing. Private companies have a legal duty to reward shareholders, so […]
Conference recognises that the social care system is in crisis. Council spending on social care fell by 9% in real terms between 2010 and 2015 due to huge funding cuts from central government. The number of pensioners receiving care from their local council fell by 26% over that period. The King’s Fund estimate that the […]