ACCESSIBLE PACKAGING & LABELLING

Disabled people are constantly presented with barriers, and in some cases hazards arising from modern methods of packaging products. In terms of labelling particularly foods stuffs and medications there are major barriers as a consequence arising from the formats used to produced such information. Therefore this conference calls upon the National Disabled Members Committee to […]

ANTI FASCISM FOR LIFE – NOT JUST FOR ELECTION TIME

Historically disabled people have been victims of discrimination, marginalisation and in some cases, murder under fascist regimes. This National Disabled Members Conference applauds and fully supports UNISON nationally for its publicity campaigns that expose the British National Party for what it really is – an organization that discriminates against people on ground of disability, sexual […]

UNISON PUBLICATIONS

Conference applauds UNISON’s commitment to ensuring that its members are kept informed on various health issues. This information is generated by various committees within UNISON including Health and Safety and Women’s Self Organization etc. Many of these leaflets and publications could be used to inform members of their rights under the Disability Discrimination Act. The […]

WELFARE REFORM BILL

This Conference notes that the Government published its ‘Welfare Reform Bill on 4th July 2006. This Bill contains powers to replace incapacity benefits with a new Employment Support Allowance. The Government have said that they do not intend to force people back into work where it is not appropriate and that people will continue to […]

Sickness Absence Policies

Conference is appalled by the continuing discrimination by employers towards disabled members when using Sickness Absence policies. Many of these employers carry the two tick logo. Schemes like the ‘Bradford Factor’, where a disabled member could pick up 1000’s of points with ongoing treatment for their disability, place staff under massive pressure to reduce their […]

MAPPING OF DISABLED MEMBERS

The Scottish Disabled Members’ Group is concerned that no accurate statistics exist on the number of disabled members in the union. The interim report of the Equalities Review would indicate that as many as 1 in 4 people in the UK could be classified as disabled under the DDA. Impending legislation would increase this number, […]

Equality Duty

This Conference welcomes the new Equality Duty that will be imposed on public bodies and some private organizations from December 2006. Conference knows that no new resources will be made available to implement this piece of new legislation. Conference therefore calls upon the National Disabled Members Committee to liaise with the NEC, Labour Link and […]

Disabled People Living in Poverty

Conference recognises that many disabled people are living in poverty, and the proportion of disabled adults who are unemployed but want to work are almost three times higher than those without a disability. This demonstrates that discrimination in the labour market is a continuing issue. We know that even where disabled people are in employment, […]

Health and Safety Reps Seminar

The Service Groups covered by the Business and Environment Unit held a successful Seminar of Health & Safety Reps at National level in the early part of this decade. Many Health and Safety related legislative changes that affect members in the Energy Service Group have occurred since this time and this Energy Conference calls on […]

Race Equality Schemes

Conference notes the lack of implementation regarding Race Equality Schemes. Since 31 May 2005 organisations had to be compliant. Unfortunately little is being done to assess organistions to assess whether they are compliant or not. 1. We call upon the NBMC/NEC to liase with a) Service groups to monitor what is happening in branches; b) […]

Mapping of Black Members

Conference notes that successive reports commissioned by the TUC and government’s own statistics that confirm that Black workers continue to be concentrated in the lowest paid jobs. Conference further notes the increase in attacks against the Black communities following the tragic London bombing in July 05 and the BNP for its attempt to exploit the […]

Lack of Visibility of Black Members: Attendace at UNISON’s Conferences

The North West Regional Black Members’ Group are concerned at the low and decreasing numbers of Black Members attending UNISON’s Conferences. It was noted in 2005 that the numbers of Black Members who attended; Women’s’ Conference, Health Conference, Local Government Conference, National Delegate Conference and all the Service Group Conferences held this year was significantly […]

Palestinian Right to Education

Conference expresses its concern regarding Israel’s deportation to Gaza of four Palestinian students at Birzeit University in the West Bank. Conference notes that these Gazen students have not been accused of any offence; rejects as illegal the condition imposed by the Israeli military authorities that any resumption of their studies would be dependent on the […]

London Bombings

Conference deplores the recent bombings on London tube trains and a bus as inexcusable acts of mass murder, committed without warning against ordinary people in the hear of one of the world’s most diverse, multi-ethnic cities. We extend sympathy to those who have lost loved ones, and salute the courage and solidarity of our fellow […]

Global Warming and Racism

Conference notes the recent events in New Orleans and surrounding areas of the southern USA following the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans is a graphic illustration of what happens when there is a lack of coordination in relation to emergency evacuation procedures. ‘Cuba can boast an impressive record in safeguarding its residents against […]