This Community Conference notes the ongoing crisis in pension provision affecting our members in Community and also that community and voluntary sector employees are among the lowest paid in society. The minimum level of auto-enrolment pensions is grossly inadequate; and employers continue to dumb down pension schemes to limit any possible financial risk to themselves. […]
Conference motions
This conference notes: That a small number of Housing associations and other Charities in our sector are openly hostile to trade unions, carry out American style anti union practices and refuse to recognise trade unions. The right of free assembly and collective bargaining is a fundamental human right enshrined in international law. Any failure by […]
Conference reiterates our belief, set out in Motion 11 at Community Conference 2010, that volunteers play a valuable role in many areas of society, including in the community and voluntary sector and in trade unions. We agreed that “Conference believes that paid staff and volunteering roles are different, and volunteering should not be used by […]
Conference notes with concern that many charities and third sector organisations are currently short staffed but are unwilling or unable to hire new staff members due to cost. Staffing shortages in the Community & Voluntary Sector are having a negative impact on workers lives, particularly young workers. In particular, staffing shortages can impact on: 1) […]
Conference notes the research carried out by NatCen for UNISON in late 2013 which showed the impact of austerity on services for LGBT people including those services delivered by the community and voluntary sector. It revealed devastating cuts to services but also showed that austerity has had a negative impact on job security, terms and […]
Conference welcomes the updated “Organising for Equality: UNISON guidelines on self organisation”. In the forward to the guidance, Dave Prentis, our General Secretary states that “Self-organisation is an essential tool helping the union to identify and challenge discrimination and build equality. It can be a way for members to get involved in the union, developing […]
Community members within the housing and associated areas, view with concern, the impact on their jobs, pay and terms and conditions, of the ongoing roll out of ‘Welfare Reform’. It has been apparent from the introduction of the ‘bedroom tax’ that the reduction on the amount of housing benefit paid to tenants and service users, […]
Conference is disturbed to hear, that despite the introduction of the minimum wage in 1999 by a Labour Government, some employers in the care sector both in the community and private sectors are still paying their staff a pittance. Working in a care home or looking after the most vulnerable people in our society in […]
Conference notes with concern the insecurity facing workers in the community and voluntary sector, many of whom are low paid women workers. Many voluntary sector organisations provide services via contracts from local government and health authorities, and cuts in public spending are inevitably impacting on the funding of these services and therefore on our members. […]
It is over 20 years since UNISON was formed and proportionality and fair representation were enshrined in the new Rule Book for the new union. After 20 years, the question must be asked – how well have we done on achieving proportionality and fair representation? Conference acknowledges the good work to date on developing mechanisms […]
Endometriosis and Adenomyosis are chronic and painful conditions where cells from the lining of the womb are deposited in other parts of the body instead of being lost during menstruation. These cells continue to change in size and bleed in response to a woman’s normal menstrual cycle. This can affect bowel, bladder and kidney function, […]
This Women’s Conference is concerned to learn about recent reports of abuse towards disabled women in the human trafficking industry. This is an industry where escaping is often met with even greater barriers than usual for non disabled women as accessible support systems are extremely hard to find, and their built environments and accessible information […]
Since the introduction of the Health & Social Care Act more care is expected to be provided at home, Women working in the NHS, Local Government and Voluntary Sectors are seeing the move towards a 24 hour / 7 day service being implemented at a rapid rate and more and more requests for flexible working […]
Conference notes that in May 2014, 28 member states of the European Union (EU) elected 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent their interests. These elected representatives have a 5 year term of office in which to advance any number of common policies and promote a Europe that celebrates all its diverse members […]
Conference believes that inclusive language is important in ensuring that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) women within the women’s movement and UNISON women’s self organisation feel welcome and valued. Conference also believes that language, and our understanding of language, is constantly evolving, and that as women, including LGBT women, we should always be […]