Autism in the Workplace: Autism and trade unionism

Autism is a term which covers a wide range of conditions that reflect neurological differences among people. A neutral descriptive definition is: Autistic Spectrum Conditions. Conference this is a trade union issue for a number of reasons as it affects both adults with autism who experience difficulties in the workplace, their parents, carers and children […]

Disabled Students Allowances

Conference is concerned about the changes to Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) announced the Government are proposing. When these were first announced in April the Ministers for Universities said he was announcing ‘measures to minimise DSA’ what he actually meant was cuts that will be devastating to disabled members. DSA isn’t just for University Students. It […]

Domestic Abuse, Hate Crime and Disabled People

This Conference is concerned about the high number of domestic abuse that some disabled people are facing. The World Health Organisation’s 2013 World Report on Disability highlighted abuse as a leading cause of death among disabled people. However, little is known about the true extent to which disabled people experience abuse and whether associated issues […]

Welfare Reform

That this Conference recognises that the current Government’s Welfare Reforms are an attack on the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society. With the return of a Tory Government in May, and their commitment to make a further £12 billion of cuts to the Social Security budget, there is no doubt that the level of […]

Stop the destruction of passenger transport services

Conference, we understand that across the country the slashing of transport services to the public will result in the abandoning of printed timetables, the closure of travel centres, information centres and ticket offices. This will significantly disadvantage disabled people as due to their disability not everyone is able to use internet technology to access time-table […]

Induction Process for New Self Organised Group Officers

Taking on a new role is always a challenge; there are new people to meet, rooms to find, processes to learn and documents to read. These challenges are often magnified when they are faced by a disabled person. There is currently no process in place to help new Self Organised Group Officers to learn their […]

Minister for Disabled People

Shortly after the General Election this year the prime minister announced that the new minister for disabled people would be Justin Tomlinson, Conservative MP for North Swindon. Tomlinson has a strong anti-benefits and anti-human rights background. Tomlinson is a former national chairman of Conservative Future, the youth wing of the Conservative party and has been […]

Access to Work

This Conference recognises the importance of the Access To Work Scheme which enables disabled people in employment to have support including specialist equipment, a support worker or sign language interpreter or taxis to and from work, for example. This support is vital to ensure disabled people can continue to attend work and make a valuable […]

Supporting Black Members with learning difficulties

Conference recognises the work that has been done at all levels of UNISON to encourage and meet the access needs of Black disabled members that are actively involved at all levels of UNISON. Conference notes the disproportionate numbers of Black people with learning and physical disabilities. Conference further notes the commitment of the union in […]

Access to Work

ACCESS TO WORK The Access to Work (AtW) programme is a fund that helps disabled people start a new job, or remain in employment, with practical support that goes beyond “reasonable adjustments”, which employers are required to make by law. Without AtW many disabled people would be prevented from doing their jobs because of the […]

Police staff are worth it

Conference is concerned that the creation of a single Police Service in Scotland has resulted in an unachievable savings target of £1.1 billion by 2026. Coupled with the Government led austerity agenda there are going to be further cuts to Police Staff jobs in order that the budget is balanced. Conference also notes the employers […]

Recruiting and Organising in Police and Justice

Conference notes that five years of public sector cuts to police and justice have taken their toll on UNISON membership levels across all Sectors within our Service Group. Conference recognises that these cuts are likely to be repeated over the course of this current parliament and will only intensify the pressure on our membership. While […]

Defending National Collective Bargaining in Police and Justice

Conference recognises that National collective bargaining has delivered decent pay and conditions for our members in police, probation and CAFCASS over many years and is something worth defending. Following the general election result, national collective bargaining may come under pressure from employers and politicians who do not support a national focus to pay and conditions […]

National Police Air Support

Conference notes that the recent restructure proposed for the National Air Support service agreed by National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) formerly known as ACPO. Conference believes this is also supported by the North West Lead PCC. The new structure clearly shows a North/South divide on future provision in this key area of policing. We believe […]

VAT LIABILITY FOR THE POLICE SERVICE OF SCOTLAND

The formation of the Police Service of Scotland by the Scottish Government in their Police and Fire Reform Act (2012) has left the service unable to recover VAT. HM Treasury has made a decision to not allow the Scottish Police or Fire & Rescue services to reclaim VAT due to the construction of that Act […]