The Forthcoming Political Fund Ballot and Funding New Labour

By March 2005 UNISON has to legally ballot the whole membership on whether they wish to have a political fund or not. This fund, with its unique arrangement of two sections, affiliated and general, enables the union to donate monies to political parties and to fund campaigns deemed to be political. Conference believes that it […]

Regional Cost of Living Weightings

Conference recognises the high cost of living in London and the surrounding area. Conference notes: 1)according to the Land Registry the average price of a home in the south east region was £205,109 by the end of 2003, and the average price of a terraced house was £157,659. In Oxford the average home was £245,732 […]

Solidarity with Colombia

Conference notes that in Colombia: 1)184 trade unionists were assassinated in 2002, and that in all 7,000 people were victims of the political conflict, mostly peasants, indigenous people and the poor; 2)President Uribe Velez has opted for repression rather than negotiations, suspending democratic rights and implementing military rule in two regions, and increasing dramatically detentions […]

End the Occupation of Iraq

Conference notes that ten months after the end of the war in Iraq: 1.The head of the Iraq survey group has stated that no Weapons of Mass Destruction exist, forcing the UK and UK governments to hold enquiries into the information on WMDs. 2. 3.The Hutton report is widely seen as having totally whitewashed the […]

Access to Facilities and Paid Time Off for All Trade Union Representatives

Conference welcomes the government’s new employment relations bill which contains many useful proposals including the right of unions to make it possible to uphold our rule books and expel elements of the far right from union membership. However, Conference regrets that the bill in its current form does not go far enough and leaves workers […]

Fighting the BNP

Conference believes that racist and fascist organisations have no place in a democratic and pluralistic society. Conference notes that the recent successes of the British National Party (BNP) have been achieved against a background of media-inspired hysteria against asylum seekers, poverty, supposedly failing public services and the failure of the traditional political parties to engage […]

Housing

Conference condemns the government’s failure to tackle the country’s housing crisis. Conference notes that since May 1997, only 1343 council houses have been built. Futhermore, housing finance rules mean that local authorities are prevented from directly investing in existing council housing in order to bring it up to a decent standard. The government’s priorities on […]

Public Services

Conference shares the government’s ambitions of a future fair for all, delivering to all citizens world class public services based on need and not the ability to pay. The public services have become the new political battleground on which the last general election was, and the next will be, fought. Conference notes with great regret […]

End the Two Tier Workforce

Despite government promises, a two-tier workforce is still operating in our public services. In England, Scotland and Wales, government has signed up to protocols about future services. In Northern Ireland, government is still considering proposals. In the meantime, low paid workers in health and education, who were privatised are being exploited. Conference calls upon the […]

Organising and Recruitment

Conference welcomes the dedicated work of regions and branches on organising and recruitment and congratulates the branches involved in the highly successful schools organising and recruitment campaigns, which led to significant increases in members, workplace contacts and stewards. Conference believes that UNISON is facing new and dynamic organisation pressures including: 1)a significant increase in public […]

Local Government Finance

Conference notes that reviews of Local Government Finance are taking place throughout the United Kingdom. Local Authorities need reliable income, solid financial structures and increased revenue in order to be able to deal with the new burdens placed on them by Central Government and are increasingly unable to maintain funding of core services. The present […]

Campaigning to defend the Local Government Pension Scheme

This Conference condemns the Government for its attempts to attack the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This scheme offers hundreds of thousands of workers in local councils and in other related public services the chance of a decent pension in retirement This Conference notes with concern that, following consultations with UNISON and other interested parties […]

Local Government Pay Commission, Equality and Equal Pay

Conference notes the Local Government Pay Commission’s call for strong action by Government, councils and trade unions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to promote equality in local government, based on its view that “Equality in local government employment is a necessity not an option”. In particular Conference welcomes the Commission’s call for: 1)Guidance on […]

National Offender Management Service

Conference notes with alarm the Government’s hasty, ill-thought and misguided proposals to break up the National Probation Service and create the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The proposals have received no proper parliamentary scrutiny and are being rushed through without due consultation, or the ability of unions or probation employers to affect the outcome of […]

Pay Not Poverty Campaign