Conference notes: 1)a media-orchestrated campaign to promote hostility against asylum seekers by linking refugees and immigrants with terrorism, criminality and scrounging on the benefits system; 2)the racially motivated murders of three asylum seekers in the past two years; 3)Tory Party proposals to lock up all new asylum applicants on national security grounds, pending checks on […]
Conference motions
Conference recognises the importance of reducing road congestion, environmental pollution and the adverse health impacts that are caused to members and the community from Britain’s over-reliance on private transport. Conference supports key measures, such as pollution and car reduction targets and local transport planning, at national and local government levels in response to international agreements […]
Conference recognises that an effective global strategy on sustainable development is crucial for the long term well-being of the planet. Such a strategy has to be embraced by all global participants including the richest and most powerful. Conference is proud of UNISON’s record on campaigning for sustainable development and our reputation which has put us […]
Conference notes: 1)The importance of ensuring that young people and vulnerable adults are protected from members of society who may wish to cause them physical, mental or sexual harm; 2)That the Government has introduced the “Disclosure” process in order to achieve these aims; 3)We continue to support the Government in achieving these goals. Conference believes […]
This Conference notes with concern that unknown thousands of UNISON’s lowest paid members including catering assistants, cleaners, care workers and gardeners who work for local authorities and in the private sector (because of outsourcing) are still owed varying amounts of leave entitlement which was placed in suspension over twenty years ago. Conference is also concerned […]
Conference notes that under the Labour Government there has been a great deal of new legislation with the aim of protecting children from harm as well as certain administrative changes in this area. This includes: 1) the Care Standards Act 2001 which amended the Children Act 1989 and led to new regulations in 2002 to […]
Conference is concerned that Britain’s public transport system continues to suffer from years of neglect and under-investment. Conference welcomes the Government’s commitment to increase investment over the next ten years, but believes that bus deregulation and rail privatisation will make it difficult to achieve the Government’s transport strategy, which aims to create a fully integrated […]
This Conference notes the continuing debacle whereby the majority of Council’s have failed to implement Single Status: 1)That Job Evaluations under the National or London Schemes have not been carried out. Our members continue to be paid with out of date grades and job descriptions. That there is no prospect of equal pay issues, particularly […]
Conference notes the Department of Health decision to introduce bursaries for ODP trainees. We believe this is a retrograde step, which adversely affects recruitment at a time of acute staff shortages and when Ministers are seeking an increase in ODP numbers. The introduction of bursaries radically cuts the incomes of students and removes their employment […]
In recent years the government as part of its life long learning initiative introduced NHS individual learning accounts. These accounts are available to any NHS employee who does not hold a relevant professional work related qualification. The account is worth £150.00 and can be used to provide work-related learning. The learning opportunity can be provided […]
Conference at a time when NHS staff suffer injury as a direct result of assault and are absent from work for some time, they often suffer financial detriment. At present Temporary Injury Allowance is paid @ 85% of average earnings based on the previous twelve months. This is a significant drop in earnings at a […]
Conference believes far too little has been done by the Department of Health and the devolved health departments to tackle the damaging deep-rooted “blame culture” within the Service. Despite the introduction of clinical governance the search for scapegoats often takes precedence over tackling the root causes of mistakes, and poor practice. This approach may actually […]
This conference believes that UNISON should campaign for NHS organisations to have parity with local authorities in recovery of VAT on new build projects. Local authorities are able to claim a full refund of VAT while the NHS is unable to recover a penny. This artificially enhances PFI contractors in relation to in-house NHS bids. […]
Conference notes that the challenges facing UNISON’s health sector have never been greater. Proposals for radical changes in pay are only the latest of a very long list of challenges we face – restructuring of employers, improving working lives, major changes in acute hospitals, mental health, and primary care, the involvement of the private sector, […]
This conference is extremely concerned to note the continuing and increasing incidence of assaults on Ambulance Staffs. It welcomes the Government’s zero tolerance campaign aimed at reducing violence towards NHS staffs in general, but notes that frontline Ambulance Staffs remain particularly and unacceptably vulnerable. It therefore calls for a greater degree of consistency of approach […]