In the unexpected heat of the long Summer of 2018, workers employed in the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group experienced difficulties undertaking their normal roles with inadequate provision provided by employers. Whilst mains fed water coolers are becoming more common in our workplaces following a long campaign by our Service Group within UNISON other […]
Conference motions
Conference notes the continual increase in the number of UNISON members working on phones in contact centres in employers covered by the Water, Environment & Transport Service Group. Currently, United Utilities only provides audio tests for employees reaching the upper noise limits as recommended by the HSE such as operational employees in hearing protection areas. […]
Conference notes the success of WET specific Health and Safety seminars in 2016 and 2018. Due to the ever-changing Health and Safety risks experienced by UNISON members employed within the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group, we call upon the Service Group Executive in conjunction with UNISON’s Health and Safety Unit to convene a similar […]
Conference in the climate of the rise of the far right, Brexit and the real impact of racism in our society we know that racism is real. UNISON’s previous objectives included the statement ‘including Racism’, but at the 6th December 2018 NEC meeting the NEC approved the 2019 objectives with this wording removed. Conference, the […]
In first paragraph, delete all after “(LGBT+) people,” in second sentence and insert “disabled people, women, and Black people, to consider apprenticeships. Potential members of the network have to demonstrate their commitment to make measurable improvements to diversity.” Insert new third paragraph: “Conference notes the disability employment gap is nearly 30%. There is limited research […]
A recent report in the Journal of Transport and Health by Dr Sarah Jackson, highlighted important benefits for older people who use a concessionary bus pass: a) Older people who use a concessionary bus pass tend to be more happy and physically active; b) They are also less likely to be socially isolated when they […]
Conference understands the huge scale of harm being caused to members by work-related stress, including wrecked lives and relationships, debilitating mental and physical illness and sometimes, tragically, death. Such misery is often compounded by the insensitive treatment of victims by some employers who, far from acknowledging their own responsibility for causing excessive workplace stress, seek […]
Conference notes with alarm the ongoing crisis in social care and continues to be appalled by the cuts being made to vital social care services. Conference notes that, although social care has been relatively protected compared to other council services, care spending per adult resident has fallen substantially since 2009-10. Conference believes that the sector […]
Conference recognises the benefits of using social media to bring together communities and groups who have interests in common and congratulates our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) self-organised group on the many and varied ways social media has been used in branches, regions and nationally. We welcome and encourage our members to share […]
Conference notes the recent protests against the ‘No Outsiders’ method of teaching young children about equality, in particular lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) relationships, to encourage acceptance at an early age. There has been a misuse of religion as an excuse to attack LGBT+ rights, and this is not the first time religious […]
Conference notes with concern the ‘BBC 5 Live Investigates’ report on fraud broadcast in September 2018 stating that fraudsters scammed nearly 49,000 older people across the UK in the past year, equivalent to almost six reports every hour. Furthermore the total number of reports has nearly doubled in the past 3 years and one expert […]
Conference recalls how concerned we were last year about the Intergenerational Commission’s final report published in April 2018. Conference notes, now, that the report’s publication has foreshadowed a series of further attacks on older people’s entitlements and standards of living including: 1) The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s report, Pensions Inequality, issued in August 2018 calling for an […]
UNISON applauds the achievement by the people of Cuba in liberating their country and sustaining it as a beacon of socialism over the last 60 years – with remarkable achievements in health, education and culture – in the face of massive oppression by powerful northern neighbour the USA and other reactionary forces. The Cuban revolution […]
Conference notes that #MeToo has transformed the debate around sexual harassment and has enabled women and men to come forward. with cases being reported in the media more than ever before. Conference acknowledges that anyone at any time can experience sexual harassment, but the statistics demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of victims are women. Conference […]
Conference notes that around 3.5 million women aged fifty years and over are currently in employment in the UK. Conference notes further that the employment rate for women in the UK has actually increased in the past few decades and women now represent nearly half of the UK labour force. This means that many more […]