UNISON in Housing Associations

Conference recognises UNISON’s strong and consistent support for council stock. 2005 National Delegate Conference motion 51 builds on previous policy and continues the thread of Local Government Motion 37 (2004) and National Conference Composite D (2004) entitled “Housing”. Conference recalls the yearly Housing Seminar held nationally for UNISON activists and members. A key aim of […]

Nursery Nurse Pay

This Service Group Conference:- 1)Condemns the continuing failure of the employers to address the issue of Nursery Nurse pay on a national basis in England and Wales 2)welcomes the pay increases that nursery nurses achieved across Scotland and the Scottish Executive’s national review of the Early Years and childcare workforce due to be released for […]

Developing Further Education College Organisation

This Conference notes that further education colleges face significant challenges in securing implementation of national pay and conditions agreements. These have recommendation status only and at least one third of colleges ignore them. This problem is compounded by the unstable and variable funding environment and the business ethos of colleges which are corporations. Over the […]

Job Losses – Proper Funding for Local Government

Conference notes the job losses in many local councils up and down the country. Conference therefore instructs the Service Group Executive to: 1)Carry out a survey of all local government branches to identify the extent of the problem and why funding problems are occurring 2)Start a campaign to lobby government for proper funding for local […]

ALMOs and Housing Stock Transfers

Conference notes the problems associated with Housing Stock transfers. Conference instructs the Service Group Executive to: 1)Produce a report identifying the “star ratings” for all Housing authorities and ALMO’s. This report should highlight any changes in the star ratings since the establishment of any individual ALMO. This report should be completed in time for Local […]

Pre-Budget Report

Conference notes the pre-budget report of the Chancellor and welcomes the fact that public spending up to 2008 has been maintained as planned and that the taxation shortfall due to lower economic growth has been plugged with greater taxation of North Sea oil companies. Public sector jobs are due to grow by about 250,000 as […]

Amendments to Pay Consultation Procedures

This Conference agrees to the following amendments to the Pay Consultation Procedures agreed by the 2002 Local Government Service Group Conference: 8e – Regions – Add after first sentence – “Regions shall be encouraged to hold delegate meetings for branches covered by the pay offer, in order to debate the proposals and how to encourage […]

The Disability Equality Duty and Local Government

This Local Government Conference welcomes the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which will impose a new Disability Equality Duty on local authorities from December 2006. We believe these duties could help reconstruct a barrier free society and provide equality of opportunity for the millions of disabled people who are in work or wanting work in local […]

Offshoring

Conference notes that the private companies’ policy of offshoring “back office” functions to developing nations is spreading to the public sector. Already public sector bodies are considering offshoring in response to the demands of efficiency reviews and the pressure to modernise service delivery. Conference does not accept that offshoring aspects of public service functions will […]

European Union Services Directive

Conference condemns the proposed European Union Directive on Services and the support given to it by the British government. Conference believes that the Directive is a direct attack on public services and employment and collective bargaining rights. Conference further believes that the Directive will undermine, by liberalisation and market competition, public health, public security, the […]

Positively Promoting Disability Equality

This Conference notes: 1)That since 2001, all public bodies have – with the passing of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 – a legal duty to positively promoted race equality. This mandate applies to all bodies operating in the Local Government Service Group who provide services to the public; 2)That from 5 December 2005, the […]

Children’s and Young People’s Services

Conference notes the continued prevalence of bi-, homo- and trans-phobic bullying among children and young people and the continued absence, largely, of a positive image of Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexuals and Trans (LGBT) people from children’s and young people’s services. Conference believes that all schools, playgrounds, youth clubs, children’s homes etc. should be safe and […]

Monitoring of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity by Employers

Conference welcomes the growing recognition of the need to combat discrimination against LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) workers and the agreements reached with some employers to integrate work towards LGBT equality into their equality programmes. Conference notes that the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 introduced a requirement on public authorities to monitor workers’ ethnicity, […]

Screening of Blood Donors

Conference notes that the purpose of the blood services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is to provide a safe and adequate supply of blood. Screening of blood donors for HIV is necessary for the safety of the blood supply because the available tests for screening donated blood for HIV are not infallible, it […]