Overseas Nurses are being let down by poorly designed and ill administered adaptation courses, particularly so in the field of mental health. The lack of national standards for adaptation programmes has resulted in many agencies offering so called adaptation programmes, which do not equip the nurse with the knowledge or skills to practice at a […]
Conference motions
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, […]
Conference deplores the fact that during the Labour Government’s second term of office, asylum and immigration legislation remains oppressive and racially discriminatory. This Conference further condemns the Labour Government’s proposal in the Asylum, Immigration and Nationality Bill that proposes to withdraw the right of appeal from asylum seekers in this country. Conference applauds the work […]
Conference welcomes the introduction of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, but believes if it is to provide a framework to improve race equality in public services then UNISON nationally should be preparing regions and branches to face the challenges ahead by ensuring the Stephen Lawrence Report is acted upon by responding to the MacPherson […]
Conference welcomes the organisation of a European Social Forum (ESF) in Italy in November 2002. We believe the ESF will be a unique chance for anti-racist activists and trade unionists from across Europe to come together and discuss how to organise against free market policies and Bush and Blair’s war. We support the Call of […]
Conference believes that the National Black Members’ Committee over the last five years has compromised the attendance of black members from the Hindu and the Muslim community in attending the National Black Members’ Conference. Each year the National Black Members’ Conference is scheduled in either late October or early November and therefore these dates have […]
Conference applauds the contributions made by the black community leaders in bringing peace and harmony to the race riot torn cities in Britain last summer 2001. Britain saw some of the worse forms of race riots in cities like Oldham, Burnley and Bradford due to the weak local political leadership, poor regeneration initiatives and inequitable […]
Conference believes that UNISON black members should be represented at all local and national conferences and should also be represented on all committees throughout the UNISON structures on the same basis as low paid members and women members are currently represented. Conference therefore asks the National Black Members Committee to work with the National Executive […]
Conference calls upon the National Black Members’ Committee (NBMC) to work with the National Executive Council and the other self-organised groups in drafting a set of workable guidelines, to achieve fair representation, to take into account race once and for all in all structures within UNISON from the National Executive Council, service group executives and […]
This Conference welcomes the publication of the TUC’s pamphlet ‘Black and Underpaid – How black workers lose out on pay’, which clearly demonstrates that black workers continue to be discriminated against in terms of pay. This Conference is perturbed that despite nearly a generation of race relations in Britain that black workers still earn less […]