Intimate Terrorism and Coercive Control

Conference recognises that in March 2013 the UK Government widened its definition of domestic violence and abuse to include coercive control. Under the new definition controlling behaviour is described as: “a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for […]

Gender budgeting – Counting the Cost

Since June 2010, austerity policies have reduced employment opportunities for women, who make up the majority of workers in the public sector, where wages have been frozen and jobs lost, and making it harder to combine earning a living and taking care of families. The Treasury says that “we are all in this together” yet […]

Equal Pay

This conference notes: 1) That it is 40 years since the Equal Pay Act came into force. 2) The efforts of UNISON to champion equal pay for its women members winning a series of landmark cases and forcing employers to introduce equality proofed pay systems. However this conference further notes a) That the gender pay […]

Harmonisation of In Work Threshold and Benefit Cap

Conference will be aware that thousand of women in work are suffering poverty, low pay, zero hour contracts and lack of job security. In 2012 there were 5.1mil working in low paid jobs, the majority women. Annual median pay now stands at £21,200, some £3,400 lower than the pre-recession peak of 2008/2009 according to the […]

Older Women and Domestic Violence

It is often assumed that domestic violence is mainly experienced by younger women, and that older women’s experiences can be put under the category of ‘elder abuse’ Older women may experience even more barriers to disclosure than younger women, and may therefore be more reluctant to report violence. As a result, despite women over the […]

Attack on Child Benefit

This conference believes that child benefit is one of the most valuable and important planks of the British welfare state. Together with a national health service and maintenance of employment, a universal children’s allowance was one of the three pillars of the welfare state set out by william beveridge in his seminal 1942 report. Since […]

When a Definition is not Enough

When a Definition is not Enough. Conference welcomes the Home Office Consultation “Strengthening the Laws on Domestic Abuse” and wants to ensure that a change in the law is affected to better reflect the definition of Domestic Abuse. However, conference notes that one in four women still experience Domestic Abuse. Conference also notes that the […]

Modernising our union

Conference notes that, in a time of austerity and job cuts, our recruitment figures for the past year are still encouraging. We commend our activists and staff for their efforts. However, there is still a need to recruit and organise more young members in our union. Given that the majority of public sector workers are […]

Women and politics – why your vote counts

Conference notes that 2015 is the next opportunity for women to make their vote account in removing the malicious condem government from power. Conference notes that the turn out in the Scottish independence vote demonstrates that voter apathy can be overcome, and it is therefore essential that we campaign now to ensure that women vote […]

Women and Housing

Conference is deeply concerned at the impact of the rising cost of housing on UNISON members, particularly for those living in private rented accommodation. Recent research found that spiraling rental costs and stagnant wage growth mean 1.6million households are forced to spend more than half their disposable income on housing – and single women, particularly […]

Black women and fibroids

Conference, fibroids are small benign tumours that grow on the walls of the womb, inside and out, and can range from a single growth to multiple. For most women they give no cause for concern and grow unnoticed. But, for others, the genetic disorder can mean heavy and painful periods and lead to fatigue and […]

Young women, stress, and mental health

This Conference believes that the Government’s austerity agenda is leading to intolerable pressure on workers as cuts mean having to deliver services with fewer resources, and pay freezes/cuts make it more difficult for people to cope. This Conference also believes that women are amongst the hardest hit by the austerity agenda. They are very often […]

Legal equality facility time for women

At the Discrimination Law Conference in January 2014 Professor Sir Bob Hepple QC said that “if a new government enacts only one new piece of equality legislation it should be to require equality representatives at workplaces” – such reps would require a legal right to time off to “be involved in drawing up and enforcing […]

The Impact of Zero Hours Contracts on Women

Zero hours contracts are slowly edging into mainstream local government and other services and are being routinely used as cheaper alternative to permanent contracts. A good example of this appalling practice is within Register Offices, which is an occupation predominately staffed by women. This practice involves saving money on staffing as zero hours contracts have […]