Increasing participation of low paid and/or part time women is not a new subject but an important one as many women find themselves on low salaries and working in part time or on zero hours contracts. UNISON women members total two thirds of the current membership and although strides have been taken to increase their […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that women are more likely to be treated for a mental health problems than men. As reported by Mental Health Foundation 29% of women compared to 17% of men are treated for mental health problems. One in four women are treated for depression, compared to one in ten men. Women are also disproportionally […]
UNISON women in Gateshead call upon the National Women’s Committee to target UNISON women members nationally who are going to vote, to use their vote wisely and to look at all policies of political parties who attack women’s equality across the spectrum. A main threat to women’s equality is UKIP. This political party is a […]
Conference notes that women make up more than two thirds of the union’s membership; however figures show the active involvement of young women is low. At this time of austerity it is crucial we try to encourage more young women to take an active role in our union. The Coalition’s attack on public services have […]
Conference notes the much lower number of women that become apprentices in areas such as engineering, construction and information technology Female apprentices are more likely to end up in low paid jobs. So whilst there are apprenticeships available for women, female dominated areas tend to offer lower wages and less chance of career progression. According […]
Conference notes that research from the home office has shown that nearly 90% of severe and repeated domestic violence is experienced by women. The Home Office report on Domestic Violence, sexual assault and stalking (findings from the British Crime Survey) reported that “women are the overwhelming majority of the most heavily abused group. Among people […]
At the 2009 National Women’s Conference in Southport UNISON women welcomed the Labour Government commissioned Corston Report and its recommendations in respect of women in prisons in the UK. In particular conference welcomed the proposal for small, multifunctional non-custodial centres, which the report recommended be widely dispersed across the country. Conference is disappointed therefore that […]
At our National Women’s Conference 2013, for the first time, one of our workshops focused on understanding and challenging porn culture. Almost 100 women attended to hear the realities of the porn industry. That workshop revealed that UNISON women’s conference has yet to set a policy position on pornography. The pornography industry has pushed its […]
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 […]
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 […]
This conference recognises the increasing electoral threat of far right parties in the UK and notes with sadness the by-election result of Clacton which gave UKIP it’s first MP. UKIP received the highest number of votes in this year’s European elections and now has a significant number of seats in a range of district councils. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]