Hutton Report on NHS Pensions – Pay More, Work Longer, Get Less

Conference notes the withdrawal of motion 29 on pensions which means that there is nothing on Conference agenda to allow debate on crucial matters relating to NHS pensions. This motion highlights concerns around a number of the proposals in the Independent Public Service Pensions Commissions final report (the Hutton report) published on 10 March 2011. […]

National Blood Service

This conference is appalled at the news leaked on 17 February that the Department of Health is considering the privatisation of parts of the national blood and transplant service. If implemented, it would surely be the first step in the privatisation of the whole service. The blood and transplant service relies upon the millions of […]

Campaigning with the Community and Voluntary Sector to fight the cuts

Conference recognises that the first and most important job of every UNISON branch is to get out into workplaces and talk to our members about the cuts. Until we get our members on board we cannot expect to be leading any community based campaigning. Conference also recognises that our members are active in their own […]

Organising

UNISON and its members face unprecedented challenges with cuts in public sector spending and up to one million jobs directly under threat; wages frozen and reducing in value as inflation runs at 4% and above; pensions under threat and employers attacking terms and conditions. Branches and activists are under intense pressure responding to these attacks […]

The Big Society – Nothing about us, without us, is for us

Conference calls on the National Executive Committee to build on its current campaign to expose, challenge and defeat Cameron’s twisted concept of the Big Society. The slogan “Nothing about us, without us, is for us” has been used by marginalised groups across the world who are excluded from making decisions which affect their daily lives. […]

Branch Funding

Conference notes that the current scheme for funding branches was introduced in 2001. Since its introduction the National Executive Council has monitored the scheme and the effects of its operation, particularly in relation to the changing disparities in the reserves held by branches. Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to review the current […]

Rule I Disciplinary Action

Rule I 8.4 Add new point 8.4 “censure of the member;” and renumber current rules accordingly.

Rule G Branch Organisation

Insert new rule G 1.3: “Each branch shall submit to the Regional Secretary current branch email and postal addresses for communications with the Union.”

Rule G Branch Officers

Insert new Rule G 4.1.6: “A member shall hold only one of the branch secretary or branch treasurer posts at any one time, unless otherwise determined by the National Executive Council.”

Sure Start

Conference notes the disproportionate effects the cuts on public services will have on women, in particular cuts to Sure Start. Users of the services are almost exclusively women as are the staff employed. Sure Start provides vital services such as Early Years play and development, family bonding, speech and language and family support services to […]

Improvements to the State Pension

Conference is concerned at the ever-increasing discrepancy between the basic state pension and the poverty threshold. In 2009 the National Pensioners’ Convention’s figures state that the poverty threshold is £165 pw whilst the basic state pension is £97.25 pw, a discrepancy of £65.75 pw. Much of the blame for this can be laid at the […]

Pensions

The government has formed an independent Public Service Pensions Commission to undertake a fundamental structural review of public service pension provision by Budget 2011. We believe that the fact that private sector pensions are inadequate does not mean that public sector pensions should be. This action if taken will have a detrimental effect on Black […]

Organising The Union

Conference recognises the long term decline in numbers of trade union membership in the UK since 1979 from 13 million to 6.6 million members today. We note that this decline is reflected across many European and North American countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, USA and Canada. We also note that the average age of […]

Equality in Marriage and Civil Partnerships

Conference welcomes the progress in equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people under the last Labour government. Notable achievements include the introduction of civil partnership for same sex couples and the Gender Recognition Act, which gives trans people the opportunity to gain legal recognition of their acquired gender. Conference notes that in the […]

Keeping Public Sector Services Public, the challenges presented by Mutual and Social Enterprise Organisation

Mutual and Social Enterprises will figure large in the efforts of the Con Dem government to redesign the delivery of public sector services. In order to address the many challenges that this will present to our union and members this union needs to prepare against them and consult widely in order to have a coherent […]