Radical Change in Social Care in Wales Can Influence the Whole of the UK

Conference welcomes the good work UNISON is leading in Wales in partnership with the Welsh government and other unions to address the long term crisis in social care and recognises developments here have enormous potential to influence how care is delivered across the UK. UNISON’s campaigning resulted in Wales TUC and Welsh Labour’s adoption of […]

Organising to Win – Building Workplace Power through Participation

Conference notes that following a period of membership decline in early 2021, UNISON fought back in the latter half of 2022 to achieve net membership growth. Record recruitment of over 180,000 new members was 30 percent above 2021 levels and exceeded even the highest surges of joiners during the 2020 Covid pandemic peak. Membership growth […]

Defend the Right to Strike

Conference is alarmed at the new Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) Bill for Great Britain which further attacks the right to strike and with draw your labour in this country. Conference believes that the right to strike is a fundamental human right and needs to be exercised now to win better wages and conditions in the […]

A Vision for a National Care Service

Conference recognises the need for change in social care. The current system values neither staff or service users. It creates a low paid workforce and fails to recognise the skills required for the high quality social care that our most vulnerable citizens deserve. The current system across the UK enables and promotes a market approach […]

Trial the 4-day work week

Conference believes it is time that Universities actively participated in 4-day work week trials. Universities are centres of research and innovation and many want to be ‘employers of choice’ (employers that people actively want to work for). They are the perfect institutions to try new approaches to work. Findings suggest that a 4-day week enhances […]

Levelling up

Conference expresses it’s deep scepticism and anger at the Tory government’s claim that they are levelling up the country. UNISON members and the communities in which they live will know only too well that it is the policies pursued by Tory governments that have resulted in the UK becoming one of the most unequal countries […]

White Ribbon Accreditation

Conference condemns all violent and abusive behaviour including bullying, harassment and discrimination. Evidence shows that the vast majority of people subjected to violent and abusive behaviour are women and girls and most perpetrators are men and boys. Despite this gender-based violence is still seen as a women’s issue. Conference recognises that this attitude needs to […]

Campaigning for a National Care Service

Conference notes the severe impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has exerted on the social care sector. Tens of thousands of elderly and disabled people have died from Covid-19 in care homes and other care settings across the UK since March 2020 and the death rate among care workers has been particularly high. The pandemic has […]

Post Glasgow COP26 – Decarbonising UK Public Services

Conference notes that last year UNISON supported the UK and global trade union movement at the United Nations 26th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow in November 2021. UNISON supported the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) by participating in the UK’s observer delegation to the conference and played a successful active role […]

Trans Equality – Louder and Prouder!

The toxic debate ignited by the government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union supporting and representing trans members effectively. Attacks on trans people have escalated further over the last year. There has been a sustained attack on Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme and repeated false claims that Stonewall is […]

Combatting the Rise of Discrimination and Harassment Through Education

Conference notes with alarm the rise in discrimination and harassment in society and the workplace. Reported hate crimes have risen sharply across the UK. Compared to 2019/20 Police recorded figures for 2020/21 showing a 9 percent increase in England and Wales and a 6 percent increase in Scotland. Northern Ireland saw a 6 percent increase […]

Building the Union Organising for Our Future

Conference notes that UNISON membership surged in 2020 in response to government’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on vital public services and public service workers. However, as home working continued and workplace access remained restricted, UNISON’s workplace activity and visibility decreased. Following an initial surge in schools’ members in January 2021 rates […]

CEDAW – Essential for Women’s Rights

Conference recognises that CEDAW, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, is significant in the international human rights framework because it is exclusively devoted to gender equality. It is one of the core international human rights treaties of the UN and it requires countries that have ratified it […]

Complaints

Conference notes: 1)That the workplace can be a very difficult situation for our members when they face disciplinary action and it can have an adverse impact on their physical and mental health and well-being. This can impact on them having unrealistic expectations as to what UNISON reps can do to resolve their workplace issues; 2)The […]

Covid Recovery and Rehabilitation

Conference notes that, over the last two years, the UK, along with the rest of the world, has faced, a crisis like no other with Covid-19. However, while acknowledging the incredible advances made by vaccination and treatment, the pandemic is not yet over and will continue to affect the daily and working lives of the […]