Conference notes that the commodification of housing has led to the present housing crisis. Conference believes in a decent home as the building block for a decent life, enabling us to: 1)Bring up children in a secure and stable environment, providing life chances and educational opportunities; 2)Provide shelter, warmth, space and privacy as the pre-requisite […]
Conference motions
Conference recognises that just as negotiations on the national and Scottish Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS) draw to a close, and after NHS Colleagues have settled on their pension scheme, our pensions are again under attack. Comments from Tory politicians like, “pensions apartheid” and “gilt edged” and Liberal Democrat statements that our pensions are “unsustainable […]
Conference recognises that many public service employers have now moved their staff on to the Approved Mileage Allowance (AMAP). This is a payment of 40p a mile for staff who use their own car for work. In some employers a buy out has been negotiated but in others it has been imposed. Many employers, particularly […]
Conference notes that The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is a new public body which is being created with the intention of preventing unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults. From October 2009, individuals working with vulnerable adults or children will be required to register with the ISA. This will affect over 11 million […]
Conference welcomes the figures on membership growth in 2008. This growth reflects continuing regional and branch commitment to organising and recruitment. Conference congratulates those branches that have engaged in successful organising campaigns and notes that organising must remain central to the work of UNISON. Conference believes that strong trade union membership is even more important […]
Conference reaffirms previous UNISON commitment to: ·Ensure that the commissioning of nurse training numbers is based upon proper evaluation of workforce needs and planned for appropriately. ·Not exploit developing country’s labour markets in recruiting nurses to work in the UK. ·Support widening access initiatives towards the opening up of Higher Education to diverse students from […]
Conference welcomes the Department of Health’s increasing commitment to Apprenticeships, recognising that these provide a further means of attracting young people into the health workforce as well as providing existing staff in pay bands 1 to 4 with a new high quality opportunity to develop themselves and to progress in their careers. Apprenticeships are an […]
Conference notes that as an integral part of Agenda for Change, the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) is a crucial tool for supporting the effective delivery of health care services. It is designed to enable staff to develop the necessary skills to carry out their roles with efficiency and flexibility, creating a workforce that […]
Over the next five years local commissioners (Primary Care Trusts), will be reviewing most current contracts within the NHS and looking closely at value for money, while the remainder of local NHS providers will be moving forward to NHS Foundation Trust status. Conference re-affirms its opposition to all forms of market-testing, contestability and privatisation in […]
Conference notes the government’s World Class Commissioning programme which aims to transform the way health and care services are commissioned in England. Conference expresses its alarm that much of the focus of the World Class Commissioning programme is about stimulating the market and finding alternative providers to the NHS We restate our continued opposition to […]
Conference notes with serious concern the plans in Lord Darzi’s ‘High Quality Care for All’ report to pilot-test personal budgets and direct payments for long-term conditions in the NHS in England with a view to a national roll-out. Whilst conference supports the objective of empowering service users and, as much as possible, putting them in […]
Conference welcomes the decision of the NEC to approve the merger of the Water and Environment and Transport Service Group Executives. Conference notes that the Executive’s planning for the merger of the two service groups was unavoidably delayed while the NEC consultation on the review of service groups took place. Consequently there has not been […]
Conference will be aware that within our service group, there is an Environment Agency (in England and Wales) Sector Committee. Additionally, there is a formal collective bargaining mechanism that is enshrined in the framework of the National Negotiating Group (NNG). From this joint group, there is a joint agreement called the Trade Union Recognition and […]
Conference endorses UNISON’s submission to the Cave review that set out the union’s opposition to the introduction of competition in the water industry of England and Wales. Conference is alarmed to note the interim recommendations of the Cave Review in support of a limited introduction of competition into the retail of bulk water to commercial […]
Conference notes that the new OFWAT period of price review begins on 1st April 2010. Based on OFWAT’s interim determinations and the companies’ responses to them it appears likely that the next five years will witness the introduction of a tighter financial regime. This, combined with more pressure arising from the Cave Review, will lead […]