Blue light proposals – a threat to police staff jobs

Conference is concerned that the Government proposals on emergency service collaboration is a threat to the further erosion of Police Staff roles. The initiative seeks to collaborate all ‘blue lights’ through the sharing of facilities, control rooms and support services and poses a further threat to Police Staff jobs. The work has started in many […]

MENTAL HEALTH CHAMPIONS

This Conference recognises that good mental health support for members in UNISON is of vital importance and congratulates Cymru/Wales Region on their initiatives and development of Mental Health Champions. UNISON Cymru/Wales has been active on mental health for some time. Last year, with the help of Mind Cymru and Time to Change Wales, Cymru/Wales Disabled […]

I’LL ONLY BE A MINUTE…….

This Conference recognises this phrase – ‘I’ll only be a minute’ as the most common reason abled bodied motorists give for parking in ‘disabled’ designated parking bays. For those motorists, or their passengers, who have mobility issues and who rely on theses spaces to be able to access work, services and shopping etc. the lack […]

Powers for Community Support Volunteers and Police Support Volunteers

Conference notes with concern the proposals in the 2016 Policing and Crime Bill to award significant police powers to community support volunteers and police support volunteers, by: a)creating two new designated volunteer roles – Community support volunteer (volunteer PCSO) and Police support volunteer; b)creating a reserve list of police powers to be exercised only by […]

Sector Committees for the National Probation Service and the Community Rehabilitation Companies

Conference notes that: 1)The existing national negotiating machinery for the Probation Service is now under review following the split of the Service into the National Probation Service and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs); 2)The National Probation Service (NPS) is a civil service employer covering England and Wales with a workforce of 9,400 staff; 3)UNISON […]

Health and Safety in the probation service

Conference notes with concern that the new contracts in the Probation Service agreed by the Ministry of Justice do not take account of many health and safety and data protection issues. Members working in the service report that: a)the layout of the workspace leads to interviews with clients being conducted in open-plan offices, with no […]

An inflexible police service

The College of Policing guidance on flexible working states that “Policing is a demand led, 24/7 service where its people are key to its successful delivery. By providing flexible working arrangements for staff, organisations are shown to have a more motivated and productive workforce…. it is about gaining a balance that provides an opportunity for […]

Dispel The Myths Around Protected Police Budgets

Conference notes that in his November 2015 Spending Review, Chancellor George Osborne stated “Now is not the time for further Police cuts, now is the time to back our Police and give them the tools to do the job” (BBC News 25 November 2015). Yet in April 2016, the South Yorkshire Police outline policing plan […]

YOUNG WORKERS AND MENTAL HEALTH

This Conference believes it is clear that young members are amongst those groups where stress and mental health issues are of growing prevalence and concern. This Conference welcomes the work undertaken by our young members organisation to raise this issue through their work in Young Workers Month (November 2015). Workplace meetings and events were organised […]

A stronger, growing Passenger Transport Forum

Over the last year UNISON has done a huge amount of work to save the Passenger Transport Forum (PTF) as a functioning negotiating body. In 2015, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) management gave notice to exit the negotiating element of the PTF, citing a need for greater “flexibility.” UNISON has a proud tradition of defending […]

Continuing to increase the participation of Black members in WET

Conference notes the resolution from last year’s WET conference to look at increasing Black member participation in the service group. When looking at measurements of engagement such as representation on branch and national committees and attendance at service group and Black members’ conferences the activism levels of Black members in WET remains an area of […]

Equal pensions for WET workers

Conference welcomes the growing recognition of same sex partnerships, including the 2005 Civil Partnership Act and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Acts that came into force in England and Wales and in Scotland in 2014. However, conference echoes UNISON’s condemnation of the inequality entrenched in these laws with regard to surviving partner workplace pensions. The […]

Working Time Regulations and the Water Industry

Conference notes that Working Time Regulations stipulate that workers must have: At least a twenty minute break if they work more than six hours a day; At least eleven hours rest between working days, and; at least an uninterrupted twenty four hour rest without any work each week or an uninterrupted forty eight hours without […]

Local Government Trading Companies

Conference we know that many councils have now established local trading companies. As you know these trade as separate companies to the council, but are wholly owned by them. Within local UNISON branches we are told that the reasons behind these companies being established normally falls into two categories: 1)Service delivery model, where they do […]

Further Education Pay

Conference welcomes the first ever national agreement for FE staff in Scotland and that we are moving towards new national bargaining through the establishment of a new National Joint Negotiating Committee in Scotland. Employers and trade unions have also committed to negotiate a new single pay structure and new single set of conditions of service […]