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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Adding insult to injury – the autumn budget statement

Conference notes with concern that the 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review, published on 25 November 2015, does nothing to improve the financial stability and position of women, who have so far borne the brunt of the government’s austerity measures. A detailed assessment by the Women’s Budget Group, which was critical of the government’s failure to conduct […]

Tampon Tax – plugging the bleed in funding of women’s services provision?

On 25th November 2015, the Chancellor of the exchequer delivered his autumn statement to the House of Commons. Within this statement he raised the issue of the 5% VAT on sanitary protection being diverted to fund women’s services. It became clear that Will Quince MP had made the suggestion for this. Conference acknowledges the ‘creative’ […]

Age Discrimination in Higher Education

With rising pension ages both in the State and Employers Pension Scheme, Higher Education will see an increase in the age of its workforce. The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees because of their age. Age discrimination can impact on someone’s confidence, job prospects, financial situation and quality of life. Older […]

Information Is Power

This Conference believes that the growth of privatisation and outsourcing in Higher Education presents a major challenge not just to the provision of services, but also to our ability to organise the workforce effectively. This Conference believes that the service group’s response to this challenge must be to support branches seeking to resist privatisation and […]

Control of Risk and Hazardous Substances in Higher Education

Conference notes that Health and Safety has not been exempt from the government’s austerity cuts agenda. The continued drive to “cut red tape” has brought changes to both the way work environments and hazardous substances are classified. Conference welcomes the initiative to standardise substance labelling worldwide and agree that when it comes to health and […]

Equality rights and collective agreements in higher education

Conference notes that it was our union’s national collective bargaining that established many equality protections long before they were enshrined in law. For example, our predecessor unions secured recognition of same sex partners for the purposes of workplace benefits before workplace discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation was banned and many years before the first […]