Equalities and Diversity

Conference notes that UNISON is a union committed to promoting equality and valuing diversity, and that these principles underpin all our organisational structure, policies and practice. These principles are enshrined in our nation rule book. Rule B1 Aims and Objectives, 1.2 and 1.3. Rule B2 Union Democracy, 2.3. They apply to all the union’s structures, […]

International Links

Conference recognises the outstanding role UNISON plays in the international trade union movement. UNISON recognises that Britain’s economy and political system are interdependent with Europe and the rest of the world, and that it is vital that UNISON works with sister trade unions in other countries and through key international organisations to promote and protect […]

Standing Order 3 – Speaking

At the end of paragraph 3.1 add new sentence: “Any member of a regional Retired Members’ Committee attending the conference as a regional or branch delegate may be appointed by their regional Retired Members’ Committee to move a motion or amendment submitted by that regional Retired Members’ Committee.”

FACILITY TIME

This conference is aware that motions to previous conferences, namely Motion 5 at the Police Staff Service Group Conference in 2001 and Motion 16 at the Police Staff Service Group Conference in 2005 have raised this issue. Both of these motions raised concerns over the increasing demands placed upon branch officers and those UNISON activists […]

Adult Learning

Conference condemns the decision to remove the entitlement to concessions for pensioners attending day and evening classes other than for those in receipt of pensions credit. For many decades all pensioners could access day and evening classes either free or at a nominal cost. This allowed many people who had not previously had access to […]

Increase in the Basic State Pension and Restoration of the Link

Conference regrets that in his March 2007 budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, again failed to increase the basic state pension to restore its value if the link to average earnings had not been broken by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government. Pensioners should have an immediate rise now to restore the pension value and […]

Role of Retired Members in UNISON

Conference recognises the different role and contribution of retired members to their working counterparts and accepts that their involvement in UNISON is more limited. However, Conference believes that many retired members still have much to offer the union and that their preclusion from almost all aspects of its work is not necessarily in UNISON’s best […]

Safe Staffing Levels

Conference notes the recurring theme in both the literature and the media of shortages of Registered Nursing Staff, appropriate skill mix and overall staffing levels and believes that the recent financial crisis has exposed the extent to which the NHS relies upon agency staff, bank staff and overtime – often unpaid – to carry out […]

Future Pay Determination in the NHS – an expanded pay review body

In the early 1980’s Nurses, Midwives, Health Visitors and other NHS staff took industrial action over pay. This action led to the creation of the Nurses and Other Health Professionals (Pay) Review Body which since its formation in 1984 has, in most years, recommended above inflation pay awards. Occupational Groups not covered by the Pay […]

Private Contractor Staff

Conference notes the ground-breaking deal made with the Government, NHS Employers, the Confederation of British Industry and the NHS Business Services Authority for Soft Facilities Management employees working for private contractors in October 2005. Following on from this similar agreements have been made in Scotland and Wales. The Joint Protocol began the process of raising […]

Privatisation of Administrative & Clerical Services – England

Conference is encouraged by the events of this past year, where UNISON has given its support to the NHS Logistics strike in September 2006, the NHS Together Lobby in November 2006 and also the Outsourcing Conference in December 2006. Conference congratulates the members from NHS Logistics for their show of solidarity during the month of […]

Social Enterprises

This Conference rejects the model of service provision encapsulated in the Social Enterprise concept and reaffirms its opposition to Social or Community Enterprises taking over NHS services and staff. Despite our opposition, the government has established a Social Enterprise Unit within the Dept of Health, and is promoting the setting up of such bodies to […]

Stop Privatisation and Marketisation of Our NHS

Conference is outraged that a Labour government is continuing to privatise NHS service and staff. Conference reaffirms our total opposition to the privation and marketisation of the NHS, in whatever from(such PFI and LIFT, use of the private sector to carry out NHS work, transfer of service to private sector ownership or management, Independent Sector […]

Cuts to Health Services for Women

The National Health Service (NHS) is in crisis. Much of the government’s injection of additional investment has ended up in the pockets of private companies. The end result of government policies has been job losses, cuts, closures and privatisation. Women form the majority of the workforce in the NHS, and are also disproportionately represented in […]

Women, Rape, Alcohol and the Law

COMPOSITE C – WOMEN RAPE ALCOHOL AND THE LAW (Emergency Motion – Alcohol & Rape of Women and Emergency Motion 4 – Who’s Perverting the Course of Justice? Under current English and Welsh law rape can only be established if it can be demonstrated that sexual intercourse took place without consent and that the defendant […]