Working for Decent Pensions

Conference recognises that our occupational pensions are deferred wages and that it is essential that UNISON and its members are actively involved in the governance of our pension schemes and funds. Conference congratulates those members who represent UNISON on the many of the boards of the LGPS schemes. This is a critical role and UNISON […]

Local Government and Brexit

Conference notes that when the UK leaves the European Union (EU), a large amount of EU regional aid will be lost. The Local Government Association’s report ‘Beyond Brexit’, published in July 2017, calculated that the funding gap would be £8.4bn. This funding has been used by local areas to create jobs, deliver skills training, and […]

Trade Union Facilities

Conference notes motion 16 passed at NDC conference 2016 instructed the NEC to: “Work with Labour Link to campaign to defend facility time, briefing individual elected politicians at all levels, developing model motions for councils – making it clear that attacked on facility time are particularly unacceptable from Labour councils – and pushing for debates […]

Flexible working

Conference notes that the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees in 2014. However, the experience of reps and members within the energy sector is that many employers are only prepared to agree to flexible working patterns for certain groups of staff, and then only on limited terms. Further, new shift working […]

Local Government Apprentices

Conference acknowledges there will be considerable growth in the number of apprentices employed in local government as a result of the apprenticeship levy, as well as the provisions of the Enterprise Act around apprenticeship targets for public sector bodies. Conference recognises the good practice that exists in some local government branches, who not only recruit […]

Lyme Disease

This Water, Environment and Transport Conference is aware of cases of Lyme disease to employees in the Water Industry and likely elsewhere to members within the Service Group. The disease is caused by bacteria transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick or other blood feeding insect. Most affected are likely to be […]

Angling Trust – Voluntary Bailiff Scheme

This Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive to work with the Environment Agency Sector Committee to investigate the cost / benefit of the Environment Agency funding a Voluntary Bailiff Scheme. The Environment Agency has used Rod Licence Income to fund staff at the Angling Trust to set up a volunteer system and has provided […]

WINDRUSH

Conference is appalled at the Windrush scandal and the treatment of too many of the British citizens affected. In particular Conference is concerned for the many retired people and pensioners caught up in this controversy whose status and rights as British citizens have been erroneously called into question. Conference recalls that Caribbean people were invited […]

Intergenerational Commission

This conference rejects the proposals contained in the Resolution Foundation think tank’s report of the intergenerational Commission, chaired by Lord David Willetts (nicknamed Two Brains), titled “A New Generational Contract”. Conference further rejects the myth of generational unfairness on which the report is founded, and which masks the fact that the real unfairness is based […]

Campaigning for quality clinical placements

The abolition of the NHS bursary in England took effect on 1 August 2017. The 2017 Health Conference called on the Health Service Executive Group to “monitor the quality of placements if there are additional training places” among other things. Conference notes that the finalisation of the funding arrangements for clinical placements in England happened […]

Agile or Fragile? Impact of Hot-desking on NHS Staff

Conference notes that NHS Employers are moving more towards agile working. The argument for implementing agile working is to increase productivity and to save money in the face of massive Cost Improvement Programmes forced on to NHS organisations. Conference understands that where agile working is implemented and driven as a measure to cut costs it […]

No role for private consultants in Job Evaluation

Bucks Health Care & Community has recognised that there is an inequality in pay banding across the NHS. Many NHS workers are doing similar roles in trusts for different pay; these differences can even be in neighbouring NHS Trusts. The inequality in pay banding becomes more apparent when the job role does not fit the […]