FREE SWIMMING FOR THE OVER 60S

Conference welcomes the Government initiative that councils provide free swimming facilities for the over 60s. Conference notes however that not all councils are providing this facility. Conference instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee to campaign to get all councils to provide this facility.

BNP and Far Right

Conference notes with alarm that the support for the far right continues to grow and the British National Party (BNP) has increased its vote significantly in council elections, including Stoke-on-Trent, and the London Assembly over the past year and there is the very real threat one or more BNP candidates will be elected to the […]

ELDER ABUSE

Conference notes with concern that there is no specific law which addresses Elder Abuse and makes it an aggravated offence, as is the case with child abuse. Conference therefore instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee, and calls upon the trade union movement, to urge the legal establishment and HM Government to make Elder Abuse an […]

FUTURE CARE IN THE COMMUNITY

This Conference believes Elderly people deserve the best possible care in their latter years. Conference has in the past expressed concern about the level of care in the community, particularly where this service has been outsourced. Some care provision in sheltered accommodation is now provided by contacts on refrigerators to indicate to a central point […]

SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENTS

This Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to use all means at its disposal to abolish discrimination against single persons and in particular older retired persons by hotels and other establishments in charging single room supplements.

Climate Change

Conference notes that in the period since National Delegate Conference 2008 there have been significant developments in relation to climate change policy that will have far reaching consequences for the way in which we live our lives, the world of work and the public services. These include: 1)The passing into law of new climate change […]

Fuel Poverty

Fuel poverty is generally defined as when an individual or household spends at least 10% of their disposable income on fuel. Conference notes that The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and the government’s Fuel Poverty Strategy require the government to end fuel poverty for vulnerable people by 2010 and to end fuel poverty […]

Palestine

Conference reiterates its belief that only when a sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestine state is created, living side by side with a secure Israel will there be chance for peace and stability in the Middle East. Conference strongly believes that justice for the Palestinian people is essential to any solution to the existing […]

Economic Crisis and Public Services

As the economic crisis deepens, workers, their families and communities face unprecedented challenges. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost, bringing unemployment to 3.1m based on International Labour Organisation (ILO) method of calculation. 75,000 home repossessions are expected in 2009, on top of 45,000 in 2008 Conference notes that for young members this will […]

Recession and the Rise of Intolerance and Discrimination

In times of economic recession the most vulnerable in society are at greatest risk. As the economic crisis deepens and its long term nature becomes evident there is the very real threat that inequality widens, the equalities agenda is sidelined and that women, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), young workers, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) […]

Shared Services

Conference notes the enormous pressures on local authorities, and other public bodies, to make efficiency savings and their current tight financial predicament. Conference is concerned that some authorities are responding to this situation by knee-jerk privatisation to cut costs. This is counter-productive not only because it cuts public services at the time when they are […]

Opposition to Cuts in Public Service Employment

Conference notes that a reduction in public receipts, spending cuts and associated demands for “efficiency” savings, is resulting in redundancies and recruitment freezes across our public services. This is especially damaging during an economic recession resulting in rising job losses in the private sector and increasing demands placed upon public services. Public service workers are […]

Defending UNISON Members’ Pension Schemes

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 […]

Mileage Allowances

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 […]

Independent Safeguarding Authority

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 […]