A House of Commons healthcare committee recently reported on the alarming prevalence of elder abuse. The report found that as many as half a million elderly people may be being abused. Elder abuse may take the form of sexual, physical and financial abuse, neglect and over-medication. Despite the extent of this problem, many people are […]
Conference motions
Conference believes that the distinction between nursing and personal care should be ended. It is completely unacceptable to charge old and/or disabled people for essential and needed personal care. Good quality personal and nursing care should be provided on the basis of need, free and without means-testing. Conference instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee to […]
Conference notes the increases in charges to attend classes for Lifelong Learning being proposed by the government. This will affect people on low pay and fixed incomes, especially pensioners. Any reduction in class attendance will result in class closures to the detriment of the students who attend for both academic, cultural and social stimulus. There […]
Conference agrees that with £25 billion surplus in the National Insurance Fund that it is no longer a question of money but the lack of political will on the part of government. Taking into consideration the support received for the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC) Manifesto in the run up to the general election and the […]
Conference notes with regret that some councils/social services are to stop daily deliveries of meals on wheels to senior citizens and vulnerable members of our communities. The service is to be replaced by a weekly delivery of frozen food packs. It is also proposed that anyone who does not have a microwave oven or freezer […]
Conference notes the general practice of the travel insurance industry to impose extra premiums on the simple fact that the traveller is of pensionable age. In view of the European Union’s Directive on Ageism, due to be implemented in October 2006, Conference requests the National Executive Council to conduct a campaign in conjunction with other […]
Conference asks the National Executive Council to fight for the following changes to the National Health Service to ensure the comfort and care of elderly and disabled patients: An extra dedicated member of staff will be made available to all elderly and disabled patients when they are admitted to hospital. This member of staff will […]
Conference calls on the National Retired Members’ Committee and the National Executive Council to closely monitor and make suitable representations to government with regard to the present ongoing revaluation of homes – which will inevitably result in changes to the banding levels with a detrimental effect on the elderly who are on a fixed income […]
Conference is concerned that South East Region has unfortunately discovered that disability and equality awareness is not consistent within all UNISON regional education and training courses. Conference instructs National Disabled Members’ Committee to liaise with the regional education committees to ensure that appropriate disability awareness training is included on all UNISON education and training programmes […]
Conference is aware that as members become older it becomes increasingly difficult and in some cases impossible to obtain suitable travel insurance especially on an annual policy basis, at a reasonable price. Our own UIA no longer offers an annual policy to those over 65 years and will only offer individual trips at highly inflated […]
Social workers are now required to register with the General Social Care Council in order to practice legally, and this registration has to be renewed every three years. In so doing they have to complete extensive registration documents that amongst other things ask personal questions within a medical declaration that includes disability status. When completing […]
The government has admitted that the introduction of compulsory identity cards and the establishment of a National Identity Register will not in itself overcome international terrorism. Likewise, it has been admitted that benefit fraud is only a tiny part of the problem in the benefit system. Given the cost of introducing the scheme and the […]
Many UNISON disabled members that could potentially disadvantage them in the workplace do not identify their individual access requirements. The Disability Discrimination Act definition of a disabled person has recently been extended to define people with MS, HIV and cancer as disabled from a point of diagnosis. We welcome this legislative change as a signal […]