Conference is appalled at the state of our NHS and social care services. Conference believes that 13 years of Tory neglect have produced an unprecedented crisis which needs urgent attention. Conference notes that waiting lists for treatment have reached their highest ever level, thousands of hours of ambulance crews’ time is lost each month due […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that we are in a cost of living crisis with inflation and energy prices soaring, outstripping pay deals in every sector. The increases in interest rates and the impact on mortgages, and therefore also private renting, as a result of the Truss government’s failed economic policies have only heightened pressures on households. In […]
Conference notes that it has debated many motions over recent years on social care, including for older people. However, the problems remain. Conference is appalled that adult social care continues to exist in a state of permanent crisis and that the sector remains severely underfunded, with hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled people being […]
Conference is deeply concerned at the changes in the law surrounding the requirement for mandatory voter ID at all general and by-elections in the UK and many other elections in England and Wales as part of the Elections Act passed in April last year. This is the requirement to show photographic proof of identity at […]
Conference notes that comments made by Keir Starmer on 28 October in a Mumsnet interview regarding trans youth healthcare have caused significant concern In response to a question from a Mumsnet user about the interim report by Dr Hilary Cass on the provision of trans youth healthcare, Starmer focussed on the idea of consent, saying: […]
Conference welcomes the United Kingdom’s (UK) Conservative government’s decision not to proceed with replacement of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) with a Bill of Rights Bill. However, Conference is not fooled and is well aware of the Conservative’s intention either to repeal the HRA or even withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights […]
Conference notes that for many years Ghana’s government has been extremely hostile to LGBT+ people. Currently same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1960, which criminalises acts of ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this law. The law was inherited from […]
Conference notes that UNISON national LGBT+ committee has produced resources to support the recruitment of LGBT+ members and development of LGBT+ activists. These include ‘Putting politics back into Pride – a UNISON practical guide to recruiting and organising’, ‘Digital organising for LGBT+ equality guide’ and bargaining factsheets to support negotiations with employers for our LGBT+ […]
Conference notes that, during 2022, UNISON’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) self-organised group (SOG) succeeded in raising the issue of trans equality widely within the union by submitting substantially similar motions to several UNISON conferences. Their opportunity to do so is based on UNISON rules D1.10.4, D3.4.10 and D5.7.5 which entitle each SOG […]
Conference notes that one of UNISON’s main aims is ‘to seek to ensure equality of treatment and fair representation for all members and to work for the elimination of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, sexuality, gender identity, disability, age or creed’. To achieve this, UNISON seeks for branches to have equality co-ordinators, whose role […]
Conference notes that a workplace that actively encourages Equality Diversity and Inclusion is more successful, can help to keep employees happy and motivated, prevents serious or legal issues arising, such as bullying, harassment and discrimination and will attract and keep good staff. Conference also notes that where LGBT+ members and their allies continue to fight […]
Conference welcomes the partial ban on conversion therapy announced in the Queen’s Speech in May 2022 that targeted ‘abhorrent conversion therapy practices’. Not abhorrent enough to extend to our trans siblings over 18. Apparently, the rights of trans people are part of a ‘balancing act’ that needs ‘careful management’. Not empathy, not protection, but ‘careful […]
Conference notes that the trans community has seen an escalation in the volume and the toxicity of anti-trans articles across all media platforms in recent years, to a level now that is almost beyond comprehension. While the initial increase was commonly attributed to the United Kingdom (UK) wide rise in negative sentiment shown to all […]
LGBT+ people have been and are still experiencing verbal and physical bullying from colleagues, customers or service users because of their sexual orientation / identity and some still do not feel confident about reporting homo/bi and transphobic bullying in their workplace. According to Stonewall more than a third of LGBT staff (35 per cent) have […]
This Conference is deeply concerned by the steep rise in LGBT+ hate crime in Scotland since lockdown restrictions were eased at the beginning of last summer. The rise in homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes is not restricted to Scotland but has been replicated across the rest of the United Kingdom (UK). Hatred and abuse […]