The Equalities Review

This conference expresses concern about some of the findings and recommendations that The Equalities Review published in its Interim Report for Consultation. In particular, conference considers that: 1.The report’s rejection of a ‘strand-based’ approach is merely a fig-leaf to ignore or downplay certain strands especially gender identity; 2.It relies too much on academic research and […]

Promoting Branch Self-Organisation

Conference notes with some concern that many UNISON branches in the UK do not appear to have an active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender self organised group (LGBT SOG). Conference believes that branch-level LGBT SOGs are a key way to ensure visibility of the diverse LGBT agenda within branches, and that they serve as a […]

Operational Staff Groups

Conference notes that a number of public sector employers are engaged in a process of setting up staff groups, from workers who self-identify within equality and diversity strands. Examples are groups for women, for black and minority workers, for disabled workers and for LGBT workers. These groups can inform and advise the employer on matters […]

ACCESSIBLE PACKAGING & LABELLING

Disabled people are constantly presented with barriers, and in some cases hazards arising from modern methods of packaging products. In terms of labelling particularly foods stuffs and medications there are major barriers as a consequence arising from the formats used to produced such information. Therefore this conference calls upon the National Disabled Members Committee to […]

ANTI FASCISM FOR LIFE – NOT JUST FOR ELECTION TIME

Historically disabled people have been victims of discrimination, marginalisation and in some cases, murder under fascist regimes. This National Disabled Members Conference applauds and fully supports UNISON nationally for its publicity campaigns that expose the British National Party for what it really is – an organization that discriminates against people on ground of disability, sexual […]

UNISON PUBLICATIONS

Conference applauds UNISON’s commitment to ensuring that its members are kept informed on various health issues. This information is generated by various committees within UNISON including Health and Safety and Women’s Self Organization etc. Many of these leaflets and publications could be used to inform members of their rights under the Disability Discrimination Act. The […]

WELFARE REFORM BILL

This Conference notes that the Government published its ‘Welfare Reform Bill on 4th July 2006. This Bill contains powers to replace incapacity benefits with a new Employment Support Allowance. The Government have said that they do not intend to force people back into work where it is not appropriate and that people will continue to […]

Sickness Absence Policies

Conference is appalled by the continuing discrimination by employers towards disabled members when using Sickness Absence policies. Many of these employers carry the two tick logo. Schemes like the ‘Bradford Factor’, where a disabled member could pick up 1000’s of points with ongoing treatment for their disability, place staff under massive pressure to reduce their […]

MAPPING OF DISABLED MEMBERS

The Scottish Disabled Members’ Group is concerned that no accurate statistics exist on the number of disabled members in the union. The interim report of the Equalities Review would indicate that as many as 1 in 4 people in the UK could be classified as disabled under the DDA. Impending legislation would increase this number, […]

Equality Duty

This Conference welcomes the new Equality Duty that will be imposed on public bodies and some private organizations from December 2006. Conference knows that no new resources will be made available to implement this piece of new legislation. Conference therefore calls upon the National Disabled Members Committee to liaise with the NEC, Labour Link and […]

Disabled People Living in Poverty

Conference recognises that many disabled people are living in poverty, and the proportion of disabled adults who are unemployed but want to work are almost three times higher than those without a disability. This demonstrates that discrimination in the labour market is a continuing issue. We know that even where disabled people are in employment, […]

Health and Safety Reps Seminar

The Service Groups covered by the Business and Environment Unit held a successful Seminar of Health & Safety Reps at National level in the early part of this decade. Many Health and Safety related legislative changes that affect members in the Energy Service Group have occurred since this time and this Energy Conference calls on […]