Conference notes that the Conservative led government seems determined to embark on wholesale attempts to dismantle the welfare and benefits system. These deep and rapid cuts to benefits weren’t in any election manifestos. And now, nearly a year in, there are few people left who don’t know that these cuts are unfair and will hit […]
Conference motions
The Conservative government, with the support of the Liberal Democrats, is attacking our public services. UNISON faces many challenges in defending these services and those who work hard to deliver them. Our union’s record of international solidarity can strengthen UNISON’s response. Across the European Union national governments and the European Commission are pursuing policies aimed […]
Conference congratulates branches and regions that have ensured that UNISON continues to meet the challenge of recruiting and organising new members in what is an increasingly hostile environment. The onslaught against public services and the dedicated workers who deliver them by this Conservative led government means that building and sustaining strong workplace organisation must be […]
Conference notes that education has been at the forefront of the Conservative-led Coalition’s attempts to re-shape the UK and the education and childrens services of England. The common thread is one of disempowering and cutting democratic public authorities and encouraging the growth of private education providers and markets. These developments in turn put pressures on […]
Conference notes the ongoing threat from the far right and that across Europe far right political parties exploit the impact of austerity measures and continue to gain support. In parts of Britain Muslims are effectively under siege, already this year there have been arson and other attacks on mosques, firebombing of a Halal shop, and […]
UNISON supports the creation of properly-negotiated apprenticeship schemes which pay apprentices at the rate for the job, provide high quality training and which are not used as cheap labour to substitute for existing jobs. UNISON also believes that apprenticeship schemes should seek to tackle gender stereotyping, noting the 2010 TUC and YWCA England and Wales […]
Like all other public sector service groups, jobs of Police and Justice staff are under intense attack nationally and have been since this Tory/Lib Dem coalition showed their intention soon after being elected to shrink the public sector. We face a ‘double whammy’ in that not only are our frontline jobs being made redundant, we […]
Conference notes the attack on women that is being instituted by the Tory-led government. Their first budget showed a disproportionate effect on women which was highlighted by the Fawcett Society. We are all aware that the public sector is being made to pay the price of the excesses of the banking and finance sector. Even […]
Conference condemns the Coalition government’s concerted attacks on public services and the welfare state. These attacks are driven by political ideology, not economics – a continuation of the Thatcher/Major government commitment to free market economics which cynically exploits and exaggerates the effects of the economic downturn to roll back the welfare state and open up […]
Conference condemns the Tory led Government’s savage and ideological attack on working people and the institutions and services upon which they rely. In addition to the deepest and most sustained cuts to public spending in living memory, we are also witnessing wholesale attempts to dismantle the welfare state and to undermine the concept of collective […]
Conference recognises and welcomes the Single Equality Bill which will change discrimination law in a number of important ways. We are concerned however, that a new wave of restructuring across the Public Sectors (inc. Local Government, NHS, Higher Education & Voluntary Organisations) are to have a negative impact on Black, Low Paid, Women, Disabled, Lesbian, […]
Too many employers view flexible working as only benefiting the employee. Some employers believe that a desire to work flexibly implies a lack of commitment, that it is primarily a benefit for working mothers and that it will breed resentment among those who don’t work flexibly. These attitudes represent the biggest obstacle to flexible working. […]
The majority of employees in the public sector are women and many of them will experience at some time in their working lives health related absences that result in intrusive and harsh management responses as a consequence of rigid sickness absence policies – often based on the ‘Bradford Factor’ – a human resources tool widely […]
In her speech to the annual Women’s Aid National Conference in July 2010 Teresa May claimed “Violence against women is and always has been a priority for me and my ambition is nothing less than ending it”. She promised to ensure that ending violence against women would remain a priority for the coalition government. However, […]
This conference notes that increasing pressure is being placed on households to communicate and gather vital information, and to carry out transactions such as buying licences and paying bills, via the internet. Conference is aware that there are very many current and retired women public service workers, on very low incomes for whom the purchase […]