Conference notes with extreme concern the decisions taken by UNISON National Executive Council to change UNISON rules without National Delegate Conference approval as set out in the Rule Book. While the National Executive Council has power to interpret rules, the power to change them is vested solely in the National Delegate Conference, the supreme democratic […]
Conference motions
Conference notes with grave concern the impact of the 2016 Trade Union Act on our union’s ability to take large scale industrial action in support of legitimate trade disputes. The main lesson of the first five years of this restrictive legislation is that, repeatedly, national industrial action ballots are returning high majorities in support of […]
D 2.9 Renumber existing Rule D 2.9 as D 2.9.1 and add a new rule as D 2.9.2: “D 2.9.2 The election of chairs and vice-chairs of the committees shall occur in accordance with the union’s commitment to fair representation as set out in Rule D 2.14.3 and in particular the proportion of posts held […]
Westminster’s First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system has created a toxic environment by repeatedly returning extreme governments against the wishes of most voters. In 19 of the last 20 general elections parties to the left of the Conservatives won the popular vote, yet the Tories have governed for two-thirds of that time. This has […]
Conference notes that the Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention to a previously hidden problem in this country. The shocking lack of support many workers get when they are sick. These issues are well known to UNISON members who work for a variety of different private contractors in our public services. The Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) […]
Our Women members are our greatest asset. Conference welcomes the election of Christina McAnea as the first woman General Secretary of a major trade union. Representing more than a million women working across the range of public services, UNISON with its commitment to lay democracy and proportionality and fair representation enshrined within our rule book […]
Conference notes that we are in a worsening cost of living crisis with inflation at the highest rate for 30 years and a record increase in household energy bills. according to Office of National Statistics data, inflation using the government’s preferred measure of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 5.4 percent in the 12 […]
Conference acknowledges the endemic nature of abuse, harassment and violence faced by women on a daily basis. The tragic murders of Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry Nicole Smallman, Sabina Nessa and many other women in the past year have brought to the forefront the scale of violence against women and reinforced how unsafe many women feel […]
UNISON can only be the strong, vibrant, effective union it strives to be if Black women are involved and active in every part of its work. Black women are still underrepresented at branch, regional and national level even though UNISON has 1 million women in membership. This is a trend that the National Black Members […]
Conference notes that the 2020 National Women’s Conference passed policy on how women were on a “cliff edge” with respect of to the poverty trap that the need to stay within the thresholds of Universal Credit has created. The pandemic has made this situation much worse. Disabled women are faced with a perfect storm of […]
A Voice for Women Part time Workers Information on UNISON’s website about part-time working states that, ‘Nearly half of UNISON’s members work part-time and the majority of them are women’. Conference this should give these part time women members a loud and clear directive to be included within the very structures of Unison. Not all […]
69% of low paid or insecure jobs are held by women. Women are the majority of people living in poverty and female headed households are poor – these constitute 90% of lone parent households, 45% of which are living in poverty. (Fawcett Society) Conference notes and condemns the removal of the £20 per week pandemic-related […]
Access to affordable childcare has been a long-standing challenge for women. In the current climate of adjusting to the impact of Covid-19, further barriers and challenges are being experienced by women endeavouring to have access to and retaining existing good quality early childcare. According to a survey conducted by Pregnant Then Screwed, 57% of working […]
2. Incorporate CEDAW into domestic legislation CEDAW is the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination Against Women – also called the International Bill of Rights for Women. CEDAW provides an international framework for States to take responsibility for tackling discrimination against women and achieving substantive equality for women in both the private and […]
The Women’s Policy Group Northern Ireland (WPG) is comprised of women from feminist campaigning organisations, migrant groups, human rights and equality organisations and trade unions – including UNISON NI. In July 2021, the WPG updated and re-launched its Feminist Recovery Plan, which highlights the experiences of women in NI during the pandemic and make the […]