In 2016 Energy conference agreed to look at increasing Black member participation in the service group. When looking at measurements of engagement such as representation on branch and national committees and attendance at service group and Black members’ conferences the activism levels of Black members in Energy remains an area of concern. At its conference […]
Conference motions
Almost 14 years of austerity measures and continuing starvation of funds for public service have now taken its toll on all services which has left them with very few resources to provide the vital support all service users require and very much need. One of these services is Education. Since 2010 we have had a […]
Many social work students, felt greater discrimination on placements, stereotyped and told by supervisors their accents, attitudes and mannerism would hinder their progression. This all starts at the point that they become students. When you realise that the training is based on white middle class British population, you can understand why they feel so invisible […]
Conference notes that many of our members in the Energy service group are seeing the result of the cost of living crisis in an increase in customers who are experiencing financial issues. Our members are often the first to speak to customers with financial concerns, many displaying signs of significant mental distress, with some expressing […]
Conference notes that there is increasing anecdotal evidence from branches and stewards in the Energy service group of disabled and older workers being “managed out” of organisations. This can include Energy employers using capability procedures to push disabled workers out of their jobs without fully exploring reasonable adjustments that could be made in order to […]
Conference is proud that UNISON is one of the founding members of the Disability Employment Charter which now has over 160 organisations signed up to it, including trade unions, disabled people’s organisations, public service employers, charitable organisations and private sector employers. However, conference notes that there are still far too few local authorities signed up […]
Conference believes that all public services are best delivered in public sector institutions by workers who are well-paid and respected for the jobs that they do. We know, however, that a combination of cost-cutting and marketisation in the Further Education sector has led to a proliferation of services in colleges being delivered by private contractors. […]
Conference knows that stress and mental health problems are commonplace in many modern workplaces, including in colleges. Stress makes people nearly three times as likely to leave their jobs, temporarily impairs strategic thinking and dulls creative abilities. In the 2023 UNISON Keeping in Touch survey, members reported that their number one concern was stress and […]
Conference notes that the real value of pay in Further Education (FE) colleges has fallen dramatically by around 35% in recent years. Workloads have increased dramatically as staff numbers in FE colleges have decreased and like much of the public sector FE staff are having to do more for less. Conference also notes that UNISON’s […]
Conference notes ongoing endeavours by HM Government to manoeuvre the LGPS to serve its own political objectives. This goes back to October 2016 when the then chancellor, George Osborne told the Conservative Party conference of his intentions in relation to the LGPS and this included his aspiration that the LGPS invests in the nation’s infrastructure. […]
Equal pay is nothing new, in 1910 Mary Macarthur led the women chain makers of Cradley Heath to victory in their fight for a living wage by leading a strike to force the employers to implement the rise. In 1968 a group of women workers followed suit at the Ford factory in Dagenham which led […]
Conference notes that with the roll out of auto-enrolment pensions since 2013, more than three-quarters of current workers are now contributing to a workplace pension. Conference notes with concern that with the closure of most good quality defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the commercial private sector, only a quarter of current workers are members […]
Conference is appalled at the ongoing funding crisis in local government, which is now resulting in an existential threat to the future of many councils across the UK. Conference condemns the actions of successive Conservative Governments over the last decade that has resulted in local authorities facing an existential crisis. For years, UNISON and the […]
Conference notes that 2024 is UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ Workers and welcomes the opportunity that this provides to promote UNISON as the union for LGBT+ workers in local government, raise awareness of LGBT+ rights, challenge discrimination, negotiate LGBT+ inclusive policies and recruit and activate LGBT+ members in the service group. The year highlights the important […]
Conference notes that UNISON is the largest union for school support staff – representing over 250,000 members across the UK. Conference believes: 1) That the government’s real terms cuts to school funding have led to a crisis in education. 2) That this crisis was starkly demonstrated by the dire warnings from the Department for Education […]