Conference recognises that the cost of living crisis now affecting UNISON members in the UK is the worst for 30 years. Inflation is currently running at 9% (March 2022), which is the highest level in three decades. For the value of police, probation and CAFCASS staff salaries not to fall back even further, they must […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that on 16th May 2022, the government announced an ambition to reduce staffing levels in the Civil Service to 2016 levels by cutting 91,000 jobs. In this government’s distinctive style, these plans appeared hastily drawn up and vague, with no concrete indication of the Civil Service departments where these cuts may fall. Conference […]
Conference may be aware that The Probation Service has experienced an ongoing difficulty with the recruitment and retention of Probation Officers. The latest figures available from the Ministry of Justice indicate that over a third of staff have been in post for less than three years and recruitment and training of Probation Officers since March […]
Conference notes that: 1)The Probation Service has a long history of good industrial relations and joint working; 2)It has taken years of hard work to maintain commitment to the National Negotiating Council (NNC) joint agreement on pay and conditions which was introduced in 2006; 3)The custodians to this agreement were the Joint Secretaries, one from […]
This conference believes that the social media presence and visibility of our service group on the UNISON website needs improvement. It is reasonable for members to expect to be kept updated and to identify with issues that are affecting them. For example, the official service group twitter feed has not been populated since 15/03/2020 and […]
Conference is concerned that Health & Safety within the service group has fallen down the priority list in recent years. Our members work in some of the most hazardous environments in public service. The need for the police service to reduce or eliminate the threats of such work has never been more prevalent. It is […]
Conference notes and accepts that the social model of disability identifies that it is not an individual’s medical condition, but the attitudes of society that makes them disabled. The social model is a civil rights approach that suggests that if the workplace was set up in a way that was accessible for people with disabilities […]
Conference recognises the nature of poverty has changed and that even people on what may be considered to be reasonable salaries are struggling and in need of support. Unrealistic rhetoric from politicians who are out of touch with reality, who use offensive commentary to describe people in need and how they should be living, drives […]
Conference is concerned by certain IOPC (Independent Office of Police Complaints) investigations relating to Police Staff are failing to be investigated proportionately. Some cases relating to police contact are demonstrably targeted at Police Staff unjustifiably. It has been shown that investigations are centred in apportioning blame to our members when evidence suggests that they are […]
Conference notes with concern that a number of complaints relating to our members that could be considered as vexatious (purely to cause annoyance to the subject). We have seen examples within the workplace and from members of the public who have used the police complaints procedure to damage members, particularly where there is a relationship […]
Conference wishes to thank all those pioneers that made up the PCSO workforce 20 years ago. Their dedication and commitment embedded the role into modern policing and made the role of PCSO an integral role in the service and to the public we serve. Our PCSOs deal with many more issues today than was envisaged […]
This conference understands that members may find themselves in a situation that warrants a disciplinary sanction and as a consequence this sanction may be a written or final written warning. Under these circumstances vetting may be withdrawn, thus having the effect of rendering them unable to continue in their role. This for all intents and […]
Conference, funding cuts and the government’s long-delayed plans to address social inequalities is one of the major causes of in-work poverty experienced by Black Workers and the cause of severe inter-generational inequality in Black communities. Recent funding increases have not undone £15bn of cuts in central government grants to public services between 2010 and 2020, […]
Conference is deeply concerned at the violence, including threats and physical violence, that is shown towards those working in local government. The latest Health & Safety Executive statistics show that around 307,000 adults of working age in employment experienced violence at work, with an estimated 688,000 individual incidents of violence. According to the Labour Force […]
Recent pay campaigns across the UK have demonstrated that we need to do much more in order to build the confidence of our members in challenging bad practice by their employers. We know that pay matters to members, who have suffered years of austerity, pay cuts/freezes and threats to jobs/services, but they often do not […]