LGBT Mental Health Workplace Initiatives

Conference notes that there have been some staff wellbeing initiatives by employers in the Water, Environment and Transport service group related to mental health support, these are not consistent and there is still further to go for employee wellbeing. Conference recognises that at least one in four of us will experience mental health problems at […]

UNISON Activists and Mental Health

Conference is concerned to note that increasingly both branch activists and lay officials are finding themselves suffering extreme stress and anxiety when dealing with the levels of case load that they are presented with. In some cases representatives in WET have been placed under extreme personal pressure by employers. Conference notes that these pressures on […]

Training Mental Health First-Aiders in Energy Workplaces

Conference notes that since 1981, workplaces have been required to provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and people, to ensure that employees can be given immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work. Yet in 2019, there is still no statutory requirement for employers to provide mental health first aid […]

Fair representation of Black people in the recruitment process

In 2009, the Department for Work and Pensions embarked on an experiment to understand the scarcity of non-white faces in top managerial posts in UK organisations. 2,000 fake job applications were created in response to 1,000 real vacancies across multiple sectors, professions and pay grades. Similar CVs – one with a “traditional Anglo-Saxon” name and […]

Utility and Energy Industry Privatisation

Many members within the above industries no longer have the luxury of a Defined Benefits (DB) pension and are relying on a much inferior Direct Contributions Pension scheme for their retirement. A lot of these workers have used the Share Save and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) share schemes within these companies to subsidise the shortfall […]

Pay Negotiations

Conference recognises that the police staff pay negotiations should be approached in a different way following the extended 2017 negotiations and subsequent disappointed settlement. Conference acknowledges this was negatively influenced by the police officers Pay Review Body award and in addition, due to the timing of the consultation process, members saw UNISON colleagues in other […]

Bargaining for good Mental Health policies in Police and Justice workplaces

Conference notes that our workplaces are changing, with members in Police and Justice facing increased workloads as targets are raised year on year and working conditions often deteriorating when services are privatised. These pressures have made the importance of ensuring good mental health in our workplaces clear. At least one in four of us will […]

Police Staff Council Pay and Reward Review Part 2

Conference welcomes the start of work on the Police Staff Council Pay and Reward Review Part 2. Conference notes that: 1)The terms of reference for Part 2 of the Review cover how police staff basic pay is determined and administered by forces, the relationship between police staff pay and workforce reform in the widest sense […]

Suspension is not a Neutral Act

Conferences notes with concern that UNISON members who are under investigation by their force or the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) appear to be facing longer periods of suspension for misconduct reasons, where they are removed from their workplace, isolated from their colleagues and generally left to look after their own welfare and mental […]

Bargaining for good Mental Health policies in WET workplaces

Conference notes that our workplaces are changing, with members in Water, Environment and Transport (WET) facing increased workloads as targets are increased year on year and working conditions often deteriorate under TUPE transfers. These pressures have made the importance of ensuring good mental health in WET workplaces clear. At least one in four of us […]

Flexible working

Conference notes that the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees in 2014. However, the experience of reps and members within the energy sector is that many employers are only prepared to agree to flexible working patterns for certain groups of staff, and then only on limited terms. Further, new shift working […]

Lyme Disease

This Water, Environment and Transport Conference is aware of cases of Lyme disease to employees in the Water Industry and likely elsewhere to members within the Service Group. The disease is caused by bacteria transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick or other blood feeding insect. Most affected are likely to be […]

Angling Trust – Voluntary Bailiff Scheme

This Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive to work with the Environment Agency Sector Committee to investigate the cost / benefit of the Environment Agency funding a Voluntary Bailiff Scheme. The Environment Agency has used Rod Licence Income to fund staff at the Angling Trust to set up a volunteer system and has provided […]

Stand-by Rules Take Advantage of Members

Conference recognises the difficulties that Forces are having in maintaining 24 hour operational cover as a direct consequence of police budget cuts. Many departments have experienced redundancies coupled with an increase in the use of stand-by as a way to provide night-time cover when unsocial enhancements have been withdrawn. Colleagues such as Crime Scene Investigators […]

Survey of branches and members – disability related matters

Conference, in years past much welcomed legislation has been introduced to protect the rights of people with disabilities, including protections relating to work. Despite that, it is possible that these supportive words don’t always translate to the workplace, resulting in our colleagues who are disabled being treated inappropriately or less favourably. Others who witness such […]