Dealing with High Temperatures in Workplaces Covered by the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group

In the unexpected heat of the long Summer of 2018, workers employed in the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group experienced difficulties undertaking their normal roles with inadequate provision provided by employers. Whilst mains fed water coolers are becoming more common in our workplaces following a long campaign by our Service Group within UNISON other […]

Racism is real

Conference in the climate of the rise of the far right, Brexit and the real impact of racism in our society we know that racism is real. UNISON’s previous objectives included the statement ‘including Racism’, but at the 6th December 2018 NEC meeting the NEC approved the 2019 objectives with this wording removed. Conference, the […]

Boosting our campaign for fair pay

This conference will likely agree our union’s approach to pay negotiations for the coming year. Whatever the finer detail of our pay claim, if we are to be effective in making our demands, we need to place ordinary UNISON members and Higher Education workers at the centre of our campaign. From the very start of […]

Fair Work convention in Scottish Campuses

Conference recognises that there is a commonality in the Scottish Higher Education system which has now been acknowledged by the Scottish Trade Unions (STUC), National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland and Universities Scotland with the creation of a forum where representatives from all three bodies meet to discuss issues of common interest. Scottish Higher Education […]

Fighting for a £10 an hour minimum level of pay

Conference notes that there is a lot of money to be made out of Higher Education – just look at the expansion of obscenely high salaries for our Vice-Chancellors and executive managers, and the large reserves held by many universities. If you’re a cleaner, caterer, or receptionist however, you don’t get a fair share of […]

Inclusive workplace policies

Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Higher Education Service Group Executive (HESGE) has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s […]

Supporting members with mental health problems

Conference is aware of the increasing need to support members who are experiencing either short or long-term mental health conditions. Despite the good work already being done by branches in enacting conference policies – such as encouraging employers to sign up to Time to Change, or become Mindful employers – there is a great deal […]

Higher Education Service Group Executive Pay Motion 2019/20

The continuing erosion of the pay of higher education support staff is a stain on the sector and flies in the face of assurances by employers that they value their workers. It is scandalous that the Government’s national living wage is approaching the bottom of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES) pay […]

University Sponsorship of Academies in England

It is a matter of public concern that as a result of the Education Act 2011 in the UK Parliament, we have witnessed the acceleration of the programme to convert local authority primary and secondary schools into academies. The failings of the academy project have been widely reported and at times have scandalised the notion […]

Campaigning Against the Marketisation of Higher Education in England

Higher education as a public service has been and is increasingly under threat from profit-driven vultures encouraged by an ideological obsession that dictates that private interests should always triumph over common ownership and cooperation. Attempts by the current and previous governments to introduce market forces and competition into the public services is nothing new to […]

Outsourced Workers in Higher Education Institutions

Conference notes that outsourcing in universities and higher education institutions is on the rise. While some see this as a money saving exercise, it is not. It is unethical, promotes bad and unfair working practices. Some research has shown that outsourcing can push up student fees, making it unfair on staff and students. The aim […]

Non-binary inclusion

Conference welcomes the work initiated by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group to make UNISON’s organisation, events, policies, systems and good practice advice inclusive of non-binary members. Non-binary people are people whose gender identity is not solely male or female. They may define themselves as both, neither or something different. While non-binary people […]

Black Members Mentoring Scheme – young Black members to be paired with more experienced activists

UNISON has about 63,000 young members, of whom approximately 8 percent are Black members. However, there is a noticeable and worrying shortage of young Black members and activists in UNISON. More needs to be done to recruit young Black members and to encourage them to become involved at all levels of the union. Young Black […]

Black members and the +

Conference notes that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) self-organised group (SOG) works with inclusive, umbrella definitions of bisexual and transgender. Its bi network is for all members who feel attraction to more than one gender. Its trans network is for all types of self-identifying trans people and for members whose gender identity does […]

“Local government cuts and impact on Black staff”

“Conference – we are all aware that Local Government and local services are at a crisis point. Demands and expectations of services are increasing year on year while central government funding is reducing. Liverpool Council will have lost 68 per cent of government funding from 2010-2020, the Council has prioritised frontline services, protecting vulnerable adults […]