Public Conveniences

This Conference notes that in two years more than £10m has been cut from public spending on public conveniences in Britain, these cuts are posing potential risks to public health. In 2011/12 councils across England spent 13% less on maintaining and repairing public conveniences compared to the 2010/2011 financial year. Some councils are now spending […]

Means Testing for Bus Passes

Conference notes the Government wants to take away the bus pass from pensioners and introduce means testing. The bus pass saves many people from isolation and exclusion and is far more valuable to them than the cost to the Government of providing the passes. The future of pensioners’ bus passes is of particular relevance to […]

Utilities: Not for Profit and Alternative Company Models

In the face of ever rising water costs (water as well as gas electricity, telephone etc) to members, we call upon the WET Service Group Executive in conjunction with appropriate UNISON partners to debate the feasibility and implications of campaigning for a change towards “not for profit models” or other models for our water companies. […]

Smoking in Customer’s Premises

This Water, Environment and Transport Conference 2014 welcomes legislation banning smoking in workplaces etc. One area that wasn’t addressed however and continues to give our members health and safety concerns is visiting customer’s residential properties whereby the occupiers’ smoke. We call upon the Water, Environment and Transport Executive to produce appropriate guidance which will include […]

Provision of Flu Jabs

Conference 2014 notes that some but not all employers in the water industry currently provide free flu jabs for their employees/our members. UNISON believes that this “best practice” should be adopted by all employers within our service group and calls upon the WET Executive in conjunction with Sector Committees to devise a negotiating guide on […]

University Finance – we must take an interest and be vigilant

Conference in the light of the Browne Review of Higher Education finance and the Comprehensive Spending Review it was reported that HEIs will have to be very quick on its feet to avoid serious financial problems and potential bankruptcy as the cuts take effect and the impact of higher fees become apparent. Conference every year […]

Excessive Workloads

Conference notes that in this current climate of Government cuts resulting in a reduction to services and jobs, professional support staff are experiencing many challenges within the workforce. Since 2008 government funding cuts have become more savage; ministers have publicly called for more to be done for less across the entire public sector and specifically […]

Equality for higher education workers when universities go international

Conference notes that universities are responding to restrictive border regulations, which damages their intake of international students, by opening campuses abroad and having collaborations with overseas universities. Many more are likely to join this trend. The universities and science minister has previously appealed to private investors to support overseas expansion for UK universities and stated […]

Working in HE – The Hidden Costs

This Conference understands that recent pay awards in Higher Education have meant that many UNISON members working in this Sector are experiencing a decline in the standard of living for themselves and their families. Conference recognises that the real terms pay cut staff are facing is an issue in itself, but that UNISON members in […]

Equality for trans workers in our higher education institutions

Conference notes with concern that transphobia and bullying and harassment of trans people is still far too commonplace in workplaces and society, including in our higher education institutions (HEIs). A recent Government Equalities Office survey found that nearly half of trans employees experienced discrimination or harassment in their workplaces and 88% said that ignorance of […]

A Time to Change in Higher Education

Conference is aware that many people are affected by mental health conditions. It is concerning that nearly nine out of ten people who experience them say they face stigma and discrimination as a result. In supporting members, our activists have noted that many Higher Education employers are neither aware of nor prepared to support staff […]

Impact of restructuring and outsourcing on young workers

This conference believes that recent restructurings (such as at Middlesex University which has seen the creation of centralised student services, combining the services from 4 campuses into one) and outsourcing exercises, mean that many ‘entry-level’ jobs are severely reduced or disappear altogether. It is also often the case that these jobs are the first to […]

Low proportion of Black people in Senior Management Positions in Higher Education

Conference notes that in the UK there are 168 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Research conducted by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) reports that Black people represents 8.6 per cent of higher education academic staff and 6.9 per cent of professional support staff. Conference is aware that in the UK the Higher Education context has changed […]

Poverty Pay Doesn’t Pay – the Living Wage in Higher Education

Conference applauds the successful implementation of the Living Wage that has been achieved at Exeter University, Wolverhampton University and Loughborough University amongst many. At Exeter University, the Students Guild has also agreed to implement the Living Wage which demonstrates that being a Living Wage employer is also about applying the same standard to services that […]

Zero hours contracts

Conference notes that as part of the general attack on staff terms and conditions that has accompanied the intensification of privatisation and cuts to funding across the public sector, employers including universities have increasingly been turning to zero hours contracts. Under these contracts, an individual typically undertakes to be available for work but the employer […]