Conference notes that since the formation of UNISON vesting day self-organised groups have been enabled to send two motions to our union’s sovereign decision-making body, its National Delegate Conference, which takes place annually every June. Conference, the National Black Members’ Committee feels that in order for self-organised groups to be more effective at UNISON’s National […]
Conference motions
The recent revelation at the 2003 National Delegate Conference, that UNISON members had voted for the BNP and in effect had supported the election of BNP candidates into local authority seats has rocked the confidence of black members in this union. In Yorkshire & Humberside we have tried to raise the issue of racism in […]
Conference notes that in the last two to three decades the social reality has changed drastically. Heavy industries have suffered a meltdown, whole region become de-industrialised, and traditional working and social environments have changed radically. This has led to a growth in social exclusion and had a damaging effect on community cohesion. At the same […]
The Scottish Region notes with grave concern at the loss of opportunity to hold its annual delegate’s conference in the year 2003. It notes that while other self organised groups had the opportunity of producing policies for their national committees to operate on, the National Black Members’ Committee (NBMC) is disadvantaged in getting the policies […]
Each year there are black history monthly events across the country but these are varied in their links within the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities or Black and Minority Ethnic voluntary organisations. If each regional black members’ committee were to organise events with all the BME voluntary organisations in their county or local area […]
Forty eight per cent of ‘stop and search’ incidents in the County of Northamptonshire involve black people; less than two per cent of these incidents actually result in an arrest. This means that, despite the requirements of “reasonable grounds for suspicion”, seven out of eight of those searched are doing nothing wrong. Stop and search […]
Recognising that international adoption is a particularly sensitive women issue: 1)Birth mothers do not necessarily want to give up their children but for some social, cultural or economic reasons, they might find themselves pushed to do so. 2)Infertility and adoptive mothers: acknowledging that infertility could be a man and/or a woman issue. In either case, […]
In every UNISON region there are agencies that support women survivors of childhood sexual abuse by providing a safe, confidential and non-judgmental environment for women to address the issues arising from their experiences of childhood sexual abuse. These agencies can also act as an information and signpost agency for adult survivors, their families, friends and […]
Conference welcomes the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, which came into force at the end of last year. Lesbians face widespread discrimination and prejudice in the workplace. Until the regulations came into force, they had no legal protection from such discrimination. Conference recognises, however, that laws only make a difference if they are used. […]
Conference notes with great concern the increasing cost of childcare and the increasing difficulty in finding high quality and flexible childcare places. The typical cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two is £128 a week, more than £6,650 a year, which is up 6.7 per cent on last year. And in […]
Conference commends UNISON’s partnership work with Women’s Aid and government on tackling domestic violence and abuse. Developing local workplace policies on tackling domestic violence and abuse is an important part of the strategy to reduce violence experienced by members and their families. We should never forget that domestic violence and abuse is a crime. Conference […]
Women should rightly be proud of their campaigning to draw public attention to the impact of breast cancer – one in every nine women in the United Kingdom continues to develop this disease at some point in her lifetime. During October each year, both cancer charities and women’s organisations make special efforts to publicise the […]
Conference notes and applauds the excellent work taking place in regional women’s groups to promote women’s organisation. Regional groups have used a diverse range of activities to encourage, educate and motivate many women into activity including seminars, guest speakers, workshops and international events. Conference however notes that whilst some branch women’s groups are flourishing it […]
Conference welcomes the Government’s proposals on legal recognition of same sex partnerships through the introduction of a civil registration scheme. Conference believes that formal recognition of same sex relationships will help combat discrimination against lesbians. Conference is concerned, however, that while the proposals bring some advantages, they also introduce or highlight some problems. The proposed […]
Research shows that there are an increasing number of homeless women, who both live on the streets and more often on the floors of friends, or in other insecure housing as the hidden homeless rather than use the apparently male- dominated housing agencies. Many of these women are escaping domestic violence or breakdowns in relationships. […]