The toxic debate ignited by the government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union supporting and representing trans members effectively. Attacks on trans people have escalated further over the last year. There has been a sustained attack on Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme and repeated false claims that Stonewall is […]
Conference motions
Conference notes with alarm the rise in discrimination and harassment in society and the workplace. Reported hate crimes have risen sharply across the UK. Compared to 2019/20 Police recorded figures for 2020/21 showing a 9 percent increase in England and Wales and a 6 percent increase in Scotland. Northern Ireland saw a 6 percent increase […]
Conference notes that UNISON membership surged in 2020 in response to government’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on vital public services and public service workers. However, as home working continued and workplace access remained restricted, UNISON’s workplace activity and visibility decreased. Following an initial surge in schools’ members in January 2021 rates […]
Conference recognises that CEDAW, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, is significant in the international human rights framework because it is exclusively devoted to gender equality. It is one of the core international human rights treaties of the UN and it requires countries that have ratified it […]
Conference notes: 1)That the workplace can be a very difficult situation for our members when they face disciplinary action and it can have an adverse impact on their physical and mental health and well-being. This can impact on them having unrealistic expectations as to what UNISON reps can do to resolve their workplace issues; 2)The […]
Conference notes that, over the last two years, the UK, along with the rest of the world, has faced, a crisis like no other with Covid-19. However, while acknowledging the incredible advances made by vaccination and treatment, the pandemic is not yet over and will continue to affect the daily and working lives of the […]
Conference notes that as a result of rapidly increasing wholesale gas prices, the price of energy for consumers and businesses in the UK has also significantly increased. Further it notes that the energy price cap which regulates the default tariffs has been increased by some 54% by the energy regulator OFGEM. This is the tariff […]
Conference notes that in November 2021 the UK hosted the COP 26 in Glasgow. At this COP the UK again committed itself to achieving Net Zero by 2050 which itself is a statutory target which the UK Government should be working towards achieving. UNISON energy workers know already that achieving Net Zero will be hard […]
Research shows that at GCSE level engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects has a broadly similar gender split. At this level female students are achieving higher or equal average A*-C grades compared to males. At A Level this drops off with a higher number of males taking up STEM subjects, for example […]
The UNISON rule book stipulates one of the aims of our union is to “promote fair representation in all the Union’s structures for women, members of all grades, Black members, disabled members and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) members.” As a movement built on the values of solidarity and collectivism, we know just […]
Conference picture someone working in the energy sector, and you are likely to mentally summon up an image of a white, middle-aged male. Although a lack of diversity isn’t unique to energy, it is an issue that needs solving. While the situation is improving, it’s not changing fast enough, recent events have rightly woken up […]
Our Women Members are our greatest asset Conference welcomes the election of Christina McAnea as the first woman General Secretary of a major trade union. Representing more than a million women working across the range of public services, UNISON with its commitment to lay democracy and proportionality and fair representation enshrined within our rule book […]
Research suggests that there may be some variations for Black women in the average age at which the menopause takes place between women of different ethnic backgrounds. Some studies suggest that symptoms may be more prevalent and more severe for Black women, although research is not yet clear on the reasons for this. Black women […]
Conference notes recent advice from the Metropolitan Police force that women should “run away” if they feel unsafe in the presence of a lone police officer in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2020. Not only is this advice discriminatory towards disabled women, but it also fails to address the root […]
Unison is committed to proportionality for women but the reality is that in many branches this does not happen. By the time women have done their jobs, looked after the children and their homes, checked on their elderly parents and helped with homework, there is little time to sit and map out what they need […]