This Conference is aware of the stress placed on a member when they access the whistleblowing process. A decision to whistleblow is often the result of much soul searching by the Member(s) and is made more difficult when they see the effects on other people who have ‘whistleblown’. This can lead to: • suspension from […]
Conference motions
Conference notes there is no doubt that we are living in challenging times. Austerity has seen a vicious scapegoating campaign with the likes of Ukip, Britain First and the Daily Mail using this agenda to promote the idea that black people, Muslims, immigrants, refugees and other minorities are responsible for the deteriorating economic situation. Conference […]
This conference recognises the critical importance of maintaining and improving standards of cleanliness throughout the NHS with particular emphasis in clinical areas. A quality environment for health care should not be a luxury but an essential element of every patients treatment. UNISON members working in Hospital Cleaning Services have continually shown 100% commitment and professionalism […]
Staff shortages in the NHS and cuts to public sector budgets have caused an over reliance on Agency Staff to fill the skills gap in the NHS. Most of these staff are former NHS workers who were made redundant in the last few years. The cost of Agency Staff is much higher than employing a […]
The introduction of e-expenses has simplified claiming for expenses for staff that travel a lot with their role as there is an app that you can get on your phone to make this really simple as you start it everytime you get into your car. Unfortunately, travel is paid at the shortest route and this […]
Conference notes that the Pay Review Body recommendation in 2014/2015 was treated differently by the government in all four parts of the UK and led to detrimental variations in the pay rates across the countries. This was repeated in 2015/2016. The consequences for our members in Northern Ireland are that we now have the lowest […]
The NHS, which generations of Black workers helped to build, still continues to depend on their hard work. It’s the largest employer of Black people in England. Over 19% of nurses and 11% of non-medical staff in the NHS are non-white. However, too many of our members are still experiencing racist discrimination in the workplace […]
The impact of increasing demand on health workers is becoming intolerable. Staff feel less and less appreciated and under more and more pressure, and this produces a further barrier for disabled people in the workplace. Conference, we are concerned that longer shifts are particularly impacting on the ability of disabled people and women to remain […]
Conference welcomes the work carried out by the National Nursing Occupational Group through their ongoing engagement with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Conference is concerned that anecdotal evidence seems to be emerging that the NMC is no longer providing registered nurses with professional advice and guidance. The role of the NMC is to regulate the […]
Conference recognises that private contractors have sadly been a part of our NHS for a generation. This can be a major impediment to achieving UNISON’s long established policy that everyone working within healthcare are part of one NHS team. Private Contractors range from those with whom UNISON branches and activitsts can have a professional working […]
Conference, Disabled members in health are concerned about the growing number of reorganisations which are leading to down banding. In addition to down banding and with government pay restraint health workers are becoming financially worse off. Disabled members believe that the integrity of an equal pay system must be maintained for all workers but the […]
Conference notes the intention of the Welsh Government to pass legislation in relation to Nurse Staffing Levels in Wales. We welcome the intention of this legislation to ensure minimum staffing levels on hospital wards, which reflects the feedback we receive regularly from nursing members that staffing levels are often insufficient and unsafe. We also note […]
Conference with this Tory led government posing massive threats to our trade union, with the new TU Bill that’s likely to become law this will put greater risks to the excellent partnership working that hospital NHS trusts and trades unions/staff side have built up over the years and worked hard to achieve. Whilst working with […]
Conference recognises that the Government’s commitment to an Austerity Agenda combined with the increasing healthcare demands of an ageing population has led to immense financial and staffing pressures on the NHS. Conference notes that there have been attempts to reduce the Administrative and Clerical workforce, particularly as technological advances have meant that more and more […]
This conference supports the integration of health and social care. Integration is the way forward in order to provide a more efficient service for patients/service users, especially in times of imposed economic austerity. Integration is about ensuring that those who use services get the right care and support, whatever their needs, at any point in […]