This energy conference notes that, In the past year we have experienced a cost of living crisis which has placed many energy customers in increasingly difficult circumstances. Fuel poverty is on the rise and many households are having to choose between eating or heating. It is making people more stressed and anxious and at times […]
Conference motions
Universities are autonomous organisations, delivering higher education and research, with the freedom to manage their own finances, subject to regulation. Each institution is different, with a complex mix of income streams depending on the nature of the students it teaches, the quantity and perceived quality of research it conducts to drive research income, and the […]
Higher education pay has fallen behind. Since 2009 our pay has lost around 28% of its value as a result of below inflation cost-of-living rises year on year. The extreme increase in prices during 2022 has brought this to a crisis point, and UNISON members working in Higher Education are facing real hardship as a […]
Conference believes that everyone deserves to be paid a real living wage. We call upon the National Higher Education Service Group Executive to ensure that in the next round of The New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES) negotiations a pay spine is proposed and promoted by UNISON representatives in which the lowest […]
Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022. Throughout the year we saw renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in society, including those in the Higher Education service group. We used the year to highlight the important contribution our disabled members make to […]
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives people the right to request information from universities. The Act aims to promote a culture of transparency and accountability, and therefore facilitate better understanding of how the universities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend public money and that […]
Higher Education professional support staff across the country provide a vital service to our universities and students by carrying out hugely varied roles across our Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), though too often this work is not given the recognition it deserves by employers. UNISON has a brilliant membership benefits package. There are opportunities to promote […]
The primary role of UNISON, or any Trade Union, is to use the collective power of its members to deliver lasting and significant improvements to pay, pension rights and working conditions. We cannot help but be mindful of, and worried for the health and wellbeing of our members in HE, facing as they have been […]
Conversion therapy refers to the practise of attempting to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity. There are many different techniques, both physical and mental, that can include talking therapies and prayer, but more extreme forms can include exorcism, physical violence such as electric shocks and testosterone injections. There is no reliable scientific evidence that […]
Conference notes that it has been some years since HERA was introduced as the tool for role analysis in the majority of UK universities as part of the National Framework Agreement. As part of that many UNISON activists were trained and accredited as HERA Role Analysts to support members wishing to have their roles evaluated, […]
We are all aware of the crisis we are facing in the energy industry. With energy cost increases set to continue, the invasion of Ukraine on the 24th February 2022 and continued sanctions on Russia causing gas shortages as well as the continued rise of inflation. It is no wonder that we are seeing more […]
Since de-regulation we have seen many suppliers come and go within the energy industry and while this was seen as a good thing competitively, there was little thought about the impacts on the energy workforce which has seen thousands of good jobs lost from the suppliers with strong union agreements in place. While inadequate regulations […]
This energy service group Conference notes that significant changes are happening within National Grid that will impact UNISON members who work for the company. These changes include the purchase of WPD (western power distribution) the disposal of its Gas Transmission business and the possible disposal of the electricity system operator function. As a result of […]
The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the energy service group, supporting and representing our trans members effectively Attacks on trans rights have escalated further in the past year. There has been a sustained attack on Stonewall’s […]
Conference recalls that the “UNISON Energy workers and the drive to Net Zero and Carbon Neutrality by 2050” motion passed at the 2021 Energy conference highlighted the measures promoted by the service group which would retain and promote members jobs in the energy sector while driving the changes necessary to decarbonise energy and called on […]