The Disability Equality Duty

This Energy Conference welcomes the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which will impose a new Disability Equality Duty upon energy employers from December 2006. We believe these duties could help reconstruct a barrier free society and provide equality of opportunity for the millions of disabled people who are in work or wanting work but who need […]

Developing an Effective LGBT Equality Strategy for Energy

Conference welcomes the growing recognition of the need to combat discrimination against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) workers and the agreements reached with some energy employers to integrate work towards LGBT equality into their equality programmes. Conference further notes that some energy employers are seeking to introduce monitoring of workers’ sexual orientation and / […]

Blood Donations in Energy Workplaces

Male Energy members who work in the electricity and gas industries who have tried to donate blood have found that the National Blood Service has a ‘blanket’ ban in place against men who have ever had sex with other men, and so they are advised in their workplaces that their blood will not be accepted […]

Women and Pensions

Conference recognises the current crisis surrounding pensions and all our futures upon retirement. We also recognise that for women the situation is far worse than that of men and are, therefore, grateful for the work that UNISON continues to do with the Fawcett Society on the inequality for women in our pensions systems. Conference welcomes […]

Trade Union Freedom Bill

Conferences recognises and welcomes the many individual rights introduced since 1997. However, Conference believes that the time is now right to progress from an individual rights agenda to one based on collective rights. With that in mind, Conference welcomes and supports the call for a Trade Union Freedom Bill. Conference recalls that 103 years ago, […]

Rule D3.7.5 Sectors

D3.7.5 Delete all

Not So Sweet Sixteen

Conference notes that there is a lack of consistency about the legal rights for young people when they reach the age of 16. At the age of 16, a person is considered old enough to pay taxes, to leave school, to marry and to join the armed forces, but not old enough to vote for […]

Regional Governance in England

Conference acknowledges the result of the North East referendum on an elected Regional Assembly in 2004 as the democratic will of the electorate. While Conference recognises the result and the concerns it represents in relation to elected assemblies we are disappointed that the ‘no’ vote was largely based on the pessimistic and business orientated arguments […]

UNISON Learning and Organising

Conference welcomes the continuing successful integration of education and learning issues within the union’s organising strategy, recognising that union education and training is a vital part of achieving organisational change and growth. UNISON’s educational resources have a major part to play in: 1)supporting recruitment and organising initiatives at branch and workplace level; 2)developing a new […]

Rule D1.3.1 National Delegate Conference: Composition

D1.3.1 & D1.3.2 Insert after “thereof” “as at 30 September in the year preceding the conference” P8.2 insert after “membership” “as at 30 September in the year preceding the conference”

PFI and Devolution – An Integrated Approach

UNISON has taken the lead in producing excellent evidence-based analysis of the fundamental damage that the private finance initiative (PFI) does to public service delivery and public service workers. It has also demonstrated that the sums do not add up and that this is not value for money. Now the chickens are coming home to […]

Rule Q Definitions

In Q Fair Representation Delete all and replace with “Fair representation is the broad balance of representation of members of the electorate, taking into account such factors as age and low pay, the balance between full time and part time workers, manual and non-manual workers, different occupations, skills, race, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity.”

Public Policy and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity

Conference notes with concern the recent findings of the Commission for Racial Equality on the spectacular failure of government departments and public bodies to meet, in the most elementary way, the statutory duty on the promotion of racial equality. This failure impacts on UNISON members as service users and employees. Application of a similar but […]

Migrant Workers: Their Rights and Our Responsibilities

Conference welcomes the work that UNISON has already done in respect of organising, representing, protecting and supporting overseas workers, particularly in the health sector where reciprocal membership agreements have already been reached with overseas trade unions. However, despite our best efforts, many migrant workers are on the receiving end of unethical and often illegal practices. […]

A Patient-Led NHS

Conference calls on the National Executive Council to reinvigorate its campaign to oppose the government’s National Health Service (NHS) policy, announced in August 2005, “A Patient Led NHS”. The title alone is misleading, as we are continually experiencing on the ground. Patients’ interests do not figure in the interpretation of this policy and our members […]