G 4.1.1 Add after: “Women’s Officer (who must be a woman)”: “Environmental Officer (also known as Green rep)”
Conference motions
Conference notes that even before the pandemic mental health and stress at work were among the leading issues raised by young workers. Conference notes that the pandemic has only exacerbated young workers’ concerns about mental health, whether that is due to working in stressful conditions on the front line, or due to isolation from friends, […]
Next year, in 2023, UNISON will celebrate 30 years as a trade union. At its creation, UNISON became a union with the majority of its members being women and from the start put rules in place to ensure proportionality. Delegates to UNISON conferences and committees across all its structures ensure that two-thirds of those nominated […]
Conference notes with alarm and shock the report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), into the abhorrent and discriminatory workplace culture at Charing Cross Police Station that was published on 1 February 2022. The report identified the exchange of hateful and offensive messages between a group of 19 police officers. Numerous messages were […]
Conference is deeply concerned at the violence, including threats and physical violence, that is shown towards those working in local government. The latest Health & Safety Executive statistics show that around 307,000 adults of working age in employment experienced violence at work, with an estimated 688,000 individual incidents of violence. According to the Labour Force […]
Recent pay campaigns across the UK have demonstrated that we need to do much more in order to build the confidence of our members in challenging bad practice by their employers. We know that pay matters to members, who have suffered years of austerity, pay cuts/freezes and threats to jobs/services, but they often do not […]
Despite efforts to eradicate misogyny, discrimination, bullying, sexism, aggression and intimidation in our workplaces, society and in our union, we still have a long way to go. If we are to achieve a truly equal society, we must consider what more needs to be done within our own movement. UNISON with over one million women […]
The school system has continued to fragment away from local authorities with the expansion of academies and large Multi Academy Trusts (MATs). Conference notes that Local Authorities have been consistently undermined by the government to drive maintained schools to convert. Strategies have ranged from temporary MAT membership for schools that are ‘nervous’ about joining Trusts, […]
In March 2020 thousands of workers across the UK adapted to a new way of working by taking into their own homes the employers’ equipment in order for services to continue. Our frontline workers such as social care and care at home staff have continued to provide vital and lifesaving care to their clients, whilst […]
Conference notes that the Covid-19 pandemic saw a revolution in home working in local government workplaces. Although it is important to remember that home working should be a choice and not compulsory, it has brought benefits for many local government workers in terms of work-life balance. Parents and carers have been better able to combine […]
Conference notes that UNISON has declared 2022 the Year of Disabled Workers. This is a great opportunity for local government branches to organise, bargain and campaign on the issues that matter to our disabled members and to increase recruitment and retention as a result. Local government branches can use 2022 to highlight the experience of […]
The grief, anxiety and depression children have experienced during the pandemic is welling over into classrooms and hallways, resulting in crying and disruptive behaviour in many younger kids and increased violence and bullying among adolescents. For many other children, who keep their sadness and fear inside, the pressures of school have become too great. Good […]
Conference notes that energy employers have reported many difficulties in recruiting into a wide range of roles within the energy sector. It is also known that in some parts of the sector the workforce is ageing, and more workers are retiring than being replaced. This is adding to workforce fatigue and an over reliance on […]
Conference notes with extreme concern the decisions taken by UNISON National Executive Council to change UNISON rules without National Delegate Conference approval as set out in the Rule Book. While the National Executive Council has power to interpret rules, the power to change them is vested solely in the National Delegate Conference, the supreme democratic […]
All too often these days we see our council-run local government services are being outsourced, privatised or moved to wholly owned/arm’s length companies. The setting up of these new companies, including social enterprises is frequently sold to branches and staff as nothing to be concerned about. In some circumstances the process can take place with […]