Last year’s conference motion on Ovarian Cancer would have been a wake up call to women members unware of the necessity of early detection of ovarian cancer for there to be any reasonable chance of effective treatment. To be told one has cancer is terrifying enough, but for those whose cancers have no immediate symptoms […]
Conference motions
Conference will be aware that for some time we have been seeing in the public sector the increase in zero hours or permanent variable hours contracts, the majority of those being placed on such contracts are women. Sunderland Local Authority, in the Northern Region has been using variable contracts as a means of avoiding compulsory […]
Every year at National Women’s Conference we come together to debate motions, to listen and learn from each other, develop and set UNISON policy and direction. We debate motions on all sorts of issues that affect the lives and work of women. In recent years for example delegates have debated motions about domestic abuse, about […]
With the dramatic end of the Gaddafi regime, Libya has the chance for a different future, one that contains real freedoms and liberty for all its citizens and potentially many changes for the lives of Libyan women. Women have been significant in the struggle for a new and free Libya; taking to the streets in […]
In London 1684-1694 there was an important innovation. This was in the form of public street lighting and was part of a movement across Europe. It was an important innovation because it enabled business, leisure time and daily life to go beyond the confines of daylight hours which was previously bound by a curfew. Having […]
It is a sad truth that opportunities for capitalising on the success of union activity within the recent Arab uprisings have mostly been missed by the mainstream press. Some of you may have read, in tiny snippets, or in specialist media that unions have been a powerful element in generating the Arab Spring. In some […]
Conference notes with concern the increasing numbers of looked after children in the UK. Since 2006 the number has increased by 13%, and continues to grow year on year. The reasons for children being looked after are complex, but they include abuse, neglect, parental substance abuse, disability and involvement in the youth justice system. Poverty, […]
Conference notes with concern that research published by the False Economy campaign in August 2011 showed that numerous support services for women were having their funding cut or withdrawn, according to data gathered from 265 Local Authorities in England. Services in other parts of the UK are similarly under threat. Research has demonstrated that there […]
Conference notes that the coalition government’s measures to reduce the deficit are steadily undermining the hard-won gains of women in the workplace and in society: 1)At least 65% of public sector workers are women – cuts in public sector jobs, wages and services will therefore impact on women more than men; 2)Women’s unemployment is now […]
Conference notes with concern that the proposed changes to public sector pension schemes and the state retirement age are disproportionately impacting on the lives of women. Women are already statistically more likely to have lower pensions, primarily due to time taken out of the workplace and part-time working to meet caring responsibilities, and low pay […]
Women’s Conference confirms UNISON’s backing of Campaign for Better Transport’s campaign ‘Save our Buses’. An increasing number of local authorities have looked to save money by reducing the number of socially necessary and school bus services they support because of cuts to government funding. Once again, as statistics show that women use buses far more […]
Conference notes that women rely disproportionately on state funded legal advice services for civil law cases (sixty two per cent of applications being made by women, especially in areas like education and law). Legal aid will be cut for welfare benefits, education and medical negligence advice and severely reduced for debt, unemployment, family law, housing […]
This Conference is proud of the reputation that UNISON has on International work. In the Greater London Region, the Regional Women’s Committee (RWC) has been developing links with the Nicaraguan Communal Movement (NCM), through the Nicaraguan Solidarity Campaign, and in 2010 co sponsored the development of a social project for the improvement in living conditions […]
Mary Seacole was born Mary Jane Grant in 1805 to a free black Jamaican woman. Her mother ran a boarding house for British soldiers and sailors in the capital city, Kingston. Her mother was known as a “doctoress” and passed on much of her knowledge of healing, using the arts of Creole medicine. In 1836 […]
As the economic vice bites deeper and the whole world struggles to maintain status quo on everything from stability in the stock markets to coping with the effect of massive unemployment, there will always be a type of entrepreneur to exploit natural resources and turn a profit. These people pride themselves in supplying a rare […]