Sexual harassment – more work to do

Conference welcomes the announcement by the UK government in July 2021 that it will introduce a new duty on employers to protect all their staff from sexual harassment at work and protections for workers harassed by clients or customers as well as colleagues. This announcement came as part of the government’s published response to the […]

Mental Health, Homelessness and LGBT+ Young People

Conference notes that in the past two years through a confluence of multiple crises including a global pandemic, a massive shift in the economy, and rising unjust violence against the Black Community, that Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Plus (LGBT+) young people everywhere faced issues that changed their lives. Unfortunately, we’ve seen these issues negatively impact […]

Climate change and young LGBT+ members

We are at a defining moment when it comes to climate change. Its impacts are global in scope and unparalleled. Climate change will affect every one of us on the planet, but its effects will not be the same for all. Greta Thunberg’s school strikes and climate strikes supported by the Trade Union movement are […]

Young workers, burnout, and mentally healthly workplaces

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, […]

Deficiencies in the protection of operational staff in the water sector from exposure to COVID-19

This conference notes that the health, safety and wellbeing of workers providing services in the Water, Environment and Transport Sectors � as well as in the other more prominent sectors such as Health – has been paramount to UNISON during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to be into the future. The Water Industry Sector […]

Education Support Staff and the Need for Comprehensive State Education

UNISON believes in integrated free comprehensive education, which provides lifelong learning for all across the UK. Everyone should have access to an education system that best fits their own unique talents and abilities. Diversity is a strength and should be celebrated. UNISON will continue to fight for equity and equality of opportunity for people to […]

Local Government and Climate Breakdown

Conference recognises that: 1)The impacts of the climate emergency are already evident and have profoundly altered human and natural systems; 2)In the UK, we are witnessing more frequent and extreme weather events. In 2019, our communities experienced flooding and also summer heatwaves that resulted in nearly 900 excess deaths. There were more UK wildfires in […]

The Future of Local Government

Local councils across the UK have suffered huge funding cuts over the last decade. We have seen significant changes to the funding mechanism for local government, the functions councils carry out and thanks to devolution the actual make-up of local government. Throughout this time UNISON has sought to stop these cuts and highlighted the resulting […]

MENOPAUSE

Roughly half of UK workers are women, all of whom will experience the menopause in some form. Conference notes that the definition of menopause is a lack of menstruation for one full year. It usually begins between the ages of 45 and 55 but it can develop before or after this age range.In the UK, […]

SUPPORTING REPS WHO OFFER WORKPLACE SUPPORT WOMEN AFFECTED BY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Conference notes the research conducted by Bennett, Jones and Wibberley in 2018 for the TUC and University of Central Lancashire on �The role of trade union officers and reps in supporting employees who are experiencing domestic violence/abuse. This calls for resources and support to be directed towards giving union reps the skills required to provide […]

Branch Women’s Officer Role

Conference note that following a rule change passed at National Delegates Conference 2018, Rule G 4.1.1 states that a Women�s Officer shall be one of the general officers of the branch. It is unknown how many branches are adhering to this new rule change, therefore, conference calls on the National Women�s Committee to:1)Undertake a survey […]

Stalking

The crime of stalking can be simply described as the unwanted pursuit of another person. Examples of this type of behaviour includes following a person, appearing at a person’s home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a person’s property. Stalking is a horrific crime which can […]

Women Supporting Women: Feminist Leadership

We embrace the increasing number of women in leadership roles within society and we hope to see this trend continue, given that men are still disproportionately represented in senior decision making roles. However, there are sadly many examples, including our women Prime Ministers to date, of women failing to advance the equality of women when […]

Health & Safety Testing – A world built for men

For too long, women have been forgotten in the design process. Criado Perez�s recent book �Invisible Women� explains how men�s dominance of the design industry has had a major impact on women�s health and safety.Not only do less women than men work in the design industry, designs are generally created with men in mind, and […]

Early Miscarriage Misery

Women�s conference notesEarly miscarriage happens in the first trimester of a woman�s pregnancy.Many employers do not recognise early miscarriage under their sickness procedure.Figures gathered by the Miscarriage Association show that 250,000 women in the UK suffer from a miscarriage. This equates to 1 in 4 women.The signs of a miscarriage differ to each person but […]