Universal Credit

The Government’s proposed Universal Credit scheme, one of their flagship policies, is intended to consolidate benefits and tax credits into one single payment, thereby reducing complexity and administration costs significantly. The Government claim is that the new scheme will provide a greater incentive for people on benefits to work and ensure that they do not […]

Endometriosis – campaign for early diagnosis to improve girls’ education and future

Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the womb lining is found outside the uterus. It affects an estimated 10% of women of childbearing age and has affected girls as young as 11 years. Its cause is unknown and diagnosis difficult and for those who suffer from the condition it can be chronic […]

Anti Abortion Groups

Conference is deeply disappointed that members of the anti-abortion group Abort67 have been found not guilty at Brighton Magistrates Court of public order offences for displaying material that is ‘threatening abusive or insulting’ outside the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Wistons clinic in Brighton. South East Regional women’s group disagree with this ruling. If a […]

Representation of Women in the Media

The recent submission by women’s groups to the Leveson inquiry highlighted the relentless sexual objectification of women and girls in the press while topics such as rape and trafficking continue to be trivialised and made into a joke and women are still being blamed for being sexually assaulted. Actress and author Lucy Holmes is creator […]

68 is too late

Conference notes with concern that the Government wants to increase the state pension age to 68. This will mean that the United Kingdom will have the highest retirement age in Europe. The proposed changes to the state pension age are disproportionately impacting on the lives of women. The accelerated state pension age rise for women […]

PRIVATISATION AND HOMECARE SERVICE

Conference condemns the ongoing political drive to increase the proportion of domiciliary care jobs, which are done by women, being outsourced to the private sector. All the evidence shows that the privatisation of domiciliary care services results in reduced service provision to the most vulnerable and the reduction in the terms and conditions of our […]

Our tradition is equality and human rights – not oppression

Conference notes with concern that in September 2012 the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted a resolution from Russia which linked human rights to ‘traditional values’ by a vote of 25 in favour and 15 against, with 7 states abstaining. This resolution was an unmistakable attempt to try to block the progress of women’s […]

Campaigning against the cuts in women’s services – Supporting women’s voluntary and community sector organisations

Women are being doubly hit by the economic down turn and essential services are at risk of closure as a result of this government’s policies. Women’s organisations in the third sector are large employers of women and their closure leads to a loss of specialist knowledge and expertise as well as jobs and services for […]

Lack of equality in Women’s Sport

Conference, 80% of women and girls in the UK are not playing enough sport or doing enough exercise to benefit their health. The success of Team GB’s women athletes at London 2012 was inspirational. With the exception of Jess Ennis or Victoria Pendleton how many others are household names? From participation in grassroots sport to […]

Universal Credit and its effect on Child Poverty

Conference is aware of the growing issue of child poverty. There are 3.6 million children in poverty in the UK today, that’s more than 1 in 4 of our children. Although the issue of child poverty affects working families, 90% of single parent families are women and are therefore more likely to be welfare dependant. […]

GENDER SPECIFIC HEALTH PROBLEMS/ISSUES

In a number of work places gender specific illnesses/conditions are dealt with outside the absence/sickness policies. This type of forward thinking for conditions ie IVF, hysterectomy, gynaecological problems, to name but a few. These conditions mainly affect women and are in the one-off illnesses from which most women recover completely. It would therefore save time […]

OVARIAN CANCER – THE SILENT KILLER

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK, affecting around 6,800 women. It is the highest gynaecological killer of women in the UK and the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in women, with two out of every three cases of ovarian cancer being diagnosed when the disease […]

Equal Rights for both Intended Parents in Surrogacy

Conference notes that despite surrogacy being legal in the United Kingdom the intended parents have few legal rights unless they happen to be male. An intended father can gain shared parental responsibility as soon as the child is born by the child being registered in his name, with him named on the birth certificate as […]

Support rape victims not rape deniers

Conference notes that the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is wanted in Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Conference further notes that a UK Court approved the extradition of Assange to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault, but that he has now been granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in […]

Proportionality

Conference notes UNISON’s proud record on working towards equality both in its internal structures and in its bargaining and campaigning agenda. Conference notes that one of the key strategies for UNISON to achieve equality of representation and engagement within UNISON has been proportionality. Proportionality is defined as “the representation of women and men in fair […]