Conference reaffirms our opposition to the sustained attack on local public services and the public service workers who deliver them – including brutal cuts to local government funding made by a Tory-led government pursuing an ideological agenda that rivals the Thatcher attack on councils in the 1980’s. Despite David Cameron saying councils were “officially the […]
Conference motions
Conference recognises that the role our shop stewards play in supporting members at work through discipline, grievance, absence procedures, changes to jobs, etc. can be very stressful on the individual stewards themselves. We recognise that stewards are often supporting members who have significant mental health issues. This can include members who consider suicide. The pressure […]
Conference condemns the Tory-led Coalition Government’s plans to split the probation service to create a small national probation agency for England and Wales to manage high risk cases whilst leaving the majority of the work to the private sector. The plans would see the dismantling of the 35 current probation trusts, who will not be […]
Conference notes with concern the increasing number of trade union activists who are being victimised under this Tory-led government. We believe there will be an increasing number of victimised trade union reps, because we are at the forefront of defending the public sector from the cuts we all face. We must learn the lessons of […]
Currently no employer has a specific procedure for supporting workers mental health conditions and/or disabilities. Conference agrees that UNISON, as a union, should develop a good example of such a procedure, covering both temporary and long term hidden mental health conditions. In addition, that we will commit to work with employers to promote appropriate, quality […]
Conference notes that the UK is suffering from an acute housing crisis, with rents soaring and house building grinding to a halt as a direct result of the recession, whilst the number of new households is increasing faster than the number of new builds. Against a background of mounting debt across the country, huge numbers […]
Conference notes with massive concern the ongoing savage cuts in public expenditure as a result of the Tory-led coalition government’s dogmatic pursuit of its austerity agenda. These policies have already led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs across the public sector as a whole with estimates that the overall number of public […]
Conference notes in the last three years energy companies have increased their profits by 74%. Last year Npower alone announced a profit of £766 million, yet in the further pursuit of profit Npower announced 1,400 staff would be sacked. Conference further notes: 1)That at the same time a TUC report last year showed that over […]
All across the UK women have seen their standard of living fall since this government came to power. Their jobs and pay cut and the services they rely on severely affected by the Coalition government’s austerity measures. It is now more important than ever that UNISON as an organisation of women workers stands up for […]
Conference notes that in 1999 the Labour government brought in the national minimum wage. This benefited approximately two million people and boosted the economy; it did not cause the job losses the Tories had said it would, and improved the lives of many. Conference believes that at a time when austerity and spending cuts are […]
Political decisions have an enormous impact on the lives of our members. In seeking to promote and defend the interests of our members it is legitimate that we attempt to influence who is in a position to take such decisions and what decisions they take. It would be a disservice to our members if we […]
HCAs feel undervalued and under the spotlight. HCAs perform one of the most important caring roles; they provide the frontline fundamentals of care, including bathing, helping vulnerable people to eat and go to the bathroom with dignity. Statistics show that HCAs and other support worker roles deliver up to 60% of direct patient care and […]
Both the UK government and all devolved governments in the UK have a statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity. Most recently the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) concluded that the UK Government had failed to take steps to ensure that there was even application of equality requirements. Agenda for […]
Conference notes the alarming expansion of privatisation within the English NHS. For example, the NHS Support Federation found that the private sector had won 21 of the first 25 NHS contracts awarded since April 2013, and it has been estimated that £5bn of NHS work is now up for grabs. Since the abolition of the […]
Conference recognises that in the run-up to the general election, all political parties will be setting out their policies on the NHS including the structures in the four countries and the ideological differences behind them; the different approaches to integration with social care, and outcomes for patients and the way that serious complaints are handled. […]