Violence and Aggression in the NHS

We welcome the work that has already been undertaken to raise awareness of violence within the NHS. The Governments introduction of zero tolerance is a good place to start but does not reflect challenges that the NHS faces today. In recent press we have seen nurses and healthcare support workers attacked in their place of […]

Enforcement of the Pay not Poverty Campaign for Student Nurses and Midwives

This conference recognises nursing and midwifery students as valued members of our union. It sees the potential of working with nursing and midwifery student members during their training to ensure their continued membership throughout their careers. Conference acknowledges the work that has already taken place to campaign for a salary for student nurses and midwives […]

Integrated Care – Health and Social Services

This Conference reaffirms its policy of opposition to the establishment of Care Trusts, and in particular expresses its concern over plans to create specialised services in the form of Children’s Trusts and Care Trusts for elderly people’s services. This Conference is committed to the use of Health Act Flexibilities, including Section 31 Partnerships, as being […]

Community Health Council

This Conference notes that the government reneged on its undertaking to treat Community Health Council staff in the same manner as those affected by Shifting The Balance Of Power. This Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to demand the government stick to its promises in any future dealings with NHS staff.

NHS Pension Scheme – Ill Health Retirement

This conference notes that the NHS Pensions Agency has contracted SEMA to provide medical advice on applications for ill health retirement. Conference further notes that there has been a widespread and systematic shift away from approving ill health retirement applications with cases which would have formally been accepted, being turned down on medical grounds. SEMA […]

Privatisation and the Two Tier Workforce

Conference supports UNISON’s committment to well funded publicly owned, publicly controlled and democratically accountable public services and notes our opposition to privatisation (Positively Public Campaign). Conference notes UNISON’s ongoing campaign to put an end to the two tier workforce which results when private contractors employ new staff on different contracts, usually on far worse terms […]

Black Women and Employment

Conference notes the TUC’s report “Black and Excluded” which looks at black workers and pay. The report notes that black women are disproportionately represented in certain sectors such as public health, education services and textiles, which are traditionally low paid sectors. Within these sectors black women are further disadvantaged by being concentrated in lower graded […]

Employment Rights for Women with Premature Babies

Under the current legislation, a woman giving birth to a premature baby that requires hospitalisation finds she has the same amount of maternity leave as the mother of a baby that can go home. This Conference recognises the additional stress on mothers and their families trying to cope with babies who have yet to come […]

Survival of the Prettiest

Conference is appalled at the body image of women promoted and marketed from the latter part of the 20th century as the one to which all women should aspire. Not only is this body image unachievable but more crucially it serves to support the rising sales of cosmetics and personal care products. Conference agrees that […]

Women in Sport

Conference is concerned about the continuing invisibility of women in sport. Despite what may be considered to be saturation coverage of sporting events by terrestrial, cable and satellite television, very little of this coverage is of women’s sport. Indeed it could be argued that sport on TV has become synonymous with men’s sport, and the […]

Motion for Initiating a UNISON campaign on a Woman’s Right to Choose

This Conference reaffirms its commitment to support UNISON’s campaign for a woman’s right to choose In recent years there has been an upsurge of anti-abortion activity by so called “pro-life” campaigners. This has been aided and abetted by the popular media and misinformation about abortion. Some NHS Trusts no longer offer abortion after 14 weeks, […]

Car Jacking

This Conference is alarmed at the rapid increase of car jacking incidents taking place, often against women drivers. Many women are lone workers, collecting pensions and shopping for the elderly and housebound. This puts them at greater risk. Also, many women lead extremely busy lives, working, shopping and ferrying children around, so it’s no wonder […]

Fair Rights for Carers

Statistics show that the majority of carers are women. The results of The General Household Survey 1995 (completed five yearly), the latest published in 1998 gave the following statistics: 1)One adult in 8 is a carer and one in 6 households (16%) contains a carer; 2)There are 5.7 million carers overall in Great Britain; 3)1.7 […]

Abortion Pill/Safer Sex

The Conference welcomes the decision of the Government to allow RU486 (or Mifepristone) to be used by women who have chosen an early abortion. RU486 is a steroid hormone similar in structure to the natural hormone progesterone. It is widely used in France and now accounts for about 30% of all French abortions. RU486 can […]

UNISON Expenses Prevent Equality

This Conference is aware that one of the founding principles of UNISON was to have reached proportionality and fair representation by the year 2002, whilst this goal has not been achieved we recognise that there has been progress – principally that delegations from branches to national/regional events are now expected to achieve proportionality and fair […]