The conference notes that the Coalition Government launched the Green Deal in Jan 2013. This supposed deal was introduced to encourage households to make their homes more energy efficient by having works carried out with little upfront cost but instead paying the costs via energy bills over a many years. As well as the potential […]
Conference motions
Conference welcomes the publication last year of the UNISON Call Centre Charter, which seeks to establish a decency agenda, allowing members to work effectively and efficiently in a safe working environment. The Charter was based on research on call centres and call handling operations by Professor Charlotte Rayner of Portsmouth University, who has a distinguished […]
Conference welcomes progress made by UNISON over many years in negotiating for equality in our energy workplaces. However, conference is concerned that equality considerations fall down the agenda in the face of cuts, reorganisations and redundancies. Conference is further concerned that transgender workers face particularly extreme discrimination when seeking work and once in work. To […]
Conference notes that the Government is proposing to allow companies to override the pension protections which were implemented when the Electricity Industry was privatised. These guarantees were one of the few protections won by trade unions during the Thatcher government’s relentless drive to privatise public services. The 1990 Electricity Regulations prevent private employers from reducing […]
This Conference notes that the Government is proposing to allow companies to override the pension protections which were implemented when the Electricity Industry was privatised. These guarantees were one of the few protections won by trade unions during the Thatcher government’s relentless drive to privatise public services. The 1990 Electricity Regulations prevent private employers from […]
Conference welcomes the UNISON call centre charter, launched in 2012, which calls on all employers who have UNISON members working in a call centre or in call handling operations to commit to improving the standards which those staff operate under. This includes ensuring that staff are able to take sufficient breaks away from the workstation […]
UNISON welcomed the publication of the new call centre charter, launched last year by Professor Charlotte Rainer (report author) of Portsmouth University at this conference. The continued and disproportionate levels of workplace stress, bullying and harassment which in turn leads to a higher than average level of sickness absence, is a big concern. An increasing […]
UNISON members in Northern Ireland are on the frontline of defence of the National Health Service. The Tory-led coalition’s strategy in Great Britain to weaken the provision of good health care by extracting billions of pounds in cuts has set the template for the Northern Ireland Assembly’s response to the cut in the block grant […]
Conference believes that the Equality Delivery System is a national programme designed by the NHS Equality and Diversity Council (Now the NHS Personal, Fair and Diverse Council) to ensure NHS compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and to help reduce inequalities in health and the workplace. The Equality Delivery System aims to move responsibility for […]
Conference believes Stonewall is the largest LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) charity in the UK. Stonewall has been instrumental in LGB campaigns over the last two decades on issues such as section 28, civil partnerships, adoption rights for LGB parents and campaigns for workplace protection based on sexual orientation. Stonewall has good communication with all […]
Conference believes transgender people have an extra level of legal protection when it comes to data in regards to their identity. It can be a criminal offence to not secure a transgender person’s identity data that you have obtained in a professional capacity. A breach of duty in regards to transgender staff or patient’s data […]
Conference notes with concern the many negative effects of the fragmentation of the NHS in England brought about by the NHS & Social Care Act 2012. Two aspects which have had less attention than some are the impact on NHS workforce planning and on training for NHS staff. Conference believes that if the NHS is […]
Conferences notes with concern the Francis Review’s recommendation that more health staff become registered with registrant bodies and is concerned that members who are suffering from the third year of a pay freeze could face an additional cost of registration fees. Conference therefore calls on the National Service Group Executive to mount a campaign for […]
Recent times have witnessed a slew of criticism being laid at the door of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the regulator for nurses and midwives. To summarise but a few of these issues: i)The organisation was roundly criticized for striking off nurse Margaret Heywood for her role in covert filming of care that exposed […]
UNISON has argued strongly over the last year that moving towards regional pay will be damaging to local economies, to NHS patients and to our members. Conference continues to oppose regional pay for the following key reasons: i)Regional pay will drive down pay in lower cost areas of the country. ii)Regional pay will lead to […]