Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution

Conference congratulates and supports the colossal advances being made by the Venezuelan Revolution under President Hugo Chavez in carrying out policies, which benefit working people, the poor and the landless. Conference recognises that the nine electoral victories won by Hugo Chavez since 1998, provides the Revolution with an overwhelming mandate. This reflects the overwhelming support […]

No Trident Replacement

National Delegate Conference notes: 1)the Trident submarine nuclear weapons system was introduced into Britain in 1994 and will reach the end of its life in 2024. The system is composed of four nuclear-armed submarines, each carrying up to 48 nuclear warheads. Each warhead has an explosive power of up to 100 kilotons – eight times […]

The Best Education for All

Conference reiterates its policy and belief that children, families and communities are best served by a secondary system that is comprehensive, free of selection and accountable to local people through Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and condemns the government for effectively turning education (a social and cultural aspect of society) into a market, eroding the potential […]

Council Housing

Conference notes with alarm the increasingly desperate situation with housing supply and the ongoing decline of council housing. There are now over 100,000 households in temporary accommodation awaiting rehousing; roughly half a million households on council waiting lists and rising numbers of people living in increasingly overcrowded, poor and unsanitary conditions. Households are now paying […]

Public Services

Conference records that the last Spending Review by the Chancellor committed an extra £60 billion to public services up to 2008, with £40 billion going to the National Health Service (NHS). Despite this growth, and accompanying increases in public sector jobs, there has been a misguided efficiency drive and marketisation strategy that is leading to […]

Organising for the Future – UNISON’s Strategy for Inter Union Relations

Conference reaffirms UNISON’s founding vision that our Union should organise all employees working directly or indirectly in the provision of public services in the United Kingdom. UNISON believes that strong union organisation is the best way to safeguard quality public services and workplace rights. Conference notes the continuing merger and realignment of trade unions, nationally […]

Threatened Hospital Closures

Many hospitals and accident and emergency departments are being threatened with closure. This will increase the distance that a lot of elderly people, who do not have their own transport and have to rely on other more costly means, have to travel to get to the alternative establishments. Also a lot of pensioners live on […]

Proportional Representation at Retired Members’ Conference

Retired Members’ Conference 2003 passed a motion which instructed the National Retired Members’ Committee to submit proposals to the 2004 Conference, to establish a fair quota system for branch attendance at future Retired Members’ Conferences. No proposals were submitted to that Conference. Conference, therefore, instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee to implement a quota system […]

Rule Q Definitions

In Q Fair Representation Delete all and replace with “Fair representation is the broad balance of representation of members of the electorate, taking into account such factors as age and low pay, the balance between full time and part time workers, manual and non-manual workers, different occupations, skills, race, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity.”

Regional Governance in England

Conference acknowledges the result of the North East referendum on an elected Regional Assembly in 2004 as the democratic will of the electorate. While Conference recognises the result and the concerns it represents in relation to elected assemblies we are disappointed that the ‘no’ vote was largely based on the pessimistic and business orientated arguments […]

Public Services

The government’s reform agenda for public services is being rolled out at an alarming rate and will radically and irreversibly change the provision and management of public services. Issues and proposals of concern include: 1)in health: a)proposals to re-organise strategic health authorities and fundamentally primary care trusts (PCTs) as part of ‘Commissioning a Patient led […]

UNISON Learning and Organising

Conference welcomes the continuing successful integration of education and learning issues within the union’s organising strategy, recognising that union education and training is a vital part of achieving organisational change and growth. UNISON’s educational resources have a major part to play in: 1)supporting recruitment and organising initiatives at branch and workplace level; 2)developing a new […]

Rule D1.3.1 National Delegate Conference: Composition

D1.3.1 & D1.3.2 Insert after “thereof” “as at 30 September in the year preceding the conference” P8.2 insert after “membership” “as at 30 September in the year preceding the conference”

Public Policy and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity

Conference notes with concern the recent findings of the Commission for Racial Equality on the spectacular failure of government departments and public bodies to meet, in the most elementary way, the statutory duty on the promotion of racial equality. This failure impacts on UNISON members as service users and employees. Application of a similar but […]

Palestine and Israel

Conference welcomes the recent UNISON delegation to Palestine and Israel to see first-hand the reality of the situation on the ground and to discuss what support UNISON can give to our sister trade unions. Conference reaffirms policy adopted at National Delegate Conference in 2005. Conference notes that the political situation in both Palestine and Israel […]