Conference welcomes the UK government’s U-turn on mandatory vaccinations, and condemns the government for creating the problem in the first place. Conference welcomes UNISON’s role in contributing to the government’s change in policy. Conference opposes any further push to extend mandatory vaccination into social care services in England. UNISON is strongly supportive of the vaccination […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that school support staff have worked tirelessly in schools throughout the pandemic to support pupils, parents, and their communities – from ensuring free school meals provision, to deep cleaning schools, to covering classes when teachers were isolating. Conference believes they are the unsung heroes who rarely get the recognition they deserve by the […]
Conference notes that UNISON members in councils, schools and across local government have been on the front line of the fight against Covid and have been instrumental in ensuring that vital public services could continue during the pandemic. This has meant they have been more exposed than most to the physical and mental impacts of […]
Conference picture someone working in the energy sector, and you are likely to mentally summon up an image of a white, middle-aged male. Although a lack of diversity isn’t unique to energy, it is an issue that needs solving. While the situation is improving, it’s not changing fast enough, recent events have rightly woken up […]
Conference, funding cuts and the government’s long-delayed plans to address social inequalities is one of the major causes of in-work poverty experienced by Black Workers and the cause of severe inter-generational inequality in Black communities. Recent funding increases have not undone £15bn of cuts in central government grants to local authorities between 2010 and 2020, […]
We are at a defining moment when it comes to climate change. Its impacts are global in scope and unparalleled. Climate change will affect every one of us on the planet, but its effects will not be the same for all. Greta Thunberg’s school strikes and climate strikes supported by the Trade Union movement are […]
Conference notes that in the past two years through a confluence of multiple crises including a global pandemic, a massive shift in the economy, and rising unjust violence against the Black Community, that Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Plus (LGBT+) young people everywhere faced issues that changed their lives. Unfortunately, we’ve seen these issues negatively impact […]
Conference notes that even before the pandemic mental health and stress at work were among the leading issues raised by young workers. Conference notes that the pandemic has only exacerbated young workers’ concerns about mental health, whether that is due to working in stressful conditions on the front line, or due to isolation from friends, […]
This conference supports the good work of the Retired members National committee in organising the National Retired Members conference. We note that over the last few years it was not possible to debate many submitted motions due to time constraints. This conference requests the NEC to work with the National Retired Members committee to investigate […]
It is becoming increasingly apparent that some Unison retired members in Branches and Regions are experiencing difficulties in communicating with colleagues as they are not computer literate or able to afford computers. Therefore, this Unison National Retired Members Conference instructs the National Retired Members Committee and calls on the National Executive Council to: 1)be aware […]
This Retired Members’ Conference recognises that ageism exists, and that ageism is a bias from one age group towards another. It includes the use of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination against people based on their age. Evidence shows ageism is widespread in society and can be found everywhere from our workplaces and health systems to the […]
The past year, particularly for pensioners, has been incredibly difficult. In its report entitled ‘As if expendable’, Amnesty International claims that during the first three months of the pandemic, thousands of pensioners died due to government incompetence. Free TV licences were withdrawn for most of those of 75 plus years, the triple lock protection on […]
Conference will recall that prior to the covid crisis there had been a series of attacks on older people’s entitlements and standards of living including: 1)The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s report, Pensions Inequality, issued in August 2018 calling for an end to defined benefit pensions for public service workers; the Taxpayers’ Alliance has since called for the […]
Conference notes that many pensioners live in poverty and have a precarious existence. Many pensioners did not have access to an occupational pension and many remain unaware that they can claim pension credit to increase their income. The UK state pension is one of the lowest in the developed world. Women are particularly affected by […]
THE IMPACT OF SERVICES MOVING ONLINE ON OLDER/ELDERLY PEOPLE Conference notes the inexorable drift towards services and activities being online which has been markedly accelerated during the covid pandemic and its impact on the older demographic. New analysis from Age UK shows that the pandemic has not in fact produced a sea change in older […]