Conference notes that eligibility and assessment processes for welfare benefits and public services are rapidly moving to online platforms. For example, applications for Council Tax Support, Housing Benefit, Access to Work, and Universal Credit almost invariably need to be made online. Conversely, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) can only be applied for using a paper form, […]
Conference motions
Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Energy service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s participation are vital […]
Conference is concerned to note that increasingly both branch activists and lay officials are finding themselves suffering extreme stress and anxiety when dealing with the levels of case load that they are presented with. In some cases representatives in Energy have been placed under extreme personal pressure by employers. Conference notes that these pressures on […]
With the appointment by the government of a minister who is tasked with reducing suicide rates nationally, the need for all stewards to be trained in suicide awareness has never been clearer. Suicide is everyone’s business and touches families whatever their class, age, gender or family situation. Last year nationally 6,213 people completed suicide and […]
Conference notes that ambitious targets for moving to a low carbon industry are essential in the context of climate change and our country’s commitments to the Paris agreement. Taking responsibility to limit temperature increases and avoid catastrophic global warming will require significant transformations across our economy and industry. Conference believes that Just Transition must take […]
Conference is concerned at the rapid and consistent drop in membership numbers being experienced in some branches. Conference believes that this is in part due to frequent voluntary severance exercises and people not being replaced when they retire. However, it must be noted that much of this is due to the fact that many Energy […]
Disability leave is time off from work for a reason related to someone’s disability. It is an example of a reasonable adjustment which Energy employers have a duty to provide to disabled staff under the Equality Act 2010. It is different to sick leave – in many cases the worker is not actually sick – […]
Conference notes that austerity has seen local authority spending on in work training slashed as staff development budgets have been cut back to the bone. In social care private sector providers focused on making profits provide the bare minimum of opportunities for training. There has also been a shift to online and distance learning and […]
B 2.3 Delete “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members” and insert “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) members” And D 5.1.4 Delete “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members” and insert “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) members”
Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the local government service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s participation are […]
Conference recognises the real threat of climate change to our planet. According to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change […]
Conference notes that cuts to local government services are biting ever deeper and deplores the damage they are wreaking on local services and our members who work in them. The impact on our members includes job losses, increasing severity and complexity of service user needs, and reduced pay and terms and conditions. Our members are […]
Conference notes that our members’ employed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have not had a decent pay rise since the coalition and the Conservative governments took office. Civil servants are under extreme pressure due to Brexit but are told there is no money for them. Conference also notes that government cuts and austerity have […]
UNISON in Northern Ireland represents thousands of workers in the education sector and plays a leading role at the regional bargaining tables on behalf of our members. These workers are the cooks, the cleaners, the maintenance and admin staff who are the backbone of the further education, primary and secondary school support services. Together with […]
UNISON Northern Ireland is pressing for greater transparency in the Education Funding Formula. The funding of education in our region is as complex as the governance arrangements. The total amount to be spent on schools is called general schools budget and is made up of three categories of spending: 1)The aggregated school budget available to […]