Black Women and Mental Health.

Maternal mental health is a crucial aspect of a woman’s well-being and can impact on the early experiences of bonding with their child(ren) and their own experience of motherhood. According to ‘The Motherhood Group’, Black maternal mental health should be a priority focus across government, health and social care policy development and wider society. Black […]

Violence Against Black Women and Black Girls is Unison’s Business

Conference notes that violence against women and girls is defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. […]

Gender equality and the human rights of women and LGBT+ persons

Conference, gender equality is at the very heart of human rights and United Nations values. Equality and non-discrimination are fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, adopted by world leaders in 1945. Yet millions of women and LGBT+ persons around the world continue to experience discrimination in the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and […]

There Is No Honour In Killing Or Abuse

This Conference notes that: Statistics show that there is at least one so called honour based killing per month in the UK with 7,000 recorded incidents of abuse. Although many believe the actual numbers are far higher. Honour killings and abuse take place when a woman or girl is murdered or abused due to the […]

Housing Is A Women’s Issue

Conference notes: Women are disadvantaged compared to men in terms of housing in many ways. On average, women have lower incomes and less capital than men. As a result, they tend to be disadvantaged in a housing system where access to housing is largely determined through the market. Women heads of household, lone-parent households, and […]

Campaign re Student Loans as Affecting Pregnant and Caring Women

Women should not have to worry about their student loan when they are absent from work due to pregnancy or childcare. In the Netherlands, payments and interest are paused during maternity leave. We call upon the National Women’s Committee to launch a campaign to seek legal changes to the student loan scheme. Payments and interest […]

Impact of Fuel costs on Women

Conference, many of our women members some of whom are disabled are on low pay, working part time and living on a limited budget. A significant number of these women work in social care, for the NHS, local authorities, or private care companies. Conference notes that caring responsibilities also disproportionately fall on women. The massive […]

Flexible working access for all

Flexible working is a way for workers to change their working hours to suit their needs. For example, having the flexibility to change their start and finishing times, compress their weekly hours/ days or even work from home. There are many reasons why women would need or want flexible working. One reason is that caring […]

Black Women’s Maternity Care

Conference is extremely concerned that in 2023 Black women are still five times more likely to die in childbirth or shortly afterwards. Women of mixed ethnicity have 3 times the risk, and Asian women almost twice the risk. Black women are also at an increased risk of having a pre-term birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or […]

Step Aside, Brother!

Conference, it’s a well-known fact that our union is made up of 80% women and that there are 5.5 million unionised workers in the UK. Women make up half the UK workforce. So why are women still so underrepresented in our union structures and in our union visibility? UNISON collectively gives voice to working people […]

LET’S MAKE CARE WORK – A NATIONAL CARE SERVICE FOR ENGLAND

Conference welcomes UNISON’s new campaign “Let’s Make Care Work” which is campaigning for a National Care Service in England. Plans for a National Care Service for England were first presented 13 years ago by the last Labour government shortly before it’s election defeat. Since then, adult social care and support has gone downhill fast and […]

Amendment to Standing Orders

Amendment to Standing Orders In Standing Order number 8, motions and amendments insert a new section *.1 to read as follows: “8.1 Motions and amendments may be submitted to Conference by the following bodies: • Branch Retired Members’ groups • Regional Retired Members’ groups • National Retired members’ Committee • Retired Members’ Womens’ caucus • […]

Tackling Pensioner Poverty

Conference notes with real concern the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has impacted significantly on the costs of food and energy particularly. Conference notes that for older people on fixed, low incomes, rising costs place them under great financial pressure. Conference notes that increasing numbers of pensioners in Northern Ireland are living in poverty, […]

National, Regional and Local Transport:

Given the current disarray in the provision of Public Transport, with cutbacks, cancellations etc. the model of privatised services has shown itself to be totally unsuited to the needs of the populace (particularly the needs of the older population). We therefore commit ourselves to a different model of Public Transport (eg, buses, trains etc.), one […]

Justice for the Windrush Generation

Justice for the Windrush Generation Conference is extremely concerned at the continuing detriment suffered by retired members (or their heirs) who migrated to the United Kingdom in the 1950’s and 1960s, mostly from the Caribbean, who comprise the “Windrush Generation named after the ship, Empire Windrush which sailed from Jamaica to the UK exactly seventy […]