Attack on Pensions

Retired Members will have noted with growing concern the government’s attack on both the state and public sector pension schemes. Not only are they constantly attacking the pensions in the media, but they are always doing their best to attack pension funds with statements about the public sector pensions being ‘gold plated’. If this is […]

Dental Inspection Charges

This Conference calls upon the National Retried Members’ Committee to strongly pursue and campaign to make available, for older people, free dental inspections; the same service as is currently available for eye examinations and publicise progress in UNISON publications on a regular basis.

Defending local government jobs and services for all

Conference notes the devastating impact of the local government cuts on women, Black communities, disabled people and those on the lowest incomes. The lack of data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people makes the impact on LGBT workers and communities less easy to quantify, but their impact on people’s lives is equally devastating. […]

Speaking up for LGBT equality in a time of local government cuts

Conference deplores the unprecedented attacks on the rights of local government workers, on our terms and conditions and indeed on our very employment. Conference notes that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers have been among the last to gain the protection of the law. Seeking to avoid anti-LGBT discrimination has therefore been an important […]

Defend the Green Book

Conference agrees that National Joint Council (NJC) agreements enshrined in the “Green Book” form the very basis of Local Government workers terms and conditions, especially those covered in Part 2. We value our leave arrangements and believe that our sick pay arrangements protect members who are ill from having to survive in poverty. Over a […]

Stop the Attacks on Local Government Services

Conference notes that the ConDem government has refused to reduce the national deficit by alternative methods e.g. increasing taxation levels on multi-nationals, the implementation of the ‘Robin Hood’ tax, and forcing tax-dodging billionaires to pay their taxes in the UK. The result has been a massive attack on Local Government Staff and the services they […]

Youth Services in Crisis

Conference is deeply concerned about the disproportionate level of cuts to youth provision in the statutory and voluntary sectors. The workforce is facing major redundancies and those workers who survive the cull are facing attacks on their pay and conditions. Losing the skills and expertise of youth and community workers made redundant will have a […]

Colleges and the Green Agenda

Conference is concerned that as a result of savage funding cuts the green agenda could be dropped or sidelined by many employers. Conference notes that many college jobs are reliant on the development of training and education provision that supports the growth of new green industries. Conference is very concerned that the Tory led Westminster […]

Campaigning Against College Cuts

Conference is outraged by the savage funding cuts being inflicted on Further Education and Sixth Form colleges by the Tory led Government. Cuts that will both threaten large scale job loses in colleges and lead to increasing hardship and deprivation in the communities that our colleges serve. Conference notes that many of the colleges facing […]

Defending Meat Inspection Workers

This Conference notes the vital job which is done by Food Standards Agency meat inspectors, inspecting every piece of meat produced in Britain. However these civil servants work in appalling conditions with UNISON 2011 survey revealing that 64% have been bullied in the last 2 years, and 40% have had time off as a consequence. […]

Employee Led Mutuals “Pathfinder” Programme in Local Government

In February the government announced that the London Borough of Newham was one of these pilots, creating a new mutual model of delivery in children’s and young people’s early intervention services. We believe that the timing will inevitably lead to its being used as a mechanism for meeting some of the government cuts to our […]

The Green Book and Disabled Workers – A Basic Safety Net

Conference agrees that National Joint Council (NJC) agreements enshrined in the “Green Book” form the very basis of local government terms and conditions for all workers in the service especially disabled workers; we especially value those covered in Part 2. We value our leave arrangements and believe that our sick pay arrangements protect members who […]

Black Workers and the Local Government Pension Scheme

Conference is deeply concerned that the attacks by the Coalition Government on the Local Government Pension Scheme will have a devastating effect on UNISON’s low paid and Black members. Conference notes new research by the Runnymede Trust that finds that Black people are three times as likely as white people to experience poverty in retirement. […]

The Localism Bill

The Localism Bill contains an important measure that will impact on local government and our members which is known as the Community Right to Challenge The Community Right to Challenge is presented as a measure to encourage the involvement of charities, social enterprises or employee mutuals in the delivery of local authority services. However if […]

Stay in Local Government – No Free Schools or Gove style Academies

Conference is totally against the continuous proposals from the ConDems to make it easier to create Free schools or to have Local Authority schools become Academies and give away more and more community and tax payers assets. The Michael Gove version of so called outstanding status schools being able to become Academies is yet another […]