Since 2010 local government has faced swingeing budget cuts as part of central government’s austerity agenda. This has led to many councils introducing hot-desking in order to reduce their premises costs. Workers no longer have a fixed desk but instead have to find an empty desk every day. Conference is concerned about the impact of […]
Conference motions
Trade union facility time is one of the basic and most vital building blocks for local trade union organisation, and it is also of enormous benefit to employers. Since 2010, many local authorities have cut facility time significantly, sometimes driven by ideology and sometimes by cuts in funding. Conference notes that in December 2018-January 2019 […]
A recent UNISON survey of staff who provide pastoral support for pupils raised significant concerns at the impact of cuts to services. Support staff are often trusted adults and confided in by pupils about a huge range of welfare issues, from parental separation, bereavement and caring responsibilities to bullying, eating problems and suicidal thoughts; regardless […]
Local government is a diverse network of roles and services that all work together to keep our local communities going. Local government workers have a vital role to play in this, working tirelessly to support the public in their everyday lives. They are true local champions, sometimes working ‘behind the scenes’ to make sure our […]
Conference is deeply concerned at the state of our public library service. In 2017-18 alone, spending by local authorities on public libraries fell by £30 million. The service lost 712 full-time equivalent posts and suffered a net loss of 127 service points. Volunteer numbers rose to a staggering 51,394 volunteers putting in 1,780,843 hours. Our […]
Conference recognises that the crisis in social care continues apace across the UK as councils suffer the consequences of almost a decade of underfunding. According to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, £7bn has been cut from social care budgets since 2010. UNISON members have spoken out about the impact of cuts on […]
Non-operational fire and rescue staff are a key but often overlooked part of the fire and rescue service. Technicians, driving instructors, administrators and many others work tirelessly alongside fire fighters and control room staff to keep businesses, communities and members of the public safe. The severe cuts to public spending in local government and their […]
Conference notes that the new NJC pay spine is not only being adopted by councils who had moved away from the NJC, but also by multi academy trusts who are increasingly coming onto NJC conditions. Both recognise the benefits of the new NJC pay spine in providing stability by future proofing them against future National […]
Conference recognises that health and social care workers are dedicated and hard working but lowly paid with poor terms and conditions. They do their best to provide quality care but against a background of crisis within health and social care services. Research confirms care for residents in privately run homes for the elderly can be […]
In Standing Order 10.1 After “report to” delete “members” and substitute: “the relevant Branch or submitting body”, and, after “submission of motions and amendments” add: “to Standing Orders” City of Wolverhampton Islington
Conference condemns the Government’s decision to implement a benefits cut that impacts mixed-age couples – where one partner is of pension age and the other is not of pensionable age who are in receipt of Universal Credit. The charity Age UK has calculated that this change could leave some pensioners up to £7,000 worse off […]
Conference notes with concern the ‘BBC 5 Live Investigates’ report on fraud broadcast in September 2018 stating that fraudsters scammed nearly 49,000 older people across the UK in the past year, equivalent to almost six reports every hour. Furthermore the total number of reports has nearly doubled in the past 3 years and one expert […]
Conference recalls how concerned we were last year about the Intergenerational Commission’s final report published in April 2018. Conference notes, now, that the report’s publication has foreshadowed a series of further 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 […]
A recent report in the Journal of Transport and Health by Dr Sarah Jackson, highlighted important benefits for older people who use a concessionary bus pass: a) Older people who use a concessionary bus pass tend to be more happy and physically active; b) They are also less likely to be socially isolated when they […]