Women, the refugee crisis and trafficking

The government’s Immigration Bill is a draconian piece of legislation designed to criminalise and stigmatise immigrants and undocumented people. It is part of a wider, ongoing government attempt to appear tough on immigration to an increasingly sceptical public. While millions of people were moved after seeing the washed up body of three year old Aylan […]

Public Ownership of Energy utilities

Conference believes: 1)The changes within the Labour Party since the leadership election in 2015 indicate a welcome move towards UNISON’s long-held view that the Energy Industry should be brought back into public ownership; 2)There is now a golden opportunity to provide support and information to help consolidate this view within the labour movement; 3)The research […]

An Organising Response To The Trade Union Bill

Conference believes that the Trade Union Bill is best understood as a political attack on trade unionism. All unions will be affected by restrictions on their ability to undertake industrial action and political campaign activity, and will be subject to greater scrutiny by the Certification Officer. Public sector trade unionism will be especially hard hit […]

Encouraging More Women to be Active in UNISON

Austerity has resulted in severe jobs losses within the public sector and the disappearance of many essential services. As women make up a core part of the workforce, and are also the main users of many public services, they have been impacted disproportionally. It is therefore essential that women are at the forefront of fighting […]

The refugee crisis

The government’s Immigration Bill is a draconian piece of legislation designed to criminalise and stigmatise immigrants and undocumented people. It is part of a wider, ongoing Government attempt to appear tough on immigration to an increasingly sceptical public. While millions of people were moved after seeing the washed up body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the […]

What’s Europe ever done for us?

The government has announced that, by the end of 2017, they will conduct a referendum on whether the UK should remain within the EU. Conference acknowledges that years of recession, soaring unemployment, and lacklustre leadership have left the public with little faith in the EU and its ability to improve the lives of ordinary working […]

The true cost of childcare for Working Women

In the UK approximately 5.5 million working mothers of dependent children pay for child care. With increasing costs of childcare, other household bills and stagnant or reducing salaries, women are finding it harder and harder to stay in work. In the 2015 budget the government announced an increase of free childcare from 15 hours to […]

TAX CREDITS THE BEST WAY TO TACKLE IN WORK POVERTY

UNISON can be proud of the campaigning we have done to highlight and tackle the issue of in work poverty. The Worth It campaign took the message out to our communities and women members. Under the Government’s austerity measures it has been women and their families who have borne the brunt of their policies and […]

Appropriate Funding for Women’s Self Organisation

Conference notes with concern that constraints on branch finances are leading to some women not being encouraged or able to participate in women’s self-organised group activities. Conference notes with concern that financial constraints and controls at branch and regional level may be negatively impinging on women’s activism and as a consequence reducing the opportunities to […]

Equality, Power and Devolution

Conference notes that across the UK women remain massively underrepresented in the political and decision making processes that influence our lives, especially working class women. Conference further notes that women currently make up: o 29% of MP’s in the English Parliament o 40% of Welsh Assembly members o 35% of Scottish Parliament members o 19% […]

Save our newborns

Conference notes that Group B Strep is a potentially fatal infection for newborn babies. In fact, it is recorded as the biggest killer of newborns and that it colonises in the vagina of 22% of all women. Because the women are carriers rather than being infected by the bacteria there are no symptoms therefore this […]

Flexible working – negative impact on women’s hours & caring responsibilities.

There is a definite lack of awareness within the workplace of Employer’s Policy and Procedures with regard to Flexible working. Under provisions set out in the “Children and Families Act 2014”, women have a statutory right to ask their employers for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly providing […]

Young women deserve respect in the workplace

This Conference believes that sexism in the workplace is still a force to be challenged, and that until it is swept away, women will not achieve equality with men in respect of earnings, status, or power. This Conference also believes that young women are not only discriminated against through sexism at work, but also on […]