Employment Rights for Women with Premature Babies

Under the current legislation, a woman giving birth to a premature baby that requires hospitalisation finds she has the same amount of maternity leave as the mother of a baby that can go home. This Conference recognises the additional stress on mothers and their families trying to cope with babies who have yet to come […]

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

This Conference congratulates UNISON’s work on developing the Pathways Training initiative and its many other life enhancing training events for its members. This Conference resolves that this work should be built on to give UNISON women members a real opportunity to reach their full potential both personally and professionally. We therefore instruct the National Women’s […]

Chemicals and Cosmetics in Household Products

There is growing evidence linking breast cancer to the cocktail of chemicals in the air, water, land and our food which we are exposed to every day. These chemicals are commonly used in a variety of products found in the home and the workplace. Breast cancer is a symbolic illness, symbolising the harm being done […]

Transfer of Call Centres

We condemn the transfer of Bank call centres from Great Britain to other countries, i.e. India, just to save money. This will cause much hardship amongst our low paid mainly women workers. These banks are exploiting the women of these third world countries, a miserly £2,500 per year. In Great Britain they will have to […]

Survival of the Prettiest

Conference is appalled at the body image of women promoted and marketed from the latter part of the 20th century as the one to which all women should aspire. Not only is this body image unachievable but more crucially it serves to support the rising sales of cosmetics and personal care products. Conference agrees that […]

Body Fascism

Conference is concerned about the promotion of ever more restrictive and narrowly defined images of girls and women together with similarly narrow definitions of femininity in what Anna Ford so aptly dubbed body fascism, and the relationship between this and the increase in anorexia and bulimia in girls and young women. This is most notably […]

Reserved Low Paid Women’s Seats

This Conference notes with concern the number of reserved seats vacant at regional and national level. These reserved seats are restricted to women members earning less than a basic hourly rate of £5.90 (January 2001) to be uprated annually by the increase in median earnings as defined by the New Earnings Survey. These seats are […]

Women in Sport

Conference is concerned about the continuing invisibility of women in sport. Despite what may be considered to be saturation coverage of sporting events by terrestrial, cable and satellite television, very little of this coverage is of women’s sport. Indeed it could be argued that sport on TV has become synonymous with men’s sport, and the […]

Self Harm

Conference welcomes the work done regarding Work Life Balance, however we believe issues affecting young women still need to be addressed. Many young women struggle to cope with the pressures of work and also family life. Stress affects people in many different ways. Some young women may turn to drink, drugs or even self harm. […]

Motion for Initiating a UNISON campaign on a Woman’s Right to Choose

This Conference reaffirms its commitment to support UNISON’s campaign for a woman’s right to choose In recent years there has been an upsurge of anti-abortion activity by so called “pro-life” campaigners. This has been aided and abetted by the popular media and misinformation about abortion. Some NHS Trusts no longer offer abortion after 14 weeks, […]

Facility Time

Conference notes with concern that it is impossible, or only possible at a very high personal cost, for women to organise in UNISON without adequate paid facility time. Conference recognises that women are the primary care providers and should not be forced to use their valuable leave to conduct UNISON activities. Many branch facility time […]

Body Mapping

Conference notes that this is a technique which can identify health and safety problems in the workplace that might not otherwise be raised. It is especially useful for highlighting the existence of aches, pains and the onset of chronic conditions typically associated with the types of work undertaken by women. Conference instructs the National Women’s […]

Handling Discrimination

Conference recognises that discrimination continues to affect many members and groups throughout UNISON. However, Conference is concerned at the extent of discrimination faced by many women members in particular. Women have brought to our attention many worrying stories about UNISON’s failure to deal adequately or appropriately with their discrimination at branch and regional level, and […]

Dependant Care Costs Form

This Conference deplores the new procedure for claiming costs for dependant care, it is also dismayed over the fact that the National Women’s Committee appear to have supported the issuing of a separate form for such costs. Conference believes that this is a blatant act of discrimination towards members who claim for dependant care costs, […]

Asbestos

Conference welcomes the findings of the House of Lords in the Fairchild case making it easier for the victims of occupational asbestos related diseases to obtain compensation. Nonetheless, Conference notes with concern that this does little to address the situation of families, especially women, who have contracted industrial diseases as the result of industrial contamination […]