All too often these days we see our council-run local government services are being outsourced, privatised or moved to wholly owned/arm’s length companies. The setting up of these new companies, including social enterprises is frequently sold to branches and staff as nothing to be concerned about. In some circumstances the process can take place with […]
Conference motions
Conference congratulates the Neath Port Talbot Local Government Branch on the resounding success of their campaign to bring leisure services back in-house. Following a concerted campaign by the branch, on 1 February 2022 Neath Port Talbot Council made the unprecedented decision not to renew their contract with Celtic Leisure Trust, or seek another provider, but […]
The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the local government service group, supporting and representing our trans members effectively Attacks on trans rights have escalated further in the past year. There has been a sustained attack on […]
Conference notes the Tory government, has broken manifesto pledges by raising National Insurance contributions and suspending the ‘triple lock’ on pension increases. On 7th September 2021, it published ‘Build Back Better: Our plan for health and social care’ announcing an impending White Paper on the future provision of adult social care in England. Conference also […]
This conference supports women in their fight against misogyny, aggression, harassment violence against women in society. We have seen an increase in this behaviour nationally and locally towards female Members of Parliament, Councillors and elected officials and staff. Recent cases highlight this such as the Goodwillie, Mendy, Greenwood and the Met Police highlight the struggle […]
Research shows that at GCSE level engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects has a broadly similar gender split. At this level female students are achieving higher or equal average A*-C grades compared to males. At A Level this drops off with a higher number of males taking up STEM subjects, for example […]
Conference is concerned about the extent of sexual harassment in workplaces and that there are no signs that it is decreasing. Far from it. There is evidence that the requirement to work from home during the pandemic led to online sexual harassment becoming more prevalent. Local government service group workplaces are no exception to this […]
Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on women. Women are over-represented in jobs providing essential services and do a greater share of unpaid care than men. Women not only form the majority of workers in local government but are also the majority of key workers who are paid less than £10 an hour, face limited […]
Conference notes that mental health problems have been brought to the fore over the course of the pandemic. The Health and Safety Executive defines a mental health problem as “The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them”. According to the TUC, 70% of union safety reps report […]
Conference notes that youth services have a vital positive and preventative role, and that youth workers and youth support workers provide input that enriches the lives of young people. In many and varied ways they help young people to lead positive lives as members of society. Youth services assist young people in finding employment, training […]
Conference recognises that the integration of health and social services is a long-mooted ambition across the UK from large parts of the worlds of local government and health. However, conference notes that in the few instances where health and social care integration is taken forward, the role of local government in the provision of social […]
Conference applauds the work carried out by care workers across the UK throughout the Covid pandemic and beyond and recognises the work done across UNISON in supporting our members and establishing ourselves as the union for the care workforce. Conference notes that despite the increasing recognition of the need to bring change to our care […]
The world is facing a terrible threat, not only affecting our way of life and those of the billions across the globe, but also animal and plant life – as witnessed by the destruction of coral reefs due to ocean warming and drought and bush fires destroying hundreds of hectares of woodland. The water industry, […]
Conference notes that Transport for Greater Manchester is on the road to introducing franchised bus services across the region, putting it in line with Transport for London. Although franchising is infinitely better than the feral free market that dominates public transport across most of the country, it is only a commissioning process – which leaves […]
Black members are still under-represented at branch, regional and national level in local government even though they make a significant contribution to the workforce in local government. The trend that the National Black members are looking to change by working with the LGSGE and supporting initiatives to include Black workers across the service group Equality […]