Charity Sector Pay

Conference notes the publication of the Law Family Commission on Civil Society study, carried out by Pro Bono Economics in August 2022 entitled “The price of purpose? Pay gaps in the charity sector” which identifies that charity staff in the UK are paid 7% less per hour on average than workers in other sectors and […]

Young Members in Community

Conference notes that UNISON membership is in decline and the current average age of a UNISON rep is over 50; In many Community workplaces, young workers are less likely to join a trade union, and those who do join are less likely to develop as an active member; An increasing number of young people are […]

Trial the 4-day work week

Conference believes it is time that Universities actively participated in 4-day work week trials. Universities are centres of research and innovation and many want to be ‘employers of choice’ (employers that people actively want to work for). They are the perfect institutions to try new approaches to work. Findings suggest that a 4-day week enhances […]

Securing the legacy of the year of disabled workers

Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022 and places on record our thanks to all of our disabled members and activists who have driven this success throughout our union. Through this year, we have seen renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in […]

Towards an inclusive Women’s Health Strategy

Conference notes the December 2021 government policy paper ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’, published after 100,000 women shared their personal experiences around the way the health and care system listens to women. The document looked at the approach to women’s health by putting women’s voices at the heart of this work. […]

Disabled people and the cost of living crisis

Conferences notes the cost of living crisis which will disproportionately impact on disabled people. Even before the pandemic, disability related expenses or the ‘disability price tag’ was on average £583 extra per month compare to non-disabled people, according to the 2019 Scope Disability Price Tag report. One in five faced extra costs of more than […]

Access All Areas: Addiction services that are open to all

Conference notes that drug and alcohol addiction can happen to anyone. Disabled and Deaf people can also become addicted to drugs and alcohol. However, for many Deaf people who become addicted, there is nowhere to turn for help. The services that exist are already overstretched and underfunded, but added to this they are very unlikely […]

Accessible mental health services

Conference is concerned about the growing impact of mental health problems on Deaf people. This problem has increased because there are simply not enough accessible mental; health services. Deaf people who live in rural areas have almost no chance of finding accessible mental health services that don’t require a long and difficult journey. Conference welcomes […]

Breaking down barriers to employment

Conference is concerned that the findings of a Parliamentary Work and Pension’s Committee which completed in July 2021 are being disregarded by the Tory government. The committee were clear that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) national programme for supporting disabled people is not working and that local level support is needed to break […]

Say NO to a Bill of Rights that REDUCES disabled and LGBT+ rights

Conference notes that the Conservative government has declared their intention to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a new Bill of Rights which they introduced to parliament on 22nd June 2022. The Bill of Rights would repeal the Human Rights Act (HRA), which directly incorporated into domestic British law rights set out in the […]

Trans Ally Training

Conference welcomes progress made by UNISON over many years in campaigning and negotiating for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) people both in work and in society. Despite these advances, many transgender people still experience serious abuse and discrimination on a daily basis, including in their workplaces. A disproportionate number of trans […]

Men and mental health

Conference suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 50 in the UK. In 2020, 75% of those who took their own lives were male. 4,880 men and boys died by suicide, that equates to 12 deaths every day of the year. While people of all genders can experience mental health problems stigma […]

Transport: Government fails again

Conference, using public transport is a major issue for Disabled Members. There are countless barriers to accessing trains, buses, taxis and any other kind of public transport you care to mention. Last year the government set out their plans for making transport more accessible in their National Disability Strategy. They claimed they would ‘improve the […]

Uncovering the impact of Covid 19 on disabled members

Conference, many of our disabled members feel anxious and concerned about returning to the workplace following the pandemic. They are worried that they are being left vulnerable to Covid 19 after the government removed legal restrictions and access to free testing earlier this year. Members who were previously considered clinically vulnerable, have not been afforded […]

Social Care

SOCIAL CARE Conference notes that from April 2022 National Insurance contributions have risen by 1.5% supposedly to help meet the cost of the NHS and also to provide additional funding for Social Care. Conference further notes that money is unlikely to be available for Social Care in the first instance. Prime Minister Johnson has always […]