Impact of Technology on Older People

Conference notes the increasing use of technology in everyday life and its impact on elderly and vulnerable people. With moves to make most access to local and national government and many other organisations including UNISON only available online it risks leaving a significant part of the older demographic behind. Given that many older people either […]

National Insurance and the state pension

The National Insurance scheme was established in 1948 to provide unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, retirement pensions and various other benefits to employees and pensioners in the United Kingdom (UK). From the contributions an initial allocation is set aside for the National Health Service (NHS) and the remainder held in the National Insurance Fund (NIF) which […]

Equal Pension

Conference notes that: 1)The Supreme Court decision in Walker v Innospec in July 2017, that upon John Walker’s death his husband should get the same pensions as would a wife had he married a woman, relies upon European Union (EU) law and sets aside a provision of the United Kingdom’s Equality Act 2010 that permitted […]

AMENDMENT TO STANDING ORDER SO2.1

In SO2.1 Delete “end of one Retired Members’ Conference” and insert “time of their election onto the Standing Orders Committee”.

Dental Care

This Conference recognises that older people find it difficult to afford the cost of National Health Service (NHS) dental care. Regular dental checks can detect other more serious medical conditions, such as oral cancer and heart disease, and, as such, act as preventative health screening. Conference, therefore, calls upon the National Retired Members’ Committee to […]

Routine NHS Health Checks for Older Persons “Prevention is better than Cure”

Conference acknowledges that early identification and diagnosis of a range of health conditions e.g. heart and lung problems, diabetes, kidney disease and early cancers can have a significant impact and increase the chance of success of subsequent treatments. Health professionals widely agree that early diagnosis of many conditions can be of major personal health benefit […]

Terms and Conditions eroded by stealth in the Water Industry

Conference notes with concern a trend within the water industry for workplace agreements to be circumvented by local managers. This is frequently done on a “trial basis”, in localised areas, without any systematic or meaningful consultation. Often the agreed communication and consultation channels between the companies and the unions are ignored on the pretext that […]

Imposed Pay in the Environment Agency

In December 2018, UNISON members voted by over 9 to 1 to reject the Environment Agency’s 2018 pay offer which would give workers an average rise of less than 1.3%. This amounts to an overall erosion of pay in real terms of over 20% since 2009. The other recognised unions which balloted also rejected the […]

Bus services in crisis – a 21st century solution

2019 is yet another challenging year for bus services, with operators facing financial pressures and local authorities facing further budget cuts. Increased congestion and road closures due to roadworks mean that operators have to allocate additional resources to serve reducing demand. The result looks like further cuts to and withdrawal of bus services across the […]

Waste Water Laundry Provision

Conference, the Water Industry has for some time turned a blind eye to the fact that waste water employees are taking work wear home to launder. It is understood the reason for this is that the waste water industry has not whole heartily been able to find a laundry provision that accommodates the ability to […]

Making the LGBT group more inclusive – the + factor

Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Water, Environment and Transport service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s […]

Raising the profile of Black activists

UNISON is committed to fair representation and proportionality (Rule D4.1). However, within the WET sector we do not see enough Black members represented at branch, regional and national committee level. Raising the profile of Black activists within Water, Environment and Transport employers and increasing the number of Black members involved at branch, regional and national […]

Oppose the imposition of Pay Awards and protect Collective Bargaining in the Environment Agency

This Conference notes with alarm the stance that the Environment Agency took in imposing the 2018 Pay Award on its employees, following the announcement by all trade unions who consulted their members that there was overwhelming rejection of the 2018 Pay Award. The employer took little time to consider the news of rejection and simply […]

Water, Environment & Transport Service Group Health and Safety Seminar 2020

Conference notes the success of WET specific Health and Safety seminars in 2016 and 2018. Due to the ever-changing Health and Safety risks experienced by UNISON members employed within the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group, we call upon the Service Group Executive in conjunction with UNISON’s Health and Safety Unit to convene a similar […]

Support for UNISON Representatives in the WET Service Group

As staffing levels plummet in both the public and private sectors, UNISON representatives in the areas covered by the WET Service Group find themselves dealing with more and more cases including those of stress and mental health. This in turn puts pressure on representatives themselves who get personally involved in some such cases and require […]