Conference motions

Conference notes that pay gaps affect large swathes of our membership regardless of service group or self organised structures within UNISON. Pay gaps measure the average hourly pay of a group of people with a ‘protected characteristic,’ such as women or Black workers, compared to the average hourly pay for men or white workers for […]

Conference notes that the British Sign Language (BSL) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Labour’s Rosie Cooper MP in 2021, was passed by both the House of Commons and the Lords earlier this year before passing into law following Royal Assent. The BSL Act will recognise BSL as a language of England, Wales and […]

Conference is concerned about the widening disability pay gap and the impact on our Disabled Members. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that on average disabled people are paid almost 14% less than non-disabled people. Further analysis of the data shows that the type of disability also impacts on the […]

Conference applauds UNISON’s National Delegate Conference [NDC], which recently unequivocally re-asserted the union’s commitment to Fair Representation. Rule D5.2 of the UNISON Rulebook observes that self-organisation assists the union: Promote the union’s equalities and bargaining agenda Defend jobs, terms and conditions and services Build its density and have a strong and dynamic presence in the […]

Conference notes that the Government’s Disability Strategy was published on 27 July. This followed a period of public consultation via an online survey which has been much criticised. The Government failed to properly consult with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s) and this is currently subject to legal challenge. Consequently, the strategy has received criticism and been […]

Conference notes that Black people were four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people while almost 60% of deaths were of disabled people. The myth that COVID doesn’t discriminate has been unmasked. Black and disabled people were hit the hardest and we continue to be disproportionately impacted as we hopefully come out […]

Conference recalls that UNISON Disabled Members Conference 2018 passed the motion ‘Legal Recognition of British Sign Language’. The motion explained that although the UK government formally recognised British Sign Language (BSL) as a language in its own right in 2003, this did not give full legal status to BSL. Scotland is the only country in […]

Conference applauds the National Disabled Members Committee for the work undertaken to date to highlight the effects of austerity measures on disabled lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender plus (LGBT+) workers, the services we provide and the knock-on effects of the reduction in those services. Conference further notes that a range of governmental bodies, statutory services and […]

Conference recalls the 2019 Disabled Members Conference agreed the motion “What are they hiding? Missing PIP data on the experience of Black disabled people”. The motion asked the national disabled members committee to seek data on the percentage of Black claimants turned down for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) compared to white claimants. Conference notes that […]

Conference notes that Deaf workers rely on Access to Work to pay for BSL interpreters so that they can do their jobs and live independent lives. However during the pandemic the Access to Work system wasn’t as flexible or responsive as it needed to be in the changed circumstances. Long standing issues with the system […]

Conference is concerned about the increase in scams during Covid 19 and particularly how this has impacted on Deaf people who are native British Sign Language (BSL) users. Covid scammers are criminals who use the publicity around coronavirus as a chance to target people. They try to take advantage of people’s worries and uncertainty about […]

Conference notes UNISON’s ground-breaking Race Discrimination Protocol which means that cases that potentially involve racism are referred for legal advice at an early stage. Conference welcomes UNISON’s commitment to fighting racism in this way and notes that for many Black disabled workers it may not be clear if they are being discriminated against because of […]

Covid-19 and Disability Inclusion in the Workplace With one in five employees being disabled its important that employers make our workplaces inclusive. Failure to make reasonable adjustments may amount to disability discrimination. Conference is aware that there can be particular benefits to disabled people from working from home; however, this is an individual assessment and […]