Conference notes that there is a postcode lottery of services that support victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans + (LGBT+) relationships. For example, in Blackpool, the local Probation Service only has access to programmes that are aimed at heterosexual male offenders, whereas in Manchester, the local Probation Service has […]
Conference motions
Conference notes the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) legislation during the last Labour Government years strengthened our protections and way of life. Within the last decade we have seen further legislation come forward which, whilst has been intended to improve the lives of LGBT+ people, in a lot of respects, we continue to […]
Conference notes that: 1)In 2014, UNISON amended its rules to allow the retired members’ organisation to send two representatives of relevant retired members to each self-organised group (SOG) conference; 2. For the first five years, the retired members’ national committee (NRMC) picked these representatives but from this year self-nominations will be considered and voted on […]
Conference notes that LGBT+ people continue to face discrimination and exclusion in areas of sport and face barriers in terms of accessing sport, both as a fan and as a participant. People continue to be exposed to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language, and although this might not always be directed at individuals this impacts on […]
Conference notes that many energy members work in call centres and operational centres where they take calls from operational colleagues and customers. While most callers are reasonable, there is always a proportion that are unreasonable and some who are extremely abusive. In workplaces with generally high levels of stress, this can be intolerable. People who […]
Conference welcomes the fact that more conversations are being held around the issues of mental health, however, for many it is still a taboo subject and for others a painful subject. This however does not stop the effect it has on people, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, beliefs. Mental health does not discriminate and […]
This conference notes the continuing desire by employers in the water sector to move away from RPI and embrace CPI when negotiating pay. Excuses abound, from the employers, to explain the reasoning to change to CPI. One of the main excuses being given, is the regulator Ofwat’s changes to the method used to increase consumer […]
Conference notes that there have been some staff wellbeing initiatives by employers in the Water, Environment and Transport service group related to mental health support, these are not consistent and there is still further to go for employee wellbeing. Conference recognises that at least one in four of us will experience mental health problems at […]
Conference is concerned to note that increasingly both branch activists and lay officials are finding themselves suffering extreme stress and anxiety when dealing with the levels of case load that they are presented with. In some cases representatives in WET have been placed under extreme personal pressure by employers. Conference notes that these pressures on […]
Conference notes that since 1981, workplaces have been required to provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and people, to ensure that employees can be given immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work. Yet in 2019, there is still no statutory requirement for employers to provide mental health first aid […]
In 2009, the Department for Work and Pensions embarked on an experiment to understand the scarcity of non-white faces in top managerial posts in UK organisations. 2,000 fake job applications were created in response to 1,000 real vacancies across multiple sectors, professions and pay grades. Similar CVs – one with a “traditional Anglo-Saxon” name and […]
Many members within the above industries no longer have the luxury of a Defined Benefits (DB) pension and are relying on a much inferior Direct Contributions Pension scheme for their retirement. A lot of these workers have used the Share Save and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) share schemes within these companies to subsidise the shortfall […]
With an average members age being 56 UNISON is a middle-aged union. Conference recognises that two key areas of under representation within UNISON’s membership categories are retired and young Members. This is also evident within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Self Organised Group (SOG). The 2017 Retired Members Conference reported that; “UNISON has […]
Conference applauds the work that was done by UNISON in developing the ‘How to be a good trans ally’ document, produced last year. The feedback on this document has been extremely positive and has showcased UNISON’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, supporting all of its members. Conference is aware that for many within the trans […]
We in the bi caucus have become aware of racism within our own bi community spaces. Stonewall have released research which shows the scale of racism that exists within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Britain. Just over half of all Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people (51%) report experiencing discrimination […]