Conference believes: 1)The changes within the Labour Party since the leadership election in 2015 indicate a welcome move towards UNISON’s long-held view that the Energy Industry should be brought back into public ownership; 2)There is now a golden opportunity to provide support and information to help consolidate this view within the labour movement; 3)The research […]
Conference motions
Conference believes that the Trade Union Bill is best understood as a political attack on trade unionism. All unions will be affected by restrictions on their ability to undertake industrial action and political campaign activity, and will be subject to greater scrutiny by the Certification Officer. Public sector trade unionism will be especially hard hit […]
Composite B BLACK MENTAL HEALTH. Conference, the theme of mental health crops up a lot at these conferences and with good reason. The Mental Health Foundation which is the leading mental health research organisation in the UK states that black people from the UK are: More likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems More […]
This conference notes the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Race Relations Act in 2015 and the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Race Relations Act next year. Conference notes that the 1976 Act was instrumental to the development of racial equality for Black communities and Black trade unionists in that in addition to the definitions of […]
Conference, we are experiencing many attacks to our funding in the housing association sector with the 1% cut to rents and the right to buy. Where are housing associations going to make the cuts to balance their books? We know from our experience elsewhere it will be the usual response by employers to cut terms […]
Disabled members of the community service group are particularly concerned that in August 2015 five of the biggest care providers wrote to the Chancellor stating that the National Living Wage could result in a “catastrophic collapse” in the number of care homes. UNISON believes that the living wage (set by the independent Living Wage Foundation) […]
Conference notes the success of Living Wage Campaigns across the UK in exposing low pay in the community sector and putting poverty pay on the political and bargaining agenda. Conference also notes the success of UNISON legal service in forcing community sector employers to comply with National Minimum Wage rules on sleepovers, travel time and […]
Austerity has resulted in severe jobs losses within the public sector and the disappearance of many essential services. As women make up a core part of the workforce, and are also the main users of many public services, they have been impacted disproportionally. It is therefore essential that women are at the forefront of fighting […]
The government’s Immigration Bill is a draconian piece of legislation designed to criminalise and stigmatise immigrants and undocumented people. It is part of a wider, ongoing Government attempt to appear tough on immigration to an increasingly sceptical public. While millions of people were moved after seeing the washed up body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the […]
The government has announced that, by the end of 2017, they will conduct a referendum on whether the UK should remain within the EU. Conference acknowledges that years of recession, soaring unemployment, and lacklustre leadership have left the public with little faith in the EU and its ability to improve the lives of ordinary working […]
In the UK approximately 5.5 million working mothers of dependent children pay for child care. With increasing costs of childcare, other household bills and stagnant or reducing salaries, women are finding it harder and harder to stay in work. In the 2015 budget the government announced an increase of free childcare from 15 hours to […]
UNISON can be proud of the campaigning we have done to highlight and tackle the issue of in work poverty. The Worth It campaign took the message out to our communities and women members. Under the Government’s austerity measures it has been women and their families who have borne the brunt of their policies and […]
Conference notes with concern that constraints on branch finances are leading to some women not being encouraged or able to participate in women’s self-organised group activities. Conference notes with concern that financial constraints and controls at branch and regional level may be negatively impinging on women’s activism and as a consequence reducing the opportunities to […]
Conference notes that across the UK women remain massively underrepresented in the political and decision making processes that influence our lives, especially working class women. Conference further notes that women currently make up: o 29% of MP’s in the English Parliament o 40% of Welsh Assembly members o 35% of Scottish Parliament members o 19% […]
Conference notes that Group B Strep is a potentially fatal infection for newborn babies. In fact, it is recorded as the biggest killer of newborns and that it colonises in the vagina of 22% of all women. Because the women are carriers rather than being infected by the bacteria there are no symptoms therefore this […]