Term Time Workers

The National Women’s Committee welcomes the work that UNISON has done on highlighting particular issues affecting term time workers and their employment status and the campaign for improvements in their terms and conditions of employment. The rights of term time workers are often inferior due to qualifying periods based on weeks worked and diluted annualised […]

Equal Pay

Conference welcomes the work done by the National Women’s Committee to promote UNISON’s equal pay campaign. Conference is pleased to note that the campaign for equal pay remains a priority area for UNISON nationally, which means that it should be prioritised for action in all service groups and regions. Conference also welcomes the announcement of […]

Working Mothers Still Find Childcare Provision Lacking

Last year the provision of childcare and early year’s development formed two separate motions at National Women’s Conference, they were supported but were not selected to go through to the mainstream National Delegate Conference. This Conference calls upon the National Women’s Committee to take steps to research and co-ordinate examples of good employer childcare practices. […]

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

This Conference congratulates UNISON’s work on developing the Pathways Training initiative and its many other life enhancing training events for its members. This Conference resolves that this work should be built on to give UNISON women members a real opportunity to reach their full potential both personally and professionally. We therefore instruct the National Women’s […]

Chemicals and Cosmetics in Household Products

There is growing evidence linking breast cancer to the cocktail of chemicals in the air, water, land and our food which we are exposed to every day. These chemicals are commonly used in a variety of products found in the home and the workplace. Breast cancer is a symbolic illness, symbolising the harm being done […]

Transfer of Call Centres

We condemn the transfer of Bank call centres from Great Britain to other countries, i.e. India, just to save money. This will cause much hardship amongst our low paid mainly women workers. These banks are exploiting the women of these third world countries, a miserly £2,500 per year. In Great Britain they will have to […]

Body Fascism

Conference is concerned about the promotion of ever more restrictive and narrowly defined images of girls and women together with similarly narrow definitions of femininity in what Anna Ford so aptly dubbed body fascism, and the relationship between this and the increase in anorexia and bulimia in girls and young women. This is most notably […]

Reserved Low Paid Women’s Seats

This Conference notes with concern the number of reserved seats vacant at regional and national level. These reserved seats are restricted to women members earning less than a basic hourly rate of £5.90 (January 2001) to be uprated annually by the increase in median earnings as defined by the New Earnings Survey. These seats are […]

Asbestos

Conference welcomes the findings of the House of Lords in the Fairchild case making it easier for the victims of occupational asbestos related diseases to obtain compensation. Nonetheless, Conference notes with concern that this does little to address the situation of families, especially women, who have contracted industrial diseases as the result of industrial contamination […]

V-Day Until the Violence Stops

V-Day is an international movement to stop violence against women and children. It has proclaimed Valentine’s Day as V-Day until the violence stops. V-Day raises funds and awareness for anti-violence charities throughout the world through its benefit performances of the Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler’s hilarious eye-opening tour of the last frontier, the forbidden zone at […]

Part Time Workers

Conference notes that many more women members might be encouraged into activity in UNISON if our structures and practices were ‘part-time worker friendly’. Conference instructs the National Women’s Committee to seek resources to undertake a survey of our part time women members to find out from them what actions we need to take and what […]

Self Harm

Conference welcomes the work done regarding Work Life Balance, however we believe issues affecting young women still need to be addressed. Many young women struggle to cope with the pressures of work and also family life. Stress affects people in many different ways. Some young women may turn to drink, drugs or even self harm. […]

Facility Time

Conference notes with concern that it is impossible, or only possible at a very high personal cost, for women to organise in UNISON without adequate paid facility time. Conference recognises that women are the primary care providers and should not be forced to use their valuable leave to conduct UNISON activities. Many branch facility time […]

Body Mapping

Conference notes that this is a technique which can identify health and safety problems in the workplace that might not otherwise be raised. It is especially useful for highlighting the existence of aches, pains and the onset of chronic conditions typically associated with the types of work undertaken by women. Conference instructs the National Women’s […]

Handling Discrimination

Conference recognises that discrimination continues to affect many members and groups throughout UNISON. However, Conference is concerned at the extent of discrimination faced by many women members in particular. Women have brought to our attention many worrying stories about UNISON’s failure to deal adequately or appropriately with their discrimination at branch and regional level, and […]