Conference notes that violence against women and girls is defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. […]
Conference motions
Maternal mental health is a crucial aspect of a woman’s well-being and can impact on the early experiences of bonding with their child(ren) and their own experience of motherhood. According to ‘The Motherhood Group’, Black maternal mental health should be a priority focus across government, health and social care policy development and wider society. Black […]
Conference, gender equality is at the very heart of human rights and United Nations values. Equality and non-discrimination are fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, adopted by world leaders in 1945. Yet millions of women and LGBT+ persons around the world continue to experience discrimination in the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and […]
This Conference notes that: Statistics show that there is at least one so called honour based killing per month in the UK with 7,000 recorded incidents of abuse. Although many believe the actual numbers are far higher. Honour killings and abuse take place when a woman or girl is murdered or abused due to the […]
Conference notes: Women are disadvantaged compared to men in terms of housing in many ways. On average, women have lower incomes and less capital than men. As a result, they tend to be disadvantaged in a housing system where access to housing is largely determined through the market. Women heads of household, lone-parent households, and […]
Women should not have to worry about their student loan when they are absent from work due to pregnancy or childcare. In the Netherlands, payments and interest are paused during maternity leave. We call upon the National Women’s Committee to launch a campaign to seek legal changes to the student loan scheme. Payments and interest […]
Conference, many of our women members some of whom are disabled are on low pay, working part time and living on a limited budget. A significant number of these women work in social care, for the NHS, local authorities, or private care companies. Conference notes that caring responsibilities also disproportionately fall on women. The massive […]
Flexible working is a way for workers to change their working hours to suit their needs. For example, having the flexibility to change their start and finishing times, compress their weekly hours/ days or even work from home. There are many reasons why women would need or want flexible working. One reason is that caring […]
Conference is extremely concerned that in 2023 Black women are still five times more likely to die in childbirth or shortly afterwards. Women of mixed ethnicity have 3 times the risk, and Asian women almost twice the risk. Black women are also at an increased risk of having a pre-term birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or […]
Conference, it’s a well-known fact that our union is made up of 80% women and that there are 5.5 million unionised workers in the UK. Women make up half the UK workforce. So why are women still so underrepresented in our union structures and in our union visibility? UNISON collectively gives voice to working people […]
Conference is aware of the escalating levels of cuts in education in Northern Ireland. UNISON members are facing the severe impact of an imposed budget by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland . More than 70 million pounds has been slashed from immediate spending. This follows on from a previous demand that £200 million […]
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have published as part of their “Save Our Services” bulletins a projected funding gap of £1billion for 2023/24. Scottish local government branches are already engaged in discussions with employers about cuts to jobs, cuts to terms and conditions and we note that some councils looking at wholesale restructuring […]
Conference notes that many local government branches currently support care workers both employed directly by local government employers but also those employed by private companies contracted by local government employers to deliver care for elderly, disabled people – both adult and children. Approximately 80% of the social care workforce are women. Only a small percentage […]
Conference notes that the continued fragmentation of the school system, together with the geographical spread of schools, provides organising challenges for UNISON. The use of school forums to bring together activists from across schools in branches is well established as best practice to develop collective responses to the common issues we face. The ability to […]
With the de-funding of public sector bodies, from a government which has little interest in the welfare needs of its citizens. It is no surprise that amongst those facing the most targeted hostile barriers are our Black members. The Tory anti-immigrant agenda has fuelled increased hatred and attacks on our Black communities across the country. […]