Conference notes that ‘Ask for Angela’ is a scheme instigated in Lincolnshire County Council in 2016, which has been endorsed and rolled out in other cities in the UK. The initiative provided a mechanism where women, who feel unsafe, uncomfortable or threatened on a date or a night out can approach the staff at the […]
Conference motions
Conference utterly condemns the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson who used his weekly newspaper column in The Sunday Telegraph to launch a vicious diatribe against Muslim women who wear the burqa. “It is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes,” he wrote. He went on to attack young women […]
Conference applauds the historic landslide vote by the people of Southern Ireland to repeal the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution and recognises the huge victory for a women’s right to choose both in the South but also as a beacon of hope for all women wherever they live who are still fighting for access […]
Around 3.5 million women aged 50years and over are currently in employment in the UK. The employment rate for women in the UK has actually increased in the past few decades and women now represent nearly half of the UK labour force. This means that many more women are affected by symptoms of the menopause […]
Conference notes that in terms of issues surrounding gender equality, debt is rarely cited as a contributing factor in women’s overall financial status. However, the reality is that, in the UK, research proves that debt impacts women more than men. Of the 8.8 million people struggling with debt in the UK, 64% are women (Money […]
The current cuts to our NHS and social care provision are causing great health poverty to women and families. Social care is the very bedrock of our society, women bear the brunt of the care crisis. The majority of the care workforce, paid and unpaid, are women, and the majority of those in need of […]
Conference notes that a motion on ‘period poverty’ was passed at the 2018 national women’s conference. Conference is pleased that since then, Scotland and Wales have committed themselves to providing free sanitary products to schools. This is a very positive move and example. However, conference feels this does not go far enough, we believe that […]
Going to University, gaining an education should be a positive experience for our young members. However, student loans are the burden that our young educated women members carry through a significant period of their working life. In fact the only way to escape complete repayment of any student loan is if a young woman never […]
This conference applauds the recent publication by UNISON of the BARGAINING ON CARERS POLICIES: How branches can benefit from bargaining on carers rights at work The Carers Trust defines a carer as “anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot […]
When it comes to sex discrimination law, the UK’s national story has undoubtedly been one of considerable progress over many years, but it is also true that in some areas that progress has been too slow or has stalled altogether. Our discrimination laws have been instrumental in changing attitudes and in improving life for many […]
Conference recognises that there is a commonality in the Scottish Higher Education system which has now been acknowledged by the Scottish Trade Unions (STUC), National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland and Universities Scotland with the creation of a forum where representatives from all three bodies meet to discuss issues of common interest. Scottish Higher Education […]
Conference notes that there is a lot of money to be made out of Higher Education – just look at the expansion of obscenely high salaries for our Vice-Chancellors and executive managers, and the large reserves held by many universities. If you’re a cleaner, caterer, or receptionist however, you don’t get a fair share of […]
This conference will likely agree our union’s approach to pay negotiations for the coming year. Whatever the finer detail of our pay claim, if we are to be effective in making our demands, we need to place ordinary UNISON members and Higher Education workers at the centre of our campaign. From the very start of […]
Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Higher Education Service Group Executive (HESGE) has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s […]
Conference is aware of the increasing need to support members who are experiencing either short or long-term mental health conditions. Despite the good work already being done by branches in enacting conference policies – such as encouraging employers to sign up to Time to Change, or become Mindful employers – there is a great deal […]