Black Women in Leadership

Conference notes statistics show there is a clear lack of Black women in leadership positions. Black women are still under-represented in senior roles in the workplace. This is often because many Black women though they have the qualifications, experience and practicalities for the job role, they are often overlooked for their white counterparts. This may […]

Jamaica – Mining in the Cockpit Country

Conference we should all now be aware of how our environments are changing. Therefore, the impact Mining in the Cockpit Country Jamaica should be of great concern to all and not just Jamaican people or those who have relatives there. The mining of land in this area can be likened to the Amazon Rainforest. The […]

Jamaica – Mining in the Cockpit Country

Conference we should all now be aware of how our environments are changing. Therefore, the impact Mining in the Cockpit Country Jamaica should be of great concern to all and not just Jamaican people or those who have relatives there. The mining of land in this area can be likened to the Amazon Rainforest. The […]

Challenging racism and disability discrimination in the workplace: An intersectional approach

Conference notes that Black workers face numerous barriers in the workplace due to racism and that UNISON works hard to combat this through programmes such as Challenging Racism in the Workplace. However many disabled Black workers face multiple discrimination in the workplace. In particular, Black workers can find it difficult to access reasonable adjustments at […]

Jamaica – Mining in the Cockpit Country

Conference we should all now be aware of how our environments are changing. Therefore, the impact Mining in the Cockpit Country Jamaica should be of great concern to all and not just Jamaican people or those who have relatives there. The mining of land in this area can be likened to the Amazon Rainforest. The […]

Challenging racism and disability discrimination in the workplace: An intersectional approach

Conference notes that Black workers face numerous barriers in the workplace due to racism and that UNISON works hard to combat this through programmes such as Challenging Racism in the Workplace. However many disabled Black workers face multiple discrimination in the workplace. In particular, Black workers can find it difficult to access reasonable adjustments at […]

Access to Immigration Advice and Representation to Recruit and Organise New Members

Once again this year, one of the most useful tools to attract migrant workers has been our immigration advice clinics. On top of the JCWI helpline, accessible through UNISON direct, we have a monthly face to face clinic with a solicitor in Northern Ireland. This continues to be a fantastic resource that has allowed us […]

Access to Immigration Advice and Representation to Recruit and Organise New Members

Once again this year, one of the most useful tools to attract migrant workers has been our immigration advice clinics. On top of the JCWI helpline, accessible through UNISON direct, we have a monthly face to face clinic with a solicitor in Northern Ireland. This continues to be a fantastic resource that has allowed us […]

Access to Immigration Advice and Representation to Recruit and Organise New Members

Once again this year, one of the most useful tools to attract migrant workers has been our immigration advice clinics. On top of the JCWI helpline, accessible through UNISON direct, we have a monthly face to face clinic with a solicitor in Northern Ireland. This continues to be a fantastic resource that has allowed us […]

Policies on dealing with abusive customers in call centres

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 […]

Feeling Good in the WET Service Group

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 […]

The continuing drift from RPI to CPI and the impact on pay.

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 […]

LGBT Mental Health Workplace Initiatives

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 […]

UNISON Activists and Mental Health

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 […]

Training Mental Health First-Aiders in Energy Workplaces

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 […]