Amendment to S.O.10.1

In Standing Order 10.1 After “report to” delete “members” and substitute: “the relevant Branch or submitting body”, and, after “submission of motions and amendments” add: “to Standing Orders” City of Wolverhampton Islington

Black members and the +

Conference notes that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) self-organised group (SOG) works with inclusive, umbrella definitions of bisexual and transgender. Its bi network is for all members who feel attraction to more than one gender. Its trans network is for all types of self-identifying trans people and for members whose gender identity does […]

Non-binary inclusion

Conference welcomes the work initiated by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group to make UNISON’s organisation, events, policies, systems and good practice advice inclusive of non-binary members. Non-binary people are people whose gender identity is not solely male or female. They may define themselves as both, neither or something different. While non-binary people […]

Black Members Mentoring Scheme – young Black members to be paired with more experienced activists

UNISON has about 63,000 young members, of whom approximately 8 percent are Black members. However, there is a noticeable and worrying shortage of young Black members and activists in UNISON. More needs to be done to recruit young Black members and to encourage them to become involved at all levels of the union. Young Black […]

“Local government cuts and impact on Black staff”

“Conference – we are all aware that Local Government and local services are at a crisis point. Demands and expectations of services are increasing year on year while central government funding is reducing. Liverpool Council will have lost 68 per cent of government funding from 2010-2020, the Council has prioritised frontline services, protecting vulnerable adults […]

Immigration Costs – Impact on Black Members standing for Local Council

Conference congratulates UNISON Labour Link for its work in supporting Black activists in standing for elected positions within the UK Labour Party. Conference notes at the 2013 Census of Local Authority Councillors, there were roughly 20,000 councillors across the UK. Conference further notes that our elected representatives should reflect the communities they seek to serve, […]

Defending free movement of people and immigrant rights

Conference notes: 1)The rights of immigrants has become decisive to the direction of our society. 2)Unison’s 2018 NDC rightly adopted a motion on Brexit from the National Executive Council that committed the union to defending the free movement of people to live, work, study and join their families in Britain; 3)The Brexit referendum was dominated […]

Institutional discrimination in mental health services – the impact on Black disabled workers

Conference notes that Black people in the UK are disproportionately more likely to be detained against their will as a result of mental ill health. The United Nations Committee for the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) 2017 report expressed concerns about the high number of Black disabled people compulsorily detained and treated against their […]

Black Children and Exclusions

Conference we all know that as Black people we are disproportionately represented within all aspects of society, this includes education and particularly, exclusions of Black pupils. The number of permanent exclusions across all state-funded primary, secondary and special schools has increased from 5,795 in 2014/15 to 6,685 in 2015/16. This corresponds to around 35.2 permanent […]

Bargaining and campaigning for race equality

Conference notes that The Race Relations Act came into force on 8th December 1965 in Britain, to promote non-discrimination and equality however fifty one years after its creation we note a lack of significant progress in society as members continue to cite numerous blatant examples of racism in our society and workplaces. The equality act […]

The Stigma of Mental Health in Black Communities

Conference, although the topic of Black people’s mental health has returned to conference on several occasions in recent years, it does not appear to be improving. Mental health is a two headed beast for Black communities, firstly stigma attached to mental health prevents individuals from accessing services, when they do eventually access services they are […]

Pay Gap

Conference notes with concern that despite efforts to bring further equality into society, evidence shows that Black workers are still being held back in the work place. Inequalities in employment and income persist and under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) there is no legislation that states that Employers should publish and report on such […]

Ill health retirment / sickness absence policies

Black members continue to be disproportionately affected by ongoing austerity, attacks to public services and the welfare state which can, in turn, impact on their health. Individuals can suffer from physical or mental health issues which make it difficult for them to work without reasonable adjustment being put in place. In recent years some of […]

Black Members & Housing

A decent and affordable home is essential for all. It provides shelter, enables people to put down roots, raise their families, find employment and contribute to society. It’s also a prerequisite for good health, the best education chances and a decent quality of life. Working people need access to decent and affordable homes near their […]

End Discrimination in State Reciprocal Pension Arrangements

Conference is seriously concerned that Black workers face a triple whammy of discrimination in the labour market, disadvantage in getting decent and well paid jobs and destitution in retirement caused by low pay, an ethnic and racial pay gap and lack of access to good occupational pensions. The impact of these policies means that in […]