Men and mental health in the Energy sector

Conference notes that suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 50 in the UK. In 2020, 75% of those who took their own lives were male. 4,880 men and boys died by suicide, that equates to 12 deaths every day of the year. But it is important to remember that mental health […]

Public Ownership of Retail

This Energy Service Group Conference welcomes the TUC report published in the summer of 2022. It builds on the pioneering work of UNISON in pushing the case for public ownership of energy retail. This is the part of the energy system that procures energy for householders up and down the country and is also the […]

Invest Today in Energy and Skills to Decarbonise UK Homes

Conference notes that most of the UNISON membership in the energy sector plays a part in supplying energy to UK homes. This is either in retail supply, or as part of the energy distribution and transmission systems. In the last decade through countless reorganisations and general short-term thinking, thousands of jobs have been lost in […]

Women in Energy – Next Steps

This Conference celebrates the work of the energy service group in developing its ‘Women in Energy’ campaign, which included a successful parliamentary event in Westminster at which MPs, business leaders and UNISON members participated. A key outcome of the campaign was a charter of good practice, designed to enable joint working on some of the […]

Nuclear’s contribution to the security of UK Energy Supply and Net Zero

In 2006 a motion was carried at energy conference to promote a non-nuclear energy policy for the UK. Recognising the initiatives taken by energy companies to invest in renewable energy facilities in difficult market conditions. However, stating that much more needed to be done to encourage the commissioning of green renewable sources of energy including […]

Securing the Legacy of the Year of Black Workers in the Energy Service

This conference notes that whilst 2023 is the Year of Black Workers, and its focus of ‘Establishing Legacy to Generate Change’, this year in and of itself is not the change we seek, it is merely the opportunity to generate change. Black Workers up and down our society often find themselves in low-paid, insecure work, […]

Fuel Poverty and the need for a social tariff

Over the last couple of years, we have seen how the continued impacts of the energy crisis have affected ourselves, our members, and the customers we serve. Low wages, below inflation pay rises, substandard housing, to name a few, have seen us all struggling to make ends meet. We all know fuel poverty is on […]

Managing Difficult Customers/members of the Public.

This energy conference notes that, In the past year we have experienced a cost of living crisis which has placed many energy customers in increasingly difficult circumstances. Fuel poverty is on the rise and many households are having to choose between eating or heating. It is making people more stressed and anxious and at times […]

Tory chaos – subject to change

Conference they say a week in politics is a long time but over the last week, not mention month, the government has been in total chaos and made the UK a laughing stock. But for disabled people and our Disabled Members none of this is funny. It seemed that every time the now former Prime […]

Securing the legacy of the year of disabled workers

Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022 and places on record our thanks to all of our disabled members and activists who have driven this success throughout our union. Through this year, we have seen renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in […]

BSL Act – Next steps in protecting and preserving our language

Conference notes that the British Sign Language (BSL) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Labour’s Rosie Cooper MP in 2021, was passed by both the House of Commons and the Lords earlier this year before passing into law following Royal Assent. The BSL Act will recognise BSL as a language of England, Wales and […]

Towards an inclusive Women’s Health Strategy

Conference notes the December 2021 government policy paper ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’, published after 100,000 women shared their personal experiences around the way the health and care system listens to women. The document looked at the approach to women’s health by putting women’s voices at the heart of this work. […]

Breaking down barriers to employment

Conference is concerned that the findings of a Parliamentary Work and Pension’s Committee which completed in July 2021 are being disregarded by the Tory government. The committee were clear that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) national programme for supporting disabled people is not working and that local level support is needed to break […]

Disabled people and the cost of living crisis

Conferences notes the cost of living crisis which will disproportionately impact on disabled people. Even before the pandemic, disability related expenses or the ‘disability price tag’ was on average £583 extra per month compare to non-disabled people, according to the 2019 Scope Disability Price Tag report. One in five faced extra costs of more than […]

Access All Areas: Addiction services that are open to all

Conference notes that drug and alcohol addiction can happen to anyone. Disabled and Deaf people can also become addicted to drugs and alcohol. However, for many Deaf people who become addicted, there is nowhere to turn for help. The services that exist are already overstretched and underfunded, but added to this they are very unlikely […]