Conference is aware of the significant financial cuts in our Healthcare services in all four UK nations in at least the past three decades. Conference notes that where new facilities have been built, they have generally maximised the amount of clinical space but have minimised the amount of space allocated for other areas including changing […]
Conference motions
Conference recognises that a lot of work has been done in all 4 countries of the UK to raise awareness of Gender-Based Violence as a public health issue and to keep it on the agenda at a strategic level. Gender-Based Violence is an umbrella term that encompasses a spectrum of abuse experienced mostly by women […]
Everyone knows that the NHS is facing an increasing problem of recruiting and retaining staff. The recommendations on Flexible Working will hopefully do something to alleviate the difficulties in recruiting and retaining people as will hybrid working but these are not the only solutions. The NHS needs to adopt modern working practices and also learn […]
Conference notes with concern: 1 The rapid rise in fuel costs during the Autumn/Winter of 2021. 2 That a number of health roles continue to require the use of a car as public transport, cycling etc, cannot be used. This is a particular issue in rural areas. 3 That the current rates of mileage for […]
This conference notes the even the NHS acknowledges that “there is evidence of disproportionate mortality and morbidity amongst black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people, including our NHS staff, who have contracted COVID-19.” This was backed by the tragic facts that emerged during the pandemic: • Of the first 106 staff that died in 2020, […]
The respected think-tank Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Autumn 2019 produced a headline “Hospitals face £80bn bill due to toxic PFI Legacy” with a report detailing; 1) Prior to COVID-19, the health service faces a PFI “postcode lottery” as some trusts faced spending up to £1 in every £6 on PFI payments with […]
End Nepotism in the NHS The NHS is meant to be an equal opportunity employer but time and again the best paid jobs go to people well connected or within influence of those in powerful positions. We see jobs going to favourable people who don’t seem to go through any formal interview process and jobs […]
National health service national on call agreement During the negotiations to implement Agenda for Change Unison was the lead union to persuade members and other unions that Agenda for Change would ensure fairness in the workplace. Before Agenda for Change members worked different hours, had different annual leave entitlements, different unsocial hours and different on […]
Conference notes that since the introduction of the Trade Union Act, our union and the Service Group Executive (SGE) have failed to adapt to the changing dynamics of the need to win 50% turnouts. We have seen successful ballot actions fail to reach the required threshold to undertake lawful industrial action and this has left […]
The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the Higher Education Service Group, supporting and representing our trans members effectively Attacks on trans people escalated further in 2021. Groups trying to roll back the rights of trans people […]
Conference notes that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill 2021, currently going through the Westminster Parliament, proposes new laws that the government has said are needed to “safeguard” free speech and academic freedom in universities. The bill would mean higher education providers – and student unions – will have a duty to “actively promote” […]
Conference moves that, since the introduction of the Trade Union Act, our union and the Service Group Executive has failed to adapt to the changing dynamics of the need to win 50% turnouts. We have seen ballots fail to reach the required threshold to undertake lawful industrial action and this has created a legacy of […]
The Higher Education Sector has reached what appears to be a crisis point regarding balloting for strike action over pay. Neither aggregate nor disaggregate balloting appears to be effective when considering the returns from industrial action ballots in Higher Education. Higher Education in UNISON needs to seriously consider why our members are not engaging in […]
The work done by members in the last 18 months has been simply phenomenal; or if you prefer, “unprecedented”. Members at all grades have gone that extra mile to essentially keep the Higher Education (HE) sector alive: whether that be staff in security, residential services, cleaning, estates who have stayed on campus, meaning that they […]
Conference condemns the ongoing attack on our defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. Pensions are deferred pay and any cut to our pension schemes is a direct attack on terms and conditions. Conference notes the variety in pension schemes in the Higher Education section. Multi-institution, large scale schemes such as Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), Teachers […]