Conference notes: a) Many funded pension schemes include provision for member nominated trustees. b) The financial crisis has highlighted the need for appropriate oversight and responsible management of workers capital. c) Proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme are likely to extend the rights of workers to be represented on pensions committees; d) In […]
Conference motions
Conference condemns the continued attack on public sector workers. In the last two years, over 631,000 jobs have been axed with a further 400,000 due to go before the 2015 general election. Women make up a large proportion of public sector workers and in some sectors twice as many women as men have lost their […]
Conference notes the continued threat to Sure Start through imposed budget reductions nationally. There has been more than 500 Sure Start Children’s Centres closed, most during the first two years of this Coalition Government. While the Coalition Government’s continued austerity cuts are the catalyst for local councils to review the future of Sure Start Children’s […]
This Conference welcomes the work being done by the Business and Environment Equal Opportunities Working Group (BEEOWG) to promote the equalities agenda. Equalities have long been a priority with the WET Service Group. Within the WET service group we have a long and proud tradition of fighting for equality for all our members. Over the […]
Conference notes with dismay that cuts to pay and terms and conditions in local government are hitting women hardest across the UK. Local government is a highly gendered workforce – seventy-six per cent of National Joint Committee (NJC) workers are women, over half of all jobs are part-time and women carry out 90% of those […]
Conference notes that the Food Standards Agency is too close to the food industry without being sufficiently robust in protecting independent meat inspection, despite the recent and ongoing horsemeat scandal. Conference recognises that de-regulation and privatisation is the preferred direction of travel of our government and the European Union (EU). This was clearly shown in […]
Currently no employer has a specific procedure for supporting workers mental health conditions and/or disabilities. Conference agrees that UNISON, as a union, should develop a good example of such a procedure, covering both temporary and long term hidden mental health conditions. In addition, that we will commit to work with employers to promote appropriate, quality […]
Conference notes that Water, Environment and Transport is the only UNISON service group where male members outnumber female. This is despite the predominance of women staff in the administrative and clerical roles, in common with the UK workforce as a whole. Women in any workforce continue to face discrimination in pay and access to training […]
Conference notes that: a) The existing branch structure within the Environment Agency was established at the time that the Environment Agency was created and was based largely on water company boundaries. b) The structure of the Environment Agency has changed significantly since this time and concern has been expressed that certain bargaining groups are no […]
Conference believes UNISON must have a vision for the future of local government services as well as pay and conditions and that achieving workforce involvement and buy in to the development of that vision will be crucial. Conference is concerned that there is no real mention of the workforce in the Local Government Association (LGA) […]
Conference recognises the important work that Union Learning Representatives (ULR’s) do throughout the UK in both in promoting learning at work, signposting members towards further education, advising on basic skills and working with employers to increase the skills of the workforce. The main role is helping individuals to overcome barriers which may prevent them getting […]
Conference fully supports the Unison campaign for transparency and better governance with regard to Local Authority Pension boards. It also supports the encouragement of Unison members to become Member Nominated Representatives (MNRs) on those boards. The performance of Pension funds are currently under review. Members of Local Government Pension Funds need a voice on these […]
Conference notes the Scottish Government has published its White Paper on Independence, their proposal to promote a ‘Yes’ vote in the Referendum to take place on 18 September 2014. The document covers matters arising from Scotland becoming an independent country like currency and international relations, in addition, it sets out a policy prospectus if the […]
Local government is living through an unprecedented period of challenge and uncertainty. Conference acknowledges in this environment the need to share experiences and develop strategic direction has never been greater. Conference instructs the Service Group Executive (SGE) to investigate, with Regions and Branches, the pros and cons of changing the timing and format of Local […]
The tri-borough initiative across Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea has seen a massive reduction in the workforce, despite saving numbers of front-line jobs under section 113. The sovereign Councils are now looking at discussion to harmonise the workforce in what we know will be an attack on our conditions of service and a […]