Making the LGBT group more inclusive – the + factor

Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Energy service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s participation are vital […]

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 Energy have been placed under extreme personal pressure by employers. Conference notes that these pressures on […]

Just Transition

Conference notes that ambitious targets for moving to a low carbon industry are essential in the context of climate change and our country’s commitments to the Paris agreement. Taking responsibility to limit temperature increases and avoid catastrophic global warming will require significant transformations across our economy and industry. Conference believes that Just Transition must take […]

Recruitment in Outsourced Employers

Conference is concerned at the rapid and consistent drop in membership numbers being experienced in some branches. Conference believes that this is in part due to frequent voluntary severance exercises and people not being replaced when they retire. However, it must be noted that much of this is due to the fact that many Energy […]

Negotiating disability leave policies with Energy employers

Disability leave is time off from work for a reason related to someone’s disability. It is an example of a reasonable adjustment which Energy employers have a duty to provide to disabled staff under the Equality Act 2010. It is different to sick leave – in many cases the worker is not actually sick – […]

Unlocking the potential of Hydrogen

This energy conference welcomes the work UNISON is doing to promote the potential of Hydrogen in the energy system. This includes helping to get the all-party parliamentary group for hydrogen set up, engaging with key stakeholders and informing members of the key issues. We recognise that while it is imperative that we meet and surpass […]

Sectoral Pay Bargaining in the Energy Sector

Conference notes that energy workers are employed by many different private sector companies as a result of privatisation and fragmentation in the industry. While privatisation has been good for senior executives and managers who have benefited from the industry profits generated, the same cannot be said for the majority of the workforce. The gap between […]

BEWARE THAT SHARE!

Conference recognises the benefits of using social media to bring together communities and groups who have interests in common and congratulates our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) self-organised group on the many and varied ways social media has been used in branches, regions and nationally. We welcome and encourage our members to share […]

NO OUTSIDERS (LGBT+ EDUCATION RIGHTS)

Conference notes the recent protests against the ‘No Outsiders’ method of teaching young children about equality, in particular lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) relationships, to encourage acceptance at an early age. There has been a misuse of religion as an excuse to attack LGBT+ rights, and this is not the first time religious […]

Composite Amendment 7

In first paragraph, delete all after “(LGBT+) people,” in second sentence and insert “disabled people, women, and Black people, to consider apprenticeships. Potential members of the network have to demonstrate their commitment to make measurable improvements to diversity.” Insert new third paragraph: “Conference notes the disability employment gap is nearly 30%. There is limited research […]

Making Community workplaces safe and accessible

Conference notes that the legal framework that is supposed to ensure reasonable access for disabled workers comprises the Equality Act 2010 and building regulations. The Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1993 also give workers the right to a safe and healthy workplace. However despite this legal underpinning, conference is aware that some disabled workers […]

Bargaining for good Mental Health policies in Community workplaces

Conference notes that our workplaces are changing, with members in the community and voluntary sector facing increased workloads due to a combination of slashed local authority funding, project based voluntary sector commissioning that does not cover overheads, and increased commercialisation and a target driven culture in housing associations. These pressures have made the importance of […]

Housing Association Mergers

We continue to see a number of housing associations merge across regions and nationally. These range from large scale mergers such as the creation of Clarion Housing Group (125,000 homes) to the medium/smaller scale such as WM Housing (30,000 homes). These mergers present a range of challenges to us in the community sector, such as […]

Hidden Disabilities

In the Community & Voluntary Sector which includes care provision, charities, not for profit organisations and housing associations – long term health conditions which incorporate hidden disabilities is a subject that comes up regularly in the workplace. Community Sector staff who are not aware that they meet the definition of Disability in the Equality Act […]

Inclusive workplace policies in the Community Sector

Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the community service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s participation are vital […]