Commissioning and Procurement in the NHS

Conference notes the government’s World Class Commissioning programme which aims to transform the way health and care services are commissioned in England. Conference expresses its alarm that much of the focus of the World Class Commissioning programme is about stimulating the market and finding alternative providers to the NHS We restate our continued opposition to […]

Personalised Health Budgets in the NHS

Conference notes with serious concern the plans in Lord Darzi’s ‘High Quality Care for All’ report to pilot-test personal budgets and direct payments for long-term conditions in the NHS in England with a view to a national roll-out. Whilst conference supports the objective of empowering service users and, as much as possible, putting them in […]

Sickness Absence Management

Conference notes with concern that many employers have introduced draconian measures to reduce rates of sickness absence. These measures often seek to diminish the status of GP’s certificates in favour of assessments by company appointed private Occupational Health practitioners. They also attempt to marginalise existing collective agreements of sickness absence and often make no distinction […]

Failing UK Energy Market

Conference reiterates its long held belief that privatisation of energy companies and liberalisation of the energy market have not worked in the long term interests of consumers, the wider community or the employees. An unacceptable number of people are falling into ‘fuel poverty’ as energy bills remain too high and incomes fall. Conference regrets that […]

Barriers to Attending LGBT Conference

Conference notes the importance of our union’s conferences, both in their democratic policy making role and also for the way they inform and inspire activists to return, re-energised, to their local union work. Conference notes with regret that only a minority of Energy branches send delegates to the annual UNISON lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender […]

A New Economy Based on Green Energy

Conference recognises that many members employed by Energy Companies are suffering from the effects of the current international financial crisis. Although companies continue to report healthy profits, some have implemented cost savings leading to job losses and plans to invest in new greener energy infrastructure have been subjected to further reviews. Conference believes that both […]

Public Ownership of the Utilities

Conference Notes: i)The economic crisis which has spread rapidly across the globe, forcing thousands of businesses into bankruptcy and millions of workers into unemployment and poverty; ii)The hundreds of billions of pounds of public money which has been spent by governments across the world trying to prop up the world financial system in order to […]

Home, Residential and home Care

Everywhere publicly provided care essential for older people in our society is under attack. UNISON has already demonstrated the extent to which the mass transfers to the private and voluntary sectors have taken place. We have also demonstrated subsequent reductions in the quality of care. In a society with an ageing population with increased social […]

Beyond PFI – The next Scam

Conference notes that UNISON’s predictions on the consequences of using PFI as a means of public procurement have now become reality. The PFI model is busted beyond repair. The only way it can be fixed is by untenable massive injections of public money and a further increase in debt in the public balance sheet. However […]

Learning and Organising – Meeting the Organising Challenge

Conference acknowledges the vital importance of investing in the training and development of our members and existing and future lay leaders at local, regional and national level as part of meeting the organising challenge. In particular, Conference applauds the introduction of the leadership development programme at national level. However, conference recognises that a consistent union-wide […]

Rights of public service workers to organise and collective bargaining

The International Trade Union Confederations’s (ITUC) annual survey of the violation of trade union rights for 2007 documented details of workers’ rights violations in 138 countries. Serious and systematic harassment and intimidation was reported in 63 countries. Seventy-three unionists were sent to prison in 2007, including 40 in Iran alone, where systematic suppression of workers […]

Improving UNISON Structures

Conference notes the ongoing progress to make UNISON structures fit for purpose and to ensure that all of our members regardless of where they work have an equally strong voice in their union. Conference agrees that devolution, the ongoing public service reform and outsourcing agenda continue to change the bargaining landscape for many of our […]

Funding the Equal Pay Challenge

Conference continues to believe that a principle priority for UNISON is combating pay inequalities and securing equal pay for work of equal value for all our members, in properly evaluated and negotiated framework agreements. Conference notes that establishing equal pay for our members was one of the founding principles of the union. Conference recognises that […]

RULE C 5.2 AND C 5.5 BECOMING A MEMBER

Rule C 5 Delete existing rule C.5.2 and replace with: “Rule C.5.2 Providing that the applicant is eligible for membership within these Rules and has not previously been expelled or barred from membership of the union, or has previously ceased to be a member whilst a disciplinary charge against her/him was outstanding, she/he shall become […]

D 3.1.1 SERVICE GROUPS

Rule D 3.1.1 Delete “Water and Environment” and “Transport”, and insert “Water, Environment and Transport”