Conference motions

Conference notes that apprentice expansion and the Future Jobs Fund are two key government measures to bring the UK economy out of recession. Conference welcomes the continued expansion of apprenticeships in public services across the UK; believes UNISON is the best union for apprentices; and congratulates UNISON stewards who have been negotiating apprentice schemes and […]

Add new definition as follows: Income from Employment “Income from Employment for the calculation of a member’s subscription band means basic pay, contractual enhancements and payments from contractual overtime. It excludes voluntary occasional overtime payments.”

Conference reasserts its belief that the recession and continuing bleak economic outlook were caused by the greed and irresponsibility of an under-regulated financial system. Conference is therefore alarmed that many sections of the media and politicians from across the political divide continue to blame public spending for the hole in public finances and continue to […]

Conference condemns the continuing attacks from politicians, the media and employers on public sector pensions. These attacks often use misleading statements referring to public sector pensions as ‘gold-plated’ or claim that there is ‘pensions apartheid’ between public and private sector workers. Conference acknowledges the growing gap between public and private sector pensions, but this is […]

Conference notes with alarm the increasing and unwarranted attacks on public sector pensions. Whilst it is true to say that a growing gap between public and private sector pensions caused by the employer retreat from decent pensions in the private sector, it is wrong to conclude that the answer is to level down public sector […]

Conference is concerned by the fact that enshrined within the UK’s current legislation is men’s right to buy women. This is directly contradictory to a society based on gender equality. Prostitution is not a job like any other. It is characterised by violence and abuse that has profound physical and psychological consequences for those selling […]

Conference notes UNISON’s commitment to supporting young people out of unemployment through campaigning for the creation of high-quality apprenticeships which do not replace existing jobs. Apprentices are not however, the only people in training; in our colleges and universities, students in nursing, social work, community and early years education are just some examples of students […]

Conference notes that a recent report entitled ‘Promoting Safety and Security of Disabled People’ published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission showed that disabled people are at greater risk of being victims of targeted violence and hostility. The report stated that disabled people are four times more likely to be a victim of crime; […]

Conference agrees that both the Disability Discrimination Act and the Public Sector Equality Duty have advanced the cause of reducing discrimination against disabled workers in the workplace. However, not all forms of disability are apparent to any other person except the individual directly affected. Workers with non apparent disabilities, whether mental health, physical or other […]

Rule C 1.1 In the last line after “services”, insert “police and justice sectors”