Pensions

Conference: 1)recognises that the campaign for decent pensions must be central to our union’s campaigning over the coming year; 2)calls on the government to accept that the country’s pensioners have already waited too long to receive a less unfair share of the country’s increased prosperity; 3)welcomes the increasing support for the view that there should […]

Protecting and Organising Migrant Workers

Conference notes the growing importance of migrant workers to the United Kingdom (UK) economy. Employers are increasingly dependent on migrant labour to fill professional and skilled vacancies due to a shortage of UK candidates with the required experience or skills. Without these workers, a number of sectors would suffer, particularly health and childcare. Conference therefore […]

Elections 2007 and Beyond

In 2007 elections will take place for the Scottish Parliament, Scottish local authorities, the Welsh Assembly, Welsh local authorities and many local authorities in England. Conference notes that these bodies are responsible for spending billions of pounds on public services and employing either directly or indirectly the majority of UNISON members in those areas. Conference […]

Affordable Child Care Delivered by Properly Trained and Fairly Paid Childcare Workers

Conference commends UNISON’s commitment to campaigning for high quality, affordable childcare by properly trained and fairly paid child care workers. It also requires that childcare facilities should be suitably located in the vicinity of places of work. The campaigning must also bear in mind the needs of lone parents, parents in deprived areas and parents […]

Citizenship Rights

Conference deplores the fact that children born in this country can be denied citizenship rights depending upon the nationality of their parents. Conference notes that this disgraceful discrimination on grounds of nationality disporportionately disadvantages black and minority ethnic people and that an increasing number of young people have, for example, difficulty in obtaining passports to […]

The Disability Equality Duty and Public Services

Conference welcomes the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which will impose a new disability equality duty on public bodies and some private companies from December 2006. We believe this Duty could help reconstruct a barrier free society and provide equality of opportunity for the millions of disabled people who are in work, wanting work and those […]

Schedule B: Members’ Benefits

Schedule B 2.1.1 delete “d)” and “e)” Delete “Schedule B 2.9” and “Schedule B 2.10” and renumber accordingly.

Sexual Violence

Conference notes with concern the findings of the ICM opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International which indicates that a third of people in the United Kingdom believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped. The Amnesty report Sexual Assault Research published on 21 November 2005 shows that 26 per cent of […]

Offshoring

Conference notes that the private companies’ policy of offshoring “back office” functions to developing nations is spreading to the public sector. Already public sector bodies are considering offshoring in response to the demands of efficiency reviews and the pressure to modernise service delivery. Conference does not accept that offshoring aspects of public service functions will […]

European Union Services Directive

Conference condemns the proposed European Union Directive on Services and the support given to it by the British government. Conference believes that the Directive is a direct attack on public services and employment and collective bargaining rights. Conference further believes that the Directive will undermine, by liberalisation and market competition, public health, public security, the […]

Screening of Blood Donors

Conference notes that the purpose of the blood services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is to provide a safe and adequate supply of blood. Screening of blood donors for HIV is necessary for the safety of the blood supply because the available tests for screening donated blood for HIV are not infallible, it […]

OVARIAN CANCER

Conference is concerned at the increasing number of women suffering from ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cause of death from cancer amongst women in the UK and is known as the silent killer. Every year about 6,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with this disease, the majority of these cases […]

HEALTHY MINDS AT WORK

Conference welcomes the decision of the European Social Fund equality programme to award £2.45 million to Healthy Minds at Work in Wales. Conference notes that UNISON Cymru/Wales are founding members of the development partnership. Research has shown that twice as many women than men in the United Kingdom have a diagnosis of a depressive illness. […]

Union/Life Balance

Conference welcomes the work carried out by the National Women’s Committee in promoting the need for a work/life balance and flexible working. Conference also believes that there is also a need for a union/life balance and notes with concern that at last year’s National Women’s Conference the black caucus was held at 6.00 p.m., one […]

S.O.14 Limit of Speeches

Delete 14.1 and replace with: “The mover of a motion or an amendment shall speak for no more than five minutes, and each subsequent speaker shall speak for no more than three minutes.”