Zero hours and Black workers

In recent news it has reported that the number of unemployment has hit a record low. What these statistics do not report is that a large proportion of this is because of the increase in zero hours contracts. Employers have increasingly been turning to zero hours contracts as part of the general attack on staff […]

Blood donation

The National Health Service (NHS) Blood donation and Transplant reported that Black people make up just 2.7 percent of active blood donors, despite representing 10.4 percent of England’s population. Blood donation is required from all communities and ethnic backgrounds to meet the needs of all patients in England and North Wales now and in the […]

Building on the success of the London Mayoral Election

This National Black Members Conference notes that whilst Jeremy Corbyn and Labour did not win the General Election on 8 June 2017 they far exceeded expectation and substantially damaged Theresa May and the Tories ambitions of a Tory overall majority. Labour won 40 percent of the vote nationally. This was due to an inspiring manifesto, […]

All University Staff are Important

Conference believes that the biggest asset a University has is its staff – all of its staff. It is important that the University invests in this resource as simply put; without its staff there would be no University. Furthermore, Conference fully believes that the quality of the student experience is strongly linked not just to […]

Hate crimes and mate crimes

Conference welcomes the work that has been done by UNISON thus far on hate crime. According to a report by the Equality and Human Rights commission called ‘Disabled people’s experiences of targeted violence and hostility’, Black disabled people are even more likely to be vulnerable to hate crimes. The report notes that ‘recognition of multiple […]

The United Families and Friends Campaign

West Midlands Black Members Self Organised Group (WMBMSOG) would like the National Black Members Committee to raise awareness of United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC). UFFC is a coalition of families who have experienced the deaths of loved ones by the State. Whether by the police, prison or psychiatric settings. (Clinics, Hospitals). The Lammy Review, […]

Marketisation of Higher Education (HE)

Recent Government policy for HE in England has been dominated by the pursuit of competition, markets and privatisation. This will be compounded by measures in the Higher Education and Research Bill which introduces further competition into the sector and escalates the cost of attending university. Higher education is a public service providing benefits to the […]

BrHExit

Conference notes that existing UNISON policy states that Exiting of the European Union (EU) must not allow racists and xenophobes to use borders to divide workers. The ‘right to remain’ for EU workers and freedom of movement must be defended. Workers united in solidarity together are stronger in defending and promoting our interests across Europe. […]

Workplace stress / resilience

Work-related stress affects far too many of our members. Work-related stress is now a major issue for our union as members have to deal with workload problems day in and day out. A high level of workplace stress is stressful to our bodies, our mental health and can lead to serious ill health and absenteeism […]

Workload / Training budgets / staff development / invest in University staff

Workload issues in the sector are becoming all too commonplace. For many UNISON members working in the Higher Education sector means facing up to an unrealistic and ever increasing workload as this has now become the norm. An excessive workload has devastating impact on staff morale, health and wellbeing. For many it will lead to […]

Responsible buying in higher education institutions

Conference recognises that precarious work is becoming a growing occurrence across the world as some governments seek to develop their economies at the expense of their workforces. Precarious work include workers being forced to work extremely long hours for very little or no pay, sometimes in very hazardous conditions including unsafe buildings; the growing use […]

Dementia the effects on Black people

Dementia is not a disease in fact; it is a group of signs and symptoms. Some of the symptoms may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language and a person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such […]

Senior Management Pay

Higher Education workers have undergone many years of pay restraint despite our many years of resisting and now our UK wide campaign to ‘Break the Cap’ this is not something our colleagues who are classed as senior management have had to endure. Conference notes that the average pay of University Vice Chancellors is now £278k […]

Fair Pay for the many not the few

Conference notes that members in the Higher Education (HE) sector continue to struggle to make ends meet. There has been a significant change in public opinion on austerity and pay restraint evidenced in the outcome of the general election. Inflation rates have risen sharply over the past 12 months and now stands at 3.7% Retail […]

Black graduates and Black workers pay gap

Conference acknowledges that equal pay is an issue that affect not only Black graduates and workers. However, Black graduates and workers are more disproportionately affected. Conference notes that once upon a time it was said that Black people are not in the top earners because of a lack of opportunity in education. Whilst some progress […]