This Conference welcomes the White Paper’s encouragement to local authorities not to make voluntary organisations bid for funds on an annual basis. Many voluntary organisations provide invaluable services to disabled people and employ UNISON members. We also call for the Government to make the following changes to the White Paper proposals to meet the needs […]
Conference motions
This Conference does not support the principle of sheltered workshops which segregate disabled workers from non-disabled workers. They are often exploitative and increase dependency. However this Conference notes that disabled people who currently work in sheltered workshops would end up out of work and not in mainstream open employment if the workshops were to close. […]
Conference requests that UNISON, through its structures, uses its powers to stop the discrimination against the disabled members of this union when they go for interviews. They are at present being made to do extra qualifying points because they declare that they are disabled. We wish for this discrimination to stop and UNISON to use […]
Conference is appalled at the changes taking place in pension provision, involving movement from final salary schemes towards money purchase schemes across the public, private and voluntary sector. Conference notes that disabled people are usually in lower paid jobs and have shorter working lives than other workers due to a culture of enforced early retirement. […]
“Conference 2001 Genetic Testing and Employment This Conference deplores the use of genetic testing in the workplace to determine presence or predisposition of impairment. The use of genetic testing is a medically based measure that seeks to establish value systems that disadvantage disabled people. It may be used by employers to discriminate in areas of […]
This Conference notes the implementation in October 2004 of the next part of the Disability Discrimination Act. This means that all public buildings should be fully accessible to disabled people and has major implications for UNISON disabled members as employees and for service users. This Conference further notes the failure of Part 3 of the […]
This Conference notes with concern the Government’s proposal to merge the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality into one Equalities Commission. We believe this would be detrimental to the interests of disabled people. The DRC was formed in 2000 and it has already made significant progress against […]
This Disabled Members’ Conference is concerned that UNISON’s literature and application forms are not readily available in alternative formats. As a trade organisation UNISON is expected under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to provide a service to members with disabilities that is equal to that for members without disabilities. The DDA came into effect in […]
This Conference has very grave reservations on the Labour Government’s proposed project to consider ways of setting up a single Equality Commission. Conference is concerned that UNISON disabled members and disabled people in general would suffer and lose out if serviced by such a single Equality Commission. This Conference calls upon the National Disabled Members’ […]
UNISON’s policy has long established the union’s support for the Social Model of Disability. The National Disabled Members Committee (NDMC) has been instrumental in advising the Union about how to promote the rehabilitation of the environment and eliminate other barriers that deny disabled people civil rights rather than promote the rehabilitation of the disabled person […]
This Conference expresses its deep concern that the Social Model of Disability has been publicly criticised by Disability Rights Commissioner, Colin Low, who claimed that it contains important “truths” but also a significant amount of falsehood that “distorts reality in ways which are potentially damaging to disabled people”. Conference notes that over the past three […]
Conference notes that this is the tenth Conference that the National Black Members’ Committee has held but there has never been any occasion where the mass media – press, local and national newspapers and television – have given publicity to the National Black Members’ Conference, especially on the first day of Conference by interviewing key […]
The Government has announced that it intends to create a single equality commission to champion women, gay people, ethnic minorities, the elderly and disabled people. If this radical merger takes place it could dilute the rights of different minority groups. The Government’s intention is to have one body that can enforce the rapidly expanding body […]
It has been almost ten years since the death of Stephen Lawrence. In that time we have heard Dave Prentis say: “UNISON believes that tackling the problem of institutional racism within public services is essential not only for black workers but also to improve public services”. This is why it is important to establish what […]
Conference welcomes the organisation of a European Social Forum (ESF) in Italy in November 2002. We believe the ESF will be a unique chance for anti-racist activists and trade unionists from across Europe to come together and discuss how to organise against free market policies and Bush and Blair’s war. We support the Call of […]