Black members feeling undervalued and like they don’t belong

Conference notes that to impose the changes needed to achieve promises of racial justice, equity and inclusion, organisations require all hands-on deck. Black workers continue to demand action against racial injustice and movement toward more equitable workplaces – ones where all employees belong, regardless of their racial or ethnic identities. To build a culture of […]

Cost of living crisis and Black workers

Conference notes that everything is going up fast – 12% now but forecasts of upwards to 22%. However, the pay of many UNISON members has been effectively frozen for almost 12 years. We can’t make ends meet! We have a cost-of-living crisis because of the decisions made by political leaders and their friends running big […]

Amendment to National Black Members’ Conference Rules and Standing Orders No. 9

In section 9. Limit of speeches Delete 9.4 “If there has been no speaker against the motion, no questions asked about the motion and any amendments have been accepted by the mover of the motion then there is no right of reply as there is nothing to reply to.”

Refugees deportation to Rwanda

The Nationality and Border Act which became law in April 2022, opens the door for the Government to transfer its Refugee Convention responsibilities to another country for money estimated at £1.5 billion, by forcibly expelling asylum seekers to Rwanda, following Australian example, which has been condemned as cruel, inhuman, or degrading. Under the new five-year […]

Access to immigration advice through UNISON legal services

Conference notes once again the ongoing and concerning lack of access to immigration advice and representation through UNISON legal services. Conference notes that for members faced with criminal proceedings, our legal support kicks in straightaway, but that when a migrant worker’s employment is threatened by an immigration issue, advice is limited to a phone helpline […]

Stop deportations to Rwanda

Conference acknowledges that Black Migrants, including Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) Asylum Seekers, face an unprecedented attack on their Human Rights. We saw on 14 June 2022, four asylum seekers were forced onto a plane in tears, some in shackles, waiting to be sent 4,000 miles from the United Kingdom (UK) – […]

Solidarity with Ghana’s LGBT+ community

Conference notes that for many years Ghana’s government has been extremely hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and plus (LGBT+) people. Currently same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1960, which criminalises acts of ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this […]

Reimbursement of NHS immigration surcharge paid by migrant workers who work in the health and care sector

Conference is clear that public services in the UK could not exist without migrant workers. At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, different petitions were raised calling on the government to scrape the payment of NHS surcharge by migrant workers. In October 2020, the government agreed that those migrant workers who were not on a […]

DEFEND DISABLED AND LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PLUS (LGBT+) RIGHTS WON THROUGH THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

Conference welcomes the United Kingdom’s (UK) Conservative government’s decision not to proceed with replacement of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) with a Bill of Rights Bill. However, Conference is not fooled and is well aware of the Conservative’s intention either to repeal the HRA or even withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights […]

Solidarity with Ghana’s LGBT+ community

Conference notes that for many years Ghana’s government has been extremely hostile to LGBT+ people. Currently same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1960, which criminalises acts of ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this law. The law was inherited from […]

ACCESSIBLE ORGANISING FOR LGBT+ MEMBERS

Conference notes that UNISON national LGBT+ committee has produced resources to support the recruitment of LGBT+ members and development of LGBT+ activists. These include ‘Putting politics back into Pride – a UNISON practical guide to recruiting and organising’, ‘Digital organising for LGBT+ equality guide’ and bargaining factsheets to support negotiations with employers for our LGBT+ […]

Challenging employment barriers faced by newly qualified Black social workers

Conference notes that there are a disproportionate number of newly qualified Black social workers failing their post qualification programme. The Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) is a 12-month employment-based programme of support and assessment for newly qualified social workers (NQSWs). Participation in the ASYE supports NQSWs to consolidate their degree learning, develop capability, […]

Negotiating to win anti-racist workplaces

Conference reaffirms that: 1)In employers across our service groups Black members are facing job losses, impaired access to training, discrimination, bullying and restricted career development; 2)For too long employers have made public commitments to tackle race discrimination but have failed to convert words into action; 3)The best way to deliver race equality in public services […]

Motion to NDC – EQUALITY IS FOR RETIRED MEMBERS TOO

Conference notes that, during 2022, UNISON’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) self-organised group (SOG) succeeded in raising the issue of trans equality widely within the union by submitting substantially similar motions to several UNISON conferences. Their opportunity to do so is based on UNISON rules D1.10.4, D3.4.10 and D5.7.5 which entitle each SOG […]

BAN CONVERSION THERAPY NOW!

Conference welcomes the partial ban on conversion therapy announced in the Queen’s Speech in May 2022 that targeted ‘abhorrent conversion therapy practices’. Not abhorrent enough to extend to our trans siblings over 18. Apparently, the rights of trans people are part of a ‘balancing act’ that needs ‘careful management’. Not empathy, not protection, but ‘careful […]