Disabled women and the cost of living crisis

Conferences notes the cost of living crisis which will disproportionately impact disabled women. Even before the pandemic, disability related expenses or the ‘disability price tag’ was on average £583 extra per month compared to non-disabled people, according to the 2019 Scope Disability Price Tag report. One in five faced extra costs of more than a […]

FREE SANITARY & INCONTINENCE PRODUCTS

Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Women’s Committee believe free, community-based provision of sanitary and incontinence products should be available for all women and girls. A 2022 Action Aid UK Survey, as part of the Menstrual Hygiene Day; showed that in the UK 12% of women are now struggling to purchase sanitary products. They are now using […]

The Importance of Women Health and Safety Representatives

“UNISON has approximately 5,000 Health and Safety representatives across the union working hard to defend members’ health and safety at work. Over the past few years health and safety has emerged again as critical for protecting members’ rights at work. However, the gender balance of Health and Safety representatives in UNISON does not reflect the […]

Menopause and Perimenopause: A Workplace Issue

This conference notes that whilst there is a better awareness and knowledge of menopause and perimenopause generally, some of which has been helped by Unisons comprehensive guidance on the Menopause, we as a union still need to further focus on specifically promoting this within the workplace. Women make up over 70% of Unison membership and […]

Cost of Living and Tory Myths

Conference we are living in dangerous and difficult times for workers, for our members and specifically our women members. The basic necessities of life – food and heating are increasing at alarming rates. As a majority women members union, we are fighting to prevent pay awards becoming pay cuts. Whilst its true that this will […]

Domestic Abuse: A Workplace Issue

This conference notes that whilst there is often a proactive approach, policies, and systems in place for customers that organizations serve when it comes to tackling domestic abuse and violence there may not be the same levels of provision for staff. It is also recognized that whilst there may be workplace policies in existence; the […]

The gendered impact of the cost-of-living crisis and what this means for UNISON women

The Women’s Budget Group (WBG) have in 2022 produced a series of reports clearly highlighting the impact this post pandemic cost of living crisis will have on women. We are in the midst of combined high inflation rates, across the board price increases and significant income deficit for many through historic and ongoing low wage […]

Sexual Abuse and perimenopausal and/or menopausal women: A Union issue

One in 35 women are raped or sexually assaulted every year. You will know at least one woman who has been raped or sexually assaulted in the last 12 months. Whether the person shares this harrowing experience with you is another matter. Sexual violence is linked to shame and humiliation. In support of motion 15 […]

Women in UNISON are our strength!

Conference notes that UNISON is the UK’s largest union representing 1.3 million members who provide public services. Currently 78% of the membership identify as women, a total of over 1 million women members. There is no doubt that the strength and stability of our union UNISON lies with our ability to recruit, support, and develop […]

Women and the cost of living crisis

Conference notes that women are disproportionately affected by spiralling living costs. Women are more likely to be in low paid jobs and have been hit hardest by the sharp rise in inflation. Women are usually the ones who manage household budgets especially in lower income households. Women tend to have the main responsibility for buying […]

Increasing participation by women in our union by lower paid women

Women’s conference notes proudly that UNISON is a union with over a million women members and that we reach every corner of the UK and every corner of the public sector. Conference also notes that our collective labour as women contributes billions of pounds to the economy, and our human contribution keeps our society running, […]

MENSTRUAL HEALTH

Women’s reproductive health is a workplace issue. Women are roughly half of the UK workforce and 65% of public sector employees. As a union, we need to ensure that working women have all the information they need to be healthy and safe at work. For some women, reproductive health issues can cause particular difficulties at […]

THE COST OF LIVING CRISES AND THE IMPACT ON WOMEN AND FAMILIES

Women are the ‘shock absorbers of poverty’. They tend to have the main responsibility for the purchase and preparation of food for their children and families, and for the management of budgets in poor households. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, people in Northern Ireland are facing a devastating cost-of-living crisis. Over a decade […]

Fair and Fast Compensation for WASPI Women

“This conference notes that: The Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) campaign is about the injustice suffered by 1950’s born women because of the 1995 and 2011 pensions acts. These delayed the State Pension Age by up to 6 years with little or no notice. The way in which the changes were implemented has left […]