Health & Safety and safety reps in local government after Covid � an opportunity to recruit and organise women workers

Conference notes Caroline Criado Perez�s recent book �Invisible Women� which set out how men�s dominance of the design industry has a major impact on women�s health and safety. For women working in local government and schools, the experience of working during the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted this impact. Some examples include: 1)71% of women wear […]

Covid-19 hasn�t killed sexual harassment at work � it�s just moved online

Conference is clear – sexual harassment isn�t just a problem for celebrities. It happens in ordinary workplaces everywhere. This includes local government. Anybody can experience sexual harassment. However, TUC research shows that half of women have been sexually harassed at work. Two thirds of LGBT+ people have experienced it too. Four out of five people […]

The future of the National Joint Council for England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Conference notes that the National Joint Council (NJC) structure and negotiations have formed the basis of pay determination for the majority of local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since 1997. More than 400,000 UNISON members are covered by sector wide NJC pay negotiations. These negotiations cover pay increases, conditions of service, and […]

Food Standards Agency � Pay, Terms & Conditions

Conference notes that our members employed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) work tirelessly to make sure the public eat safe and clean meat, dairy and seafood. Their pay, terms and conditions need urgent improvement to reward that commitment. Environmental health and trading standards officers also deserve a decent pay rise. During the Covid-19 pandemic, […]

Adult Education Needs Investment

This conference knows the importance of lifelong learning. Education does not end once we hit 18, in fact learning has barely begun. Further education colleges, at the heart of their local community, are the key to ensuring that adults have opportunities to learn and develop throughout their lives. The UK faces many challenges in the […]

Food Standards Agency � Pay, Terms & Conditions

Conference notes that our members employed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) work tirelessly to make sure the public eat safe and clean meat, dairy and seafood. Their pay, terms and conditions need urgent improvement to reward that commitment. Environmental health and trading standards officers also deserve a decent pay rise. During the Covid-19 pandemic, […]

Reduce agency working in Further Education Colleges

Conference notes the increasing reliance on agency workers in Further Education colleges in the UK and calls for this situation to be reversed as a matter of urgency. A Freedom of Information request conducted by UNISON in 2018 revealed the extent to which some colleges are relying on expensive agency workers. Of the 163 colleges […]

The Future of Youth Services

Conference notes that youth services play crucial positive and preventative roles across the UK, and the work youth workers and youth support workers do provides huge value to the lives of young people. Youth services help young people into employment, training or education; they help with potential mental health issues; and they help prevent alcohol […]

Work Related Stress in Local Government

Conference notes the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) definition that �Work-related stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work�, recognises that stress is closely related to excessive anxiety and depression, that 600,000 workers suffer from these conditions due to work and, and as […]

Unity Against Public Sector Pay Freeze

This Local Government Service Group Conference notes with deep concern the government�s intention to impose some form of pay freeze or pay restraint on public sector workers. While individual pay claims and campaigns remain the responsibility of the various sector committees, the Local Government Service Group Executive has a role in wider public sector pay […]

SOCIAL CARE

Conference acknowledges the importance of responding to the devastating impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the social care sector and welcomes wholeheartedly the campaign to deliver a national care service. Conference notes that the coronavirus pandemic has had tragic consequences for thousands of people in the UK and particularly in adult social care. […]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING AND FIGHTING CUTS

Conference notes that since 2010, local government has experienced a decade of austerity. The post-Brexit political situation merely heightened the constitutional debate in a �disunited kingdom� of growing civic nationalism and regionalisation, the unsettled will for political change and the growing plurality of politics, which will have long-lasting implications for government and governance. Meanwhile, the […]

A PAY STRATEGY FOR ORGANISING AND INDUSTRIAL ACTIO

Conference recognises the efforts made by the sector committees and branches in pursuing the union�s ‘Pay Up Now!’ campaign in recent years, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid has highlighted the need for a new approach to pay in local government. Throughout the pandemic, local government workers proved themselves to be indispensable � keeping our […]