Challenging Sexism, Harassment and Misogyny

This conference condemns any behaviour that falls within the categories of sexism, harassment and misogyny. We are a union that at its core, has values that support the inclusion of women at all levels within our organisation. Women make up the majority membership within UNISON which is reflected within our Service Group. We all have […]

IOPC Investigations

Conference is concerned by certain IOPC (Independent Office of Police Complaints) investigations relating to Police Staff are failing to be investigated proportionately. Some cases relating to police contact are demonstrably targeted at Police Staff unjustifiably. It has been shown that investigations are centred in apportioning blame to our members when evidence suggests that they are […]

Vexatious Complaints

Conference notes with concern that a number of complaints relating to our members that could be considered as vexatious (purely to cause annoyance to the subject). We have seen examples within the workplace and from members of the public who have used the police complaints procedure to damage members, particularly where there is a relationship […]

Police Staff Health & Safety

Conference is concerned that Health & Safety within the service group has fallen down the priority list in recent years. Our members work in some of the most hazardous environments in public service. The need for the police service to reduce or eliminate the threats of such work has never been more prevalent. It is […]

Social Model of Disability in Policing

Conference notes and accepts that the social model of disability identifies that it is not an individual’s medical condition, but the attitudes of society that makes them disabled. The social model is a civil rights approach that suggests that if the workplace was set up in a way that was accessible for people with disabilities […]

Cost of Living

Conference recognises the nature of poverty has changed and that even people on what may be considered to be reasonable salaries are struggling and in need of support. Unrealistic rhetoric from politicians who are out of touch with reality, who use offensive commentary to describe people in need and how they should be living, drives […]

Happy Birthday PCSOs

Conference wishes to thank all those pioneers that made up the PCSO workforce 20 years ago. Their dedication and commitment embedded the role into modern policing and made the role of PCSO an integral role in the service and to the public we serve. Our PCSOs deal with many more issues today than was envisaged […]

Vetting Following a Misconduct Outcome

This conference understands that members may find themselves in a situation that warrants a disciplinary sanction and as a consequence this sanction may be a written or final written warning. Under these circumstances vetting may be withdrawn, thus having the effect of rendering them unable to continue in their role. This for all intents and […]

Funding Cuts and Ethnicity Pay Gap (EPG) in Police and Justice

Conference, funding cuts and the government’s long-delayed plans to address social inequalities is one of the major causes of in-work poverty experienced by Black Workers and the cause of severe inter-generational inequality in Black communities. Recent funding increases have not undone £15bn of cuts in central government grants to public services between 2010 and 2020, […]

Violence at Work – It’s Not Part of the Job!

Conference is deeply concerned at the violence, including threats and physical violence, that is shown towards those working in local government. The latest Health & Safety Executive statistics show that around 307,000 adults of working age in employment experienced violence at work, with an estimated 688,000 individual incidents of violence. According to the Labour Force […]

Pay – Campaigning & Balloting

Recent pay campaigns across the UK have demonstrated that we need to do much more in order to build the confidence of our members in challenging bad practice by their employers. We know that pay matters to members, who have suffered years of austerity, pay cuts/freezes and threats to jobs/services, but they often do not […]

Pay for Members Employed by Private Contractors Delivering Local Government Services.

Conference notes with concern that cuts to local authority budgets and the costs of Covid are impacting disproportionately on the salaries of our members in employed by private contractors who deliver local government outsourced services – including social care, school meals and refuse collection. Many employers delivering outsourced services are engaging in a race to […]

Organising in Multi Academy Trusts

The school system has continued to fragment away from local authorities with the expansion of academies and large Multi Academy Trusts (MATs). Conference notes that Local Authorities have been consistently undermined by the government to drive maintained schools to convert. Strategies have ranged from temporary MAT membership for schools that are ‘nervous’ about joining Trusts, […]

Beyond Covid – Building a Better Future

In March 2020 thousands of workers across the UK adapted to a new way of working by taking into their own homes the employers’ equipment in order for services to continue. Our frontline workers such as social care and care at home staff have continued to provide vital and lifesaving care to their clients, whilst […]

Promote UNISON as the Union for Social Work

Social work teams across the country provide a vital service to our communities by supporting those who are often society’s most vulnerable – including children, older adults, and individuals with physical or learning disabilities. Social work teams have continued to provide this care during the pandemic, often by making difficult decisions and quickly adapting to […]