Disabled people and the cost of living crisis

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

Access All Areas: Addiction services that are open to all

Conference notes that drug and alcohol addiction can happen to anyone. Disabled and Deaf people can also become addicted to drugs and alcohol. However, for many Deaf people who become addicted, there is nowhere to turn for help. The services that exist are already overstretched and underfunded, but added to this they are very unlikely […]

Accessible mental health services

Conference is concerned about the growing impact of mental health problems on Deaf people. This problem has increased because there are simply not enough accessible mental; health services. Deaf people who live in rural areas have almost no chance of finding accessible mental health services that don’t require a long and difficult journey. Conference welcomes […]

Long Covid and access to PIP for Black disabled workers

Conference notes the news article published in the Guardian newspaper on the 13th of June 2022 which stated that according to the Office for National Statistics, as of 1st of May an estimated 2 million people in the UK reported having Long Covid, as the condition is known. Conferences notes that Unison Black disabled members […]

Securing the legacy of the year of disabled workers

Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022 and places on record our thanks to all of our disabled members and activists who have driven this success throughout our union. Through this year, we have seen renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in […]

BSL Act – Next steps in protecting and preserving our language

Conference notes that the British Sign Language (BSL) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Labour’s Rosie Cooper MP in 2021, was passed by both the House of Commons and the Lords earlier this year before passing into law following Royal Assent. The BSL Act will recognise BSL as a language of England, Wales and […]

Towards an inclusive Women’s Health Strategy

Conference notes the December 2021 government policy paper ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’, published after 100,000 women shared their personal experiences around the way the health and care system listens to women. The document looked at the approach to women’s health by putting women’s voices at the heart of this work. […]

Disability Pay Gap

Conference is concerned about the widening disability pay gap and the impact on our Disabled Members. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that on average disabled people are paid almost 14% less than non-disabled people. Further analysis of the data shows that the type of disability also impacts on the […]

Transport: Government fails again

Conference, using public transport is a major issue for Disabled Members. There are countless barriers to accessing trains, buses, taxis and any other kind of public transport you care to mention. Last year the government set out their plans for making transport more accessible in their National Disability Strategy. They claimed they would ‘improve the […]

Men and mental health

Conference suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 50 in the UK. In 2020, 75% of those who took their own lives were male. 4,880 men and boys died by suicide, that equates to 12 deaths every day of the year. While people of all genders can experience mental health problems stigma […]

Uncovering the impact of Covid 19 on disabled members

Conference, many of our disabled members feel anxious and concerned about returning to the workplace following the pandemic. They are worried that they are being left vulnerable to Covid 19 after the government removed legal restrictions and access to free testing earlier this year. Members who were previously considered clinically vulnerable, have not been afforded […]

Why Are We Still Waiting?

Conference many of you will be aware that even today many organisations are comfortably functioning in an environment that not only contributes to, but condones racism. In the Probation Service commendable work had been done which revealed that people of colour had experienced racism and the Service had developed a strategy they agreed to immediately […]

Don’t Forget Our Outsourced Members

There are pockets of policing which are still outsourced to private enterprise. This means that there are staff working for our policing services who are subjected to less favourable terms and conditions than those which many of our colleagues have managed to secure through the Police Staff Council and union influence. The staff affected need […]

Trans Equality in Police and Justice – Louder and Prouder!

The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the Police and Justice service group, supporting and representing our trans members effectively. Attacks on trans rights have escalated further in the past year. There has been a sustained attack […]

Job Related Fitness Test (JRFT) – Not For Police Staff

As a result of the release of Part 1 of the Winsor report, there became a requirement for police officers to prove their ability to remain fit for their role and for this to be tested annually. The JRFT became the test that to be successfully completed before personal safety training could be taken. It […]