Conference welcomes news that there are still some positive developments in respect of apprentices in local government, such as the recent agreement between St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council and UNISON to work together to deliver high quality apprenticeships and help towards easing youth unemployment in West Suffolk. Conference is concerned however […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that a substantial proportion of the local government workforce is due to retire in the next 10 years, yet little is being done to encourage young people into the service. Cuts are leading to job losses and reducing the opportunities for young people to join the service. Conference believes that the attacks on […]
Three in five people of faith in Britain support equal marriage! Stonewall’s five yearly polling of public attitudes shows that more that 80% of British adults under fifty now support the proposal. Civil partnerships are not enough, and as such treat us differently from everyone else. This is discrimination. You should not have to tick […]
Conference reaffirms its complete opposition to the Government’s Health and Social Care Bill. Conference believes that the Bill is the biggest threat to the English NHS in its 64 year history. Despite minor changes made by the so-called “listening exercise”, the fundamental dangers of privatisation, fragmentation, instability and inequity remain. The Bill will turn the […]
UNISON Health conference expresses serious concern about employers’ attempts to dilute skill mix and staffing levels as part of cost-cutting within the NHS and the impact which this can have on patient safety. We note a huge amount of variability in workforce planning, together with scientific evidence demonstrating the value of appropriate skill mixes to […]
Conference notes the acute challenges our members face in the current climate of radical structural reforms (in England), budgetary constraints and efficiency savings targets, all of which are taking a serious toll on the NHS workforce. Employers under pressure to reduce costs are looking at every conceivable way to save money. Increasing numbers are tampering […]
Conference commends the work of the national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) committee with regards to raising awareness across this union of issues affecting LGBT members. It is now the norm for UNISON regional groups to have a high profile at the many Pride events up and down the country with many of our […]
This Conference believes that providing a sufficient stock of affordable decent-quality social housing is essential to help address the housing crisis in the United Kingdom, and especially the extreme difficulties that young people are experiencing in securing and retaining a home of their own. Conference recalls with heavy heart the claims by George Osborne in […]
COMPOSITE B CAMPAIGNING AGAINST GOVERNMENT PAY POLICY Conference condemns the Chancellor George Osborne’s statement in December 2011 that he was to ask pay review bodies to consider how public sector pay can vary from region to region, and present him with recommendations by July 2012. Additionally he stated that ‘the Minister for the Cabinet Office […]
COMPOSITE A Welfare Reform and Universal Credit This conference recognises that the ConDem government are intent on undermining the welfare state through the provisions of the Welfare Reform Act. These proposals will have a significant impact on Housing Workers and Benefit Staff in Local Government across the UK. These proposals will adversely impact on jobs, […]
Conference notes the advances in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality over recent years that have given LGBT people more options and choice of becoming a parent, whether it be as a single LGBT person or as a same sex couple. However there are still many LGBT people who are already parents or who […]
COMPOSITE D Resisting Attack and Seeking Justice for School Staff This Conference condemns the Conservative-Liberal Democratic coalition government for its treatment of school support staff, the majority of this workforce female and low paid. After decades of neglect and tireless campaigning by UNISON, the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) was established in England with […]
Composite C Devolution and the Impact on our Local Government Members Conference notes the developing debate on constitutional change within the nations and regions of the United Kingdom, particularly Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, particularly the further devolution of powers in Wales and the independence referendum in Scotland. Conference notes the union’s ‘Devolution Protocol for […]
Conference is concerned at reports that some NHS Trusts are undertaking mass downbanding of staff to save costs, often under the pretext of skill mix reviews or other service redesign. While it is understandable that from time to time service redesign will be appropriate, this should only be driven by quality improvement and not solely […]
Conference recognises that the election of Police and Crime Commissioners in November this year will fundamentally change the landscape of policing and potentially a wide range of other justice services in the future. UNISON was opposed to the concept of Police and Crime Commissioners, because we did not believe that a single elected politician could […]