Rule G Branch Officers

Insert new rule G 4.1.7: “G 4.1.7 All Branch Officers shall complete the Union’s mandatory data protection training within three months of being elected; and any subsequent annual refresher training.”

Make 2024 the Year of LGBT+ Workers

Conference believes that one of UNISON’s strengths lies in its recognition of the value and unique experiences lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) people bring to the workplace and to our union and commends the work of UNISON’s LGBT+ committee to raise the profile of our LGBT+ members across the United Kingdom (UK). Conference […]

Rule G The Branch Secretary

G 4.2.4 Delete the current wording of existing rule G 4.2.4 and replace with: “In conjunction with the Branch Committee, ensure that the branch observes Union rules and the law with particular reference to data protection legislation to ensure that members’ personal data is processed compliantly and that all branch data breaches are reported to […]

Organising to Win – Building Workplace Power through Participation

Conference notes that following a period of membership decline in early 2021, UNISON fought back in the latter half of 2022 to achieve net membership growth. Record recruitment of over 180,000 new members was 30 percent above 2021 levels and exceeded even the highest surges of joiners during the 2020 Covid pandemic peak. Membership growth […]

Taking Effective Action within the Straitjacket of Anti-Union Laws

Conference condemns the worsening restrictions of the right to strike in Britain with the draconian Minimum Services Bill which gives the government the power to set minimum service levels for border security, education, fire, health, nuclear decommissioning and transport services. This will empower employers to issue a ‘work notice’ which will identify the employees required […]

Crisis in the NHS and Social Care

Conference is appalled at the state of our NHS and social care services. Conference believes that 13 years of Tory neglect have produced an unprecedented crisis which needs urgent attention. Conference notes that waiting lists for treatment have reached their highest ever level, thousands of hours of ambulance crews’ time is lost each month due […]

The PREVENT duty on colleges

Conference notes that the Prevent strategy, created in 2003 and made a statutory duty in 2015, is hailed as a tool to tackle radicalisation and extremism at an early point. Staff in colleges question how the duty is interpreted and applied in colleges due to serious concerns and weaknesses in its implementation. One concern with […]

Food Standards Agency – pay, terms and conditions

Conference notes that our members employed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) work tirelessly to ensure the public eats safe and clean meat, dairy and seafood. Their pay, terms and conditions need urgent improvement to reward that commitment. Conference also notes the contributions FSA members and those employed as […]

Bring back sector-wide bargaining in FE colleges in England

Conference knows that collective bargaining was a hard-won right by workers and that we need to constantly fight to protect this right. Collective bargaining at national level has been a feature of the education sector for many years and it is something to be proud of. FE colleges in England have not had binding national […]

Cost of Living

Conference notes that we are in a cost of living crisis with inflation and energy prices soaring, outstripping pay deals in every sector. The increases in interest rates and the impact on mortgages, and therefore also private renting, as a result of the Truss government’s failed economic policies have only heightened pressures on households. In […]

A Vision for a National Care Service

Conference recognises the need for change in social care. The current system values neither staff or service users. It creates a low paid workforce and fails to recognise the skills required for the high quality social care that our most vulnerable citizens deserve. The current system across the UK enables and promotes a market approach […]

Care workers

Conference commends the work carried out by local government service group members working in care across the UK despite the many continued challenges and pressures that they face. Conference recognises that despite the differences in the delivery of social care throughout the UK, UNISON’s own National Care Service campaign represents a clear vision for the […]

Early Years Funding and Private Day Nurseries

Conference notes that in December the Department for Education (DfE) announced that funding to local authorities in England for supported early years places would increase by an average of 3.4% for three and four year olds and by 4% for two year olds. However, some local authorities will only receive less than a 1% increase […]

Defend Our Right to Vote – Voter ID is Voter Suppr

Conference is deeply concerned at the changes in the law surrounding the requirement for mandatory voter ID at all general and by-elections in the UK and many other elections in England and Wales as part of the Elections Act passed in April last year. This is the requirement to show photographic proof of identity at […]

Pay in Further Education

Despite colleges educating 1.7 million students each year, further education is all too often overlooked by the government. Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has clearly shown that colleges lost out more than other education sectors during the austerity decade from 2010. Despite claims funding has increased, college spending per student in 2024 will […]