Conference is totally against the continuous proposals from the ConDems to make it easier to create Free schools or to have Local Authority schools become Academies and give away more and more community and tax payers assets. The Michael Gove version of so called outstanding status schools being able to become Academies is yet another […]
Conference motions
This Conference notes with concern the National Employers Bodies- NJC and SJC- failures to properly negotiate an affordable pay settlement. In 2010 the Scottish Employers side stepped the established negotiating body and imposed a 3 year settlement including a 2 year pay freeze. In reality UNISON members in local government are suffering a multi year […]
Conference notes the proposals in Scotland to merge social care and health within the NHS. These proposals would see the transfer of Council functions in care for older people and adults transferred from local authority control and merged with health functions within local Health Boards. These proposals claim to build upon the experience of integrated […]
This Conference is concerned that the coalition Government cuts to Local Authority funding are leading to substantial cuts in Local Government jobs. The loss of these jobs and services will have a disproportionate effect on some of the most vulnerable people in society, rural communities, and those low paid Local Government workers who remain in […]
This Conference notes that members working in housing face redundancy, job insecurity, attacks on terms and conditions and pay, more stressful jobs and working environments and a renewed threat of privatisation as a direct result of the Conservative-led Government’s economic and housing policies. Conference further notes: 1)Cuts in housing benefit that will lead to an […]
This Conference notes the increasingly open and brutal nature of the Tory-led government attacks on public sector workers. Threats to the local government two-tier code in England (whilst the Welsh Assembly Government is proposing to retain it), the warning to academy schools not to sign up to national terms and conditions and the increased drive […]
This Conference believes that library services are key source of local employment and make an essential contribution to local communities and educational achievement. Despite recent pressures, many libraries have developed innovative and imaginative ways of serving local communities. However the service across the UK has suffered many years of funding cuts and the threat of […]
This Conference notes that despite the existence of reform programmes for social work within each of the four UK countries, the crisis affecting social work staff continues to deepen. Conference notes the deep-seated problems of: 1)Excessive workloads, stress and long working hours 2)Unsafe working conditions and exposure to violence 3)Public and media hostility 4)Escalating need […]
Conference recognises the threat to thousands of local authority workers’ jobs who currently administer Housing Benefit due to the Westmister Government’s decision to replace in and out of work benefits and Housing Benefits with a ‘Universal Credit’. UNISON will need to respond robustly to defend members jobs and to retain a locally accessible provision for […]
This Conference deplores the recent announcement of the tri-borough merger of Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea we are now seeing the brutal attacks to our terms and conditions, job’s and pensions. Over the next three years the tri-borough proposal are suggesting that there will be a saving of 35 million a year […]
A devastating earthquake, the worst in 200 years, struck Port-au-Prince on the 12th January 2010, laying waste to the city with almost 300,000 people dead in the devastation. More than a million of our brothers and sisters are living homeless in the densely populated areas of Port-au-Prince and surrounding parts of the country, since the […]
The announcement of further cuts to public spending and benefits on 20 October 2010 in the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review heralded yet more difficult times for disabled people. Disabled people were already set to be disproportionately affected by the Con-Dems emergency budget that claimed to be designed to redress the deficit in the economic downturn. […]
Conference recognises and welcomes the Single Equality Bill which will change discrimination law in a number of important ways. We are concerned however, that a new wave of restructuring across the Public Sectors (inc. Local Government, NHS, Higher Education & Voluntary Organisations) are to have a negative impact on Black, Low Paid, Women, Disabled, Lesbian, […]
Conference notes that: The number of Black members attending National Delegates Conference (NDC) is significantly low. Often Black members in our branches are not aware or provided the opportunity to attend NDC, despite UNISON having rules on proportionality and fair representation. Conference recognizes Unison’s use of Proportionality and Fair Representation in its ‘Scheme of Branch […]
Conference notes that Black members remain concerned with their under representation throughout UNISON structures. Many branches still don’t have self organised groups while at the same time employers are setting up Black Minority Ethnic Group/Forums. This can not only undermine the unions’ structures and take away branch development opportunities in terms of establishing Self Organised […]