Conference notes that discussions continue with governments across the UK on responsibility for administration of medicines and medical procedures in educational settings. Employees whose contract includes the administration of medicine and/or health care tasks should receive specific, regular training and be indemnified by their employer against any allegation of negligence, which enables them to feel […]
Conference motions
Conference is alarmed by David Cameron’s statement that Coalition government policy “…means something more profound. It means building a leaner, more efficient state. We need to do more with less. Not just now, but permanently” and by the further cuts to local government planned by George Osborne beyond 2015/16. Conference notes with alarm that: 1)Catastrophic […]
Conference notes that under the Conservative-led Government, massive cuts have been made in youth and community services. In a survey of UNISON members carried out in 2013, 89% of respondents reported that their local authority had cut services for young people. And according to responses to a Freedom of Information request by UNISON at the […]
Conference notes that over the last four years the Integrated Transport Authorities (ITAs) and Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) have been encouraged to become Combined Authorities. Local councils in transport regions are being impelled by promises from central Government of greater local control and more funding to create these Combined Authorities to administer transport. Greater Manchester […]
Conference notes the Government wants to take away the bus pass from pensioners and introduce means testing. The bus pass saves many people from isolation and exclusion and is far more valuable to them than the cost to the Government of providing the passes. The future of pensioners’ bus passes is of particular relevance to […]
This Conference notes that in two years more than £10m has been cut from public spending on public conveniences in Britain, these cuts are posing potential risks to public health. In 2011/12 councils across England spent 13% less on maintaining and repairing public conveniences compared to the 2010/2011 financial year. Some councils are now spending […]
This Conference notes the insidious spread of zero hour contracts and the impact this is having of the employment, terms and conditions of UNISON members employed in the transport industry. Conference notes that recent media focus has brought the issue of zero hour contracts to the public attention. Recent CIPD research suggests that zero hour […]
Conference is deeply concerned about recent events in Edinburgh and elsewhere in Scotland where contempt of court proceedings have been brought against social work staff as individuals whilst acting in their social work role to fulfil their statutory duties consistent with their codes of practice. Social work members have an overriding legal duty to ensure […]
In the face of ever rising water costs (water as well as gas electricity, telephone etc) to members, we call upon the WET Service Group Executive in conjunction with appropriate UNISON partners to debate the feasibility and implications of campaigning for a change towards “not for profit models” or other models for our water companies. […]
Conference notes that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) housing problems are related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Increasingly, more LGBT people are having to rent their homes from a private landlord, because of the lack of council houses, social rented accommodation and other affordable housing, or the housing and local allocations policies […]
This Conference congratulates UNISON’s hard work to create the Call Centre Charter, launched in 2012, which calls on all employers who have UNISON members working in a call centre or in call handling operations to commit to improving the standards which those staff operate under. However only one energy company has signed up to it […]
UNISON has long been concerned with inadequate staffing levels on hospital wards leading to compromised patient care. This was borne out in the Francis Inquiry and Keogh reports. The shortages of Registered Nursing Staff, appropriate skill mix and overall staffing levels to carry out the fundamental care of patients is now at crisis levels. Despite […]
Conference believes that since the election of the Tory-led coalition, the remit issued by the Government to the Pay Review Body (PRB) each year has been so restrictive as to remove any genuinely independent process from establishing NHS Pay. In effect each of the remits has purely asked the PRB to recommend how the Government’s […]
Conference welcomes the increasing strength of the intersex movement and the third International Intersex Organising Forum, held in Malta in November 2013, attended by activists representing 30 intersex organisations from all continents. It notes that the Forum adopted a public statement including recommendations on a wide range of issues of concern to people born intersex. […]
Conference welcomes the progress of the Local Government Service Group’s Ethical Care Campaign. The campaign highlights how low wages and poor terms and conditions for workers undermines the quality and safety of the service and the dignity of service users, and urges local authorities to sign up to UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter. The Charter addresses […]