Conference notes that the decision to end the system of support for local Council Tax payers has: 1)Resulted in chaos, with different households in identical circumstances receiving different levels of support simply because of where they live 2)Resulted in inefficiency with increased costs of collection, higher bad debt provision and the prospect of more people […]
Conference motions
This Conference notes the risk to the lives, health and welfare of local government staff posed by Government’s attacks on the health and safety regulatory system. These attacks include: 1)The cuts in local authority inspection – by 86% since 2009/10 2) The dumbing down of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advice, including its guidance on […]
Local Government Conference 2013 LGPS Full Voting Rights for Union Nominated Representatives Conference through the ongoing governance negotiations we must ensure that we achieve full membership and voting rights for Unison nominated LGPS representatives to local Pension Panel boards. The 1989 Local Government Housing Act, section 13, gives union representative full membership participation. With 4,600,000 […]
This Conference reaffirms its belief that effective regulation of health and social care services is essential given the ongoing attacks on the NHS and the continuing cuts to social care budgets. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) which provides this vital service is being asked to expand its regulatory role significantly whilst simultaneously undergoing a period […]
Conference notes that the Education and Training Standards Committee (ETS) of the National Youth Agency is consulting on the establishment of an Institute for Youth Work (IYW) for England. This includes the possibility of potential later extension to include the whole UK. The IYW is to be open to employees and volunteers working with young […]
Conference deplores the continuing cuts to youth services in the statutory and voluntary sectors. Much of the infrastructure is disappearing fast with 100% cuts to services being common. The workforce is facing major redundancies and those workers who survive the onslaught are facing attacks on their pay and conditions. Conference therefore congratulates those branches who […]
Further education colleges walk a tightrope of financial uncertainty, policy upheaval and erratic management. Even in the years when funding increased, it was no guarantee against cuts and redundancies in the sector. Since the coalition government came to power, education funding across the UK has been reduced at the fastest rate for fifty years. Next […]
This Conference condemns the action of the Association of Colleges (AoC) in withdrawing from the national Joint Agreement on Guidelines on Sick Leave in Further Education Colleges, which was agreed in 2000. The action was taken in the face of strong opposition by the trade union side and against a background of falling sickness absence […]
UNISON notes the long standing friendship between UNISON and UNE, the Nicaraguan Public Service Trade Union, and the strengthening of that relationship in recent years. It also applauds the progress made by the Sandinista government since being elected in 2007 towards social and economic justice in Nicaragua. In the present harsh climate for trade unions […]
Conference reiterates our condemnation, expressed by this Conference in 2012 of the Conservative-led coalition for the widespread and unprecedented destruction of council services that has resulted from the savage and unprecedented reductions in central government grants to local authorities and fire authorities and to the devolved nations. Local government workers have borne the brunt of […]
Conference notes with concern the actions of the Labour controlled council of Newport City in maintaining the previous Tory/Lib-Dem council’s arrangement for contracting with a range of private sector consultants to conduct service reviews across most services. This initiative is part of Newport city Council’s stated corporate efficiency programme, and is supposedly designed to deliver […]
Conference notes that Meat Hygiene Inspectors and Official Veterinarians carry out a vital public service- protecting consumers from poor quality meat. Conference recognises the direction of travel within the European Union (EU) is to move toward privatisation of the meat inspection industry; and to adopt a ‘risk based approach’. Conference believes privatisation of meat inspection, […]
Conference notes with concern and anger the threat to health workers, their families, patients, communities and our National Health Service that has been represented by the Pay Cartel in the South West (aka the Pay Consortium). Conference further notes the ongoing threat posed by NHS Employers across the country who unilaterally or in collaboration with […]
Conference is alarmed and appalled by the article published by the Sunday Times on 2 June (and subsequently in other media outlets) reporting that the Treasury has been holding talks with the Department for Education about phasing out the role of teaching assistants as part of budget cuts in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. This […]
The Coalition government’s attempt to cut billions from the welfare budget will have a devastating impact on low income households across the UK in the period ahead and in so doing, create a divided society in which Victorian themes of the deserving and undeserving poor are used. Conference notes in particular that: 1) the provisions […]