LGBT Women Asylum Seekers

Conference notes that people seek asylum for many reasons but that women can face additional persecution on the grounds of their gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. This persecution often includes physical and sexual violence. Conference further notes that the Refugee Convention of 1951 does not specify gender and sexual orientation as specific […]

Women’s Access to Justice and Revision to Civil Legal Aid

Conference is committed to UNISON’s campaign to tackle domestic violence as a trade union issue. The government’s initiative “A Fairer Deal for Legal Aid” led to the Carter Report which was out for consultation until October 2006. Conference is concerned at the revision to the Civil Legal Aid Scheme in respect of dispute resolution. The […]

Women’s Pensions

Conference believes that the proposed changes to the state pension have a disproportionate impact on women for the following reasons. The number of years which have to be worked to ensure a complete contribution record entitling a woman to a full state pension, discriminates against women who have taken time out from the workplace to […]

Term Time Working

Conference believes that term time working is an issue that affects predominantly women, as many women choose jobs in educational establishments to fit in with their child care commitments. Due to social security legislation they are excluded from claiming benefits in the holiday periods, which means that they have either no income or are forced […]

Safe Hotels at National Women’s Conference

Conference believes that since delegates to this Conference are either lone women or groups of women, they face a greater risk to their personal safety than delegates at other conferences. We would like to know that the hotels we are invited to stay in have been checked for access, health and safety; are suitable for […]

Psychometric Testing – a Barrier to Discriminate Black People

UNISON welcomes the efforts made so far by councils, the National Health Service, and other public service providers in Great Britain, who have committed themselves, to fully implement and mainstream equality. In claiming equality of opportunity and fairness, many public service providers use psychometric tests as part of their selections and recruitment process for technical, […]

High Visa Fees for Fresh Talent Initiative Prospectors

UNISON welcomes the proposal to use the Scottish Executive Fresh talent Initiative as a model in the North West and West Midlands and applauds the efforts to sensitise the population on the positive contribution that immigrants make to the Scottish economy. We are however concerned at the very high fees associated with the Fresh Talent […]

Use of Disciplinary Procedure Against Black Staff

This Conference notes that there is a disproportionate amount of black members who are subject to disciplinary procedures within the work place. This leads us to the question whether disciplinary procedures are being applied fairly and equally to all staff. A consequence of this is that the morale of black staff is negatively affected – […]

Training and Work Opportunites for Black Mem over age of 50

This conference notes that a New Deal Plus is a Government initiative by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to engage with unemployed people over the age of 50 to access training and employment. Conference is deeply concerned that only 17 out of 32,000 adults in the Reading area who were placed via the […]

Barriers to Progression and Promotions for Black Employees

Conference is deeply concerned that black employees are severely disadvantaged for promotion and progression. In line with UNISON’s Objective 2: negotiating and bargaining on behalf of members and promoting equality, Conference instructs the National Black Members Committee to work with the National Executive Council to: 1)collate statistics, to form a report, from all the service […]

Support for Black Members’ and Activists

Conference reaffirms UNISON’s reliance on active stewards/officers in all workplaces, covering all groups of members, for organising and delivering for members. Therefore support given to stewards/officers to enable them to do their job must be a central priority at all levels within the union. It is noted that such volunteer representatives give considerable commitment, often […]

Electronic Submission of Motions to National Black Members Conference

Conference notes the processes and procedures used for a number of years for the submission of motions to the National Black Members Conference. The process currently sets specific dates for motions to be submitted to the Conference Office and currently this can be done by post or fax. We live in a world that is […]

United Nations (UN) World Conference Against Racism 2001

This Conference notes that UNISON sent a delegation to the UN World Conference against Racism 2001 as it did to the UN Women’s World Conference. We applaud the fact that a conference of over 160 nation states agreed that slavery was a crime against humanity even though the United Kingdom and the United States of […]

Black Pride – Inclusion and Unity

Conference notes that the first United Kingdom Black Pride took place on 19 August 2006, making history in the Black and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in Britain. UNISON was a key supporter for this event, however, the awareness of Black LGBT peoples existence is limited. There has been increased visibility of Black […]

Claiming our Children from the Streets

With increased cuts in youth services and the impact this has on young people in inner city communities’ Conference notes with concern the level of youth offending and gang cultures. Conference notes with great concern the most recent spate of black on black violence manifesting in street robberies assaults and in some instances the murder […]