Fracking

Conference notes: Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as ‘Fracking’ is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out at the head of […]

Mental health at work

Conference, Disabled members are concerned over how mental health is addressed in the work place, what is in place to help those with mental ill health while they are at work? Many of our members may already have a mental health condition or may have mental health conditions triggered by stress, stress can be from […]

Mental Ill- Health, Mental Health Related Illnesses and Awareness Monitoring.

The problems of mental ill-health and mental health related illnesses are some of the biggest difficulties facing our members at work today. When jobs are under threat, pay packets are being frozen and workloads are increasing, the mental health of employees is always likely to be affected. Over the last two decades, we have all […]

CAMPAIGNING AGAINST LOW & LOWER PAY.

UNISON remains committed to gender equality within all our pay structures and we commend the highly successful on-going campaign financed and delivered by our organisation to achieve this end. At the same time low pay and lower pay appears to have been largely ignored by UNISON as a priority of our members and most development […]

The impact of state pension changes on workers in the Energy sector

Conference notes that from 6 April 2016 the Basic State Pension and Second State Pension (S2P) will end and be combined/ replaced by a new State Pension. The majority of members in the energy service group are currently paying reduced rate NI Contributions because they are in a work place pension scheme that is better […]

Negotiating workplace domestic abuse policies

Conference notes that the majority of victims of the most severe forms of domestic abuse – and therefore those who are most affected – are women. In the energy service group women account for around 75% of the membership, and this is therefore an issue which has a significant impact on our members in the […]

Public Ownership of Energy Utilities

Conference believes 1)The changes within the Labour Party since the leadership election in 2015 indicate a welcome move towards UNISON’s long-held view that the Energy Industry should be brought back into public ownership. 2)There is now a golden opportunity to provide support and information to help consolidate this view within the labour movement. 3)The research […]

Financial Negligence of Charities’ Trustees

Conference notes the report of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee into the collapse of the Kids’ Company charity. Criticism was singled out for the charity’s trustees and the Charity Commission. According to the report the valuable work of this charity, along with its “inspired and motivated employees” was let down by the […]

Paying the Living Wage

NHSBT branches have campaigned for many years to try to get agreement with their employer that any contractors they use employ staff on at least the Living wage. Conference welcomes growing numbers of NHS trusts and employers committing to become living wage employers both by paying their own staff at least the living wage but […]

Protect NHSBT as a public service

Conference welcomes the Partnership agreement between UNISON and NHSBT signed at the end of 2015 where UNISON agreed to promote and publicise amongst its members the organ donation register and the blood donation service. UNISON agreed to support NHSBT as the values it is built on are the founding values of the NHS. Ordinary people […]

Safe Movement of Blood across the NHS

Whilst Conference generally welcomes the role that charities play in our society it expresses concern that increasingly NHS trust are turning to the free Motorbike charities for the movement of blood across the NHS instead of using the professional drivers employed 24/7 by NHSBT itself. Whilst UNISON members who are drivers employed by NHSBT are […]

Protect NHSBT as a public service

Conference welcomes the Partnership agreement between UNISON and NHSBT signed at the end of 2015 where UNISON agreed to promote and publicise amongst its members the organ donation register and the blood donation service. UNISON agreed to support NHSBT as the values it is built on are the founding values of the NHS. Ordinary people […]

CHALLENGING A TWO-TIER WORKFORCE IN SOCIAL CARE

Conference notes that the commissioning and provision of social care across the UK is delivered in different ways .In Northern Ireland health and social care is an integrated system. This has meant that NHS social care workers have benefitted from the Agenda for Change pay system. In contrast, those working in private provision are exploited […]

Transfer of Public Health commissioning to local councils in England

Conference notes the successive transfers of commissioning responsibility for Public Health from the NHS in England to local councils since the abolition of PCTs. The most recent was the responsibility for Children & Young People’s (0-19) Health and Wellbeing (mainly School Nursing and Health Visiting) on 1st October 2015. We also note: i)the ‘in year’ […]

Defend Our NHS Migrant Workforce

Conference notes there is no doubt that we are living in challenging times. Austerity has seen a vicious scapegoating campaign with the likes of Ukip, Britain First and the Daily Mail using this agenda to promote the idea that black people, Muslims, immigrants, refugees and other minorities are responsible for the deteriorating economic situation. Conference […]