Celebrate the concessionary bus pass and the bus

A recent report in the Journal of Transport and Health by Dr Sarah Jackson, highlighted important benefits for older people who use a concessionary bus pass: a) Older people who use a concessionary bus pass tend to be more happy and physically active; b) They are also less likely to be socially isolated when they […]

Universal credit and mixed age couples

Conference condemns the Government’s decision to implement a benefits cut that impacts mixed-age couples – where one partner is of pension age and the other is not of pensionable age who are in receipt of Universal Credit. The charity Age UK has calculated that this change could leave some pensioners up to £7,000 worse off […]

Fair Work convention in Scottish Campuses

Conference recognises that there is a commonality in the Scottish Higher Education system which has now been acknowledged by the Scottish Trade Unions (STUC), National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland and Universities Scotland with the creation of a forum where representatives from all three bodies meet to discuss issues of common interest. Scottish Higher Education […]

Fighting for a £10 an hour minimum level of pay

Conference notes that there is a lot of money to be made out of Higher Education – just look at the expansion of obscenely high salaries for our Vice-Chancellors and executive managers, and the large reserves held by many universities. If you’re a cleaner, caterer, or receptionist however, you don’t get a fair share of […]

Boosting our campaign for fair pay

This conference will likely agree our union’s approach to pay negotiations for the coming year. Whatever the finer detail of our pay claim, if we are to be effective in making our demands, we need to place ordinary UNISON members and Higher Education workers at the centre of our campaign. From the very start of […]

Inclusive workplace policies

Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Higher Education Service Group Executive (HESGE) has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s […]

Higher Education Service Group Executive Pay Motion 2019/20

The continuing erosion of the pay of higher education support staff is a stain on the sector and flies in the face of assurances by employers that they value their workers. It is scandalous that the Government’s national living wage is approaching the bottom of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES) pay […]

Supporting members with mental health problems

Conference is aware of the increasing need to support members who are experiencing either short or long-term mental health conditions. Despite the good work already being done by branches in enacting conference policies – such as encouraging employers to sign up to Time to Change, or become Mindful employers – there is a great deal […]

University Sponsorship of Academies in England

It is a matter of public concern that as a result of the Education Act 2011 in the UK Parliament, we have witnessed the acceleration of the programme to convert local authority primary and secondary schools into academies. The failings of the academy project have been widely reported and at times have scandalised the notion […]

Campaigning Against the Marketisation of Higher Education in England

Higher education as a public service has been and is increasingly under threat from profit-driven vultures encouraged by an ideological obsession that dictates that private interests should always triumph over common ownership and cooperation. Attempts by the current and previous governments to introduce market forces and competition into the public services is nothing new to […]

Outsourced Workers in Higher Education Institutions

Conference notes that outsourcing in universities and higher education institutions is on the rise. While some see this as a money saving exercise, it is not. It is unethical, promotes bad and unfair working practices. Some research has shown that outsourcing can push up student fees, making it unfair on staff and students. The aim […]