Conference is aware that homeworking has increased substantially in recent years and is only going to continue in the future, as sector WET companies continue to cut overheads, save space, encourage flexible working and require an agile workforce. Yorkshire Water are currently encouraging their workforce (office based) to consider working from home at least 1 […]
Conference motions
As conference will be aware Ofwat is pushing forward it’s vision for the water sector commencing in 2020. A major part of this is to push competition between the water companies harder than before. The phrase ‘upper quartile’ in now bandied about as the place to be and those who are not ‘upper quartile’ will […]
This conference notes the ever-increasing need for safety improvements in the WET sector. Yorkshire Water Branch would like the sector to adopt the approach being taking at Kelda where we have formed a health and safety representative’s standby rota. It has been designed for union health and safety reps to get called out to investigate […]
Conference notes that research for the Adaptation Sub-Committee’s (ASC) 2017 Climate Change Risk Assessment evidence report considered a range of possible scenarios to assess water availability in the UK up to the 2080’s. The research, by consultancy HR Wallingford, considered differing levels of climate change, population growth and efforts to adapt to the impacts of […]
Conference notes that recruiting new members is a priority for UNISON. Increasing our density in Water, Environment and Transport (WET) will increase our bargaining power with management and help us get the best deal for our members at the negotiating table. Challenges in the WET service group, such as job cuts and TUPE transfers in […]
Conference notes that our workplaces are changing, with members in Water, Environment and Transport (WET) facing increased workloads as targets are increased year on year and working conditions often deteriorate under TUPE transfers. These pressures have made the importance of ensuring good mental health in WET workplaces clear. At least one in four of us […]
Conference notes that the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees in 2014. However, the experience of reps and members within the water, environment and transport sector is that many employers are only prepared to agree to flexible working patterns for certain groups of staff, and then only on limited terms. Further, […]
This Water, Environment and Transport Conference is aware of cases of Lyme disease to employees in the Water Industry and likely elsewhere to members within the Service Group. The disease is caused by bacteria transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick or other blood feeding insect. Most affected are likely to be […]
This 2018 WET Conference is aware of the disturbing number of accidents/incidents/near misses that continue to occur year on year in the Water Industry. One undeniable root cause is reducing staffing levels to the bare minimum as part of a risk management strategy which must continue to be opposed by UNISON. This Conference calls on […]
This WET Conference recognises that young members are the lifeblood of our union and the future within the WET Service Group. We call on the WET SGE in conjunction with the National Young Members Forum and UNISON’s communications department to develop bespoke publicity and materials to retain existing members and recruit current non-members in all […]
This Conference calls upon the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group Executive to further develop the excellent “Water at Work” campaign that they launched in 2009, which sought to extend access to drinking water at work from mains supply sources. In order to keep workers healthy at work, we expect that all our employers covered […]
This Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive to work with the Environment Agency Sector Committee to investigate the cost / benefit of the Environment Agency funding a Voluntary Bailiff Scheme. The Environment Agency has used Rod Licence Income to fund staff at the Angling Trust to set up a volunteer system and has provided […]
Conference notes with dismay the reported deaths of at least 26 Nigerian women and girls, who are suspected to have been murdered while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The bodies of the women were brought to the southern Italian port of Salerno by the Spanish ship Cantabria on Sunday 5 November, and prosecutors immediately opened […]
Conference applauds Yvette Cooper for her stand against sexist online abuse suffered by her and other leading women MPs during the general election. In a speech to Labour Party conference she said “unless misogyny on the internet is challenged, more women’s voices will be silenced, and more women will be oppressed or feel prevented from […]
This conference rejects the proposals contained in the Resolution Foundation think tank’s report of the intergenerational Commission, chaired by Lord David Willetts (nicknamed Two Brains), titled “A New Generational Contract”. Conference further rejects the myth of generational unfairness on which the report is founded, and which masks the fact that the real unfairness is based […]