Conference notes that the proportion of delegates at UNISON Lesbian and Gay Conferences aged 50 and over was about 10% whereas about 30% of UNISON members are in this age group. Moreover, this showed little change from year to year and was reflected in membership of the National lesbian and gay Committee and, as far […]
Conference motions
Conference recognises that space is not made safe merely by declaring it so. Women disproportionately suffer inequality in our society and this has an impact on their self-confidence, on their ability to act as their own agents and on their perceptions of security. Because of such factors, women who attend conference experience the ‘space’ of […]
Conference welcomes the recent UNISON advert in ‘Diva’ magazine – July 2005 issue and would further welcome adverts in other such publications. Conference notes with concern the omission of Police Staff within the list of service groups in which UNISON organise. Conference further notes that Police Staff are the fastest growing service group within UNISON […]
Conference notes that at present self-organised groups (as well as regions, the Young Members’ Forum and Retired Members) are only permitted to submit a total of two motions (including any rule amendments) to National Delegate Conference. Conference also notes that a proposal to increase this to four motions was defeated at National Delegate Conference in […]
Conference notes with extreme concern that some of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) members are facing hostility and violent discriminatory behaviour from service users and members of the public. Conference is particularly anxious that our members face threats to their personal safety in the line of their duties, and that these issues are […]
Conference welcomes the progress made on the introduction of a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights(CEHR). However Conference is very concerned that there are still no plans to introduce legislation relating to the CEHR’s powers, constitution, terms of reference and details of the various strands and their link to each other. Conference is also […]
Conference warmly welcomes the new disability equality duty that is due to come into force in December 2006, we believe this will provide UNISON with a great new organising tool as well as the opportunity to challenge disability discrimination at work and within public services. It is a strengthened version of the race duty – […]
Conference is outraged that teaching establishments across the United Kingdom are threatening the recognition of British Sign Language (BSL) and the future of deaf people. We call upon the National Disabled Members’ Committee to work with the National Executive Council to continue to campaign for BSL to be recognised in reality by: 1)challenging proposals to […]
Conference is delighted that changes to legislation in April 2005 will impose a new disability equality duty on public bodies and some private companies. We believe these new duties could reconstruct a barrier-free society and provide equality of opportunity for the millions of disabled people who are in work, want to work, and those who […]
Conference congratulates the Welsh Assembly in agreeing to eliminate the charges that the people of Wales pay for prescription charges. Already reduced to £4 per prescription item, and in the lifetime of the current Welsh Assembly there is commitment to having free prescriptions in Wales by the end of 2006. Conference notes that there are […]
Conference recognises the right of every member to take part in the union’s campaigning activities, including attendance at marches and rallies. It is therefore important that, as with all other areas of the union’s work, steps are taken to ensure such events are fully accessible to disabled members. We therefore call upon the National Disabled […]
Amendment to Motion 30 (Carried and incorporated into M 30) Add after fifth paragraph “That a member who is accused of a serious sexual allegation of a service user or member of staff can lead to the arrest or even charge of the member. The result of a false allegation can lead to the arrest […]
A House of Commons healthcare committee recently reported on the alarming prevalence of elder abuse. The report found that as many as half a million elderly people may be being abused. Elder abuse may take the form of sexual, physical and financial abuse, neglect and over-medication. Despite the extent of this problem, many people are […]
Following the election of a Labour government for a third term, Conference requests that the National Retired Members’ Committee work with UNISON Labour Link as appropriate to promote the following objectives: 1)restoration of the link between pensions and earnings; 2)personal care to be included in long term care of the elderly; 3)free concessionary travel for […]
UNISON retired members have long recognised the need for affordable and efficient public transport for older people. Conference welcomes the launch of UNISON’s charter for public transport. It stresses the need to re-regulate services to produce improvements and highlights the failure of privatisation with bus fares rising faster than inflation and faster than motoring costs. […]