National Blood Service Policy on Men who have sex with Men

Conference notes 1.The National Blood Service (NBS) collects, tests, processes, stores and issues 2.1 million blood donations yearly; 2.Potential donors are asked if they are member of a community at higher risk of contracting HIV/Aids – communities that include men who sleep with men, people who have had sex in Africa and intravenous drug users. […]

Tackling Violence Towards NHS Staff

This Conference affirms that violence and aggression toward NHS staff is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Recent statistics show that the level of violence is worryingly high. All too familiar are the shocking reports we hear from nurses, paramedics and other health workers that they have been assaulted, punched, kicked, spat at and […]

Cuts, Closures and Deficits

Conference is deeply concerned about the deficits being experienced by many NHS Trusts. In 2004-5, the NHS in England was overspent by £250 million, and estimates by researchers and academics have suggested a funding deficit of more than £1 billion for 2005-6. As a result, NHS Trusts have been ordered by the Department of Health […]

Private Contractor Staff – Bring them Back In-House

This Conference welcomes the recent framework agreement extending Agenda for Change to contracted-out staff. Conference further notes that there is now no financial advantage for those services to remain out of the NHS. Health Conference believes that this is an opportunity to bring those services back into the NHS and this opportunity should be seized. […]

Commissioning a Patient Led NHS

Conference applauds UNISON’s campaign opposing the changes outlined in Nigel Crisp’s letter of 28 July 2005 “Commissioning a Patient Led NHS”. This has included: ·UNISON’s successful motions to the TUC Congress and to the Labour Party Conference ·Working through the Labour Link in order to achieve an Early Day Motion, signed by 120 MPs, calling […]

Health and the Community & Voluntary Sector

Conference notes the important historical role the community and voluntary sector has provided in shaping public services – not as an alternative for directly-employed public sector workers, but as an innovator, working with the NHS and campaigning for new ideas and ways of working. In the last five years, since the 2000 National Delegate Conference […]

Breast is Best

Conference notes and welcomes the drive to promote breastfeeding and to offer support to women who choose to breast feed. The health benefits of breastfeeding are well-known and the WHO recommends that babies are exclusively breast fed for the first six months. However, this increasingly means that the mother has returned to work before the […]

Rape

Conference is extremely concerned at the apparent increase in the incidence of rape and the concomitant decrease in convictions of men accused of rape. In recent months there have been alarming accounts in various national newspapers of women who pursued prosecutions with the support of the police, only for their alleged attacker to be acquitted […]

Support for Pathways Participants

Conference is pleased to see that women still comprise two-thirds of the membership of UNISON. Conference is concerned that every support should be given to women to ensure that they are enabled to take an active role within the union. Conference is pleased that the Pathways course was included in the national education programme and […]

Involving LGBT Women in Women’s Self-Organisation

Conference welcomes the successful rule amendment carried at last year’s National Delegate Conference introducing a LGBT self organised group into UNISON. Conference acknowledges the support given to the campaign by the National Women’s Committee, Regional Women’s Committees and Women members. Monitoring of attendance at Women’s Conferences and of the National Women’s Committee suggests that LGBT […]

The Face of Poverty is Female: What do Men Do with the Money

No trade union is more committed to fighting poverty than is UNISON. Conference is proud that this is so. But Conference wishes to raise a note of caution. This caution is not intended to cause any less pressure to be brought in regard to making poverty history. But Conference believes that women will continue to […]

Women’s Health Issues

Fifteen percent of women suffer serious period pains each month, 35 per cent of women suffer moderate pains. Some women suffer pains so strong they are comparable to labour pains. But worse than this is the prospect that your employer will just mark down another absence, without discussion or understanding, and that this will affect […]