Conference welcomes the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which will impose a new disability equality duty on public bodies and some private companies from December 2006. We believe this Duty could help reconstruct a barrier free society and provide equality of opportunity for the millions of disabled people who are in work, wanting work and those […]
Conference motions
Conference notes with concern the findings of the ICM opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International which indicates that a third of people in the United Kingdom believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped. The Amnesty report Sexual Assault Research published on 21 November 2005 shows that 26 per cent of […]
Conference condemns the proposed European Union Directive on Services and the support given to it by the British government. Conference believes that the Directive is a direct attack on public services and employment and collective bargaining rights. Conference further believes that the Directive will undermine, by liberalisation and market competition, public health, public security, the […]
Conference notes that the private companies’ policy of offshoring “back office” functions to developing nations is spreading to the public sector. Already public sector bodies are considering offshoring in response to the demands of efficiency reviews and the pressure to modernise service delivery. Conference does not accept that offshoring aspects of public service functions will […]
Conference notes that the purpose of the blood services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is to provide a safe and adequate supply of blood. Screening of blood donors for HIV is necessary for the safety of the blood supply because the available tests for screening donated blood for HIV are not infallible, it […]
Conference is concerned at the increasing number of women suffering from ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cause of death from cancer amongst women in the UK and is known as the silent killer. Every year about 6,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with this disease, the majority of these cases […]
Conference welcomes the decision of the European Social Fund equality programme to award £2.45 million to Healthy Minds at Work in Wales. Conference notes that UNISON Cymru/Wales are founding members of the development partnership. Research has shown that twice as many women than men in the United Kingdom have a diagnosis of a depressive illness. […]
This Conference notes: The senseless execution of Steve Harvey, a gay man who ran Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, an HIV/AIDS organisation on the island. He was abducted and shot dead on 30 November 2005. Conference further notes that over the last 18 months, that the murders of gay men in Jamaica are receiving more […]
Conference notes that the NHS pension scheme regulations currently allow married males employed in the NHS to leave their widow a pension based on length of service from 24 March 1972. However, conference notes with concern that married female employees, and now those who enter into civil partnerships, can only have their length of service […]
Conference notes that the Public Sector duties on gender will come into force in April 2007 as part of the wider Equalities legislation. The Gender Equality Duty will require service providers and public sector employers to design employment and services with the different needs of women and men in mind. As the largest employer of […]
This conference welcomes the advent of Managers in Partnership (MIP) which was highlighted as an innovation in the provision of trade unionism. The venture between UNISON and the First Division Association has created a new vehicle for senior managers in the health service and related services, and conference acknowledges the excellent work performed by the […]
A significant number of NHS staff are required to work away from their base for most of their working time (e.g. Blood Transfusion Staff going to rural communities to reach donors, or staff operating mobile breast screening units). Other NHS staff often find that they are required to work in the evenings that results in […]
This Conference is critical of the way that the submission to the Pay Review Body and the drawing up of a pay claim for non-Pay Review Body staff were dealt with for 2006/07. The Staff Side evidence which was submitted to the Pay Review Body for 2006/07 did not comply with the policy on the […]
That this Conference congratulates UNISON Service Group on the work it is presently undertaking to ensure staff safety at work. Conference furthermore maintains that in areas where Patients/Clients/Residents are particularly vulnerable for example “Persons with Learning Difficulties” that UNISON opposes the move to “Lone Working” at Night. As this not only compromises the safety of […]
This Conference recognises the advances made in Health & Safety with regards to manual handling and the advent of ‘non-handling trusts.’ However for many of our members the damage has already been done. It is far too common for health staff to suffer spinal and other muscular/skeletal disorders resulting in disability in later life and […]