Conference, the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) piloted a Race Equality Charter Mark with the aim to inspire a strategic approach to making cultural and systemic changes that will make a real difference to Black staff and students. The Charter covered: a)Professional and support staff b)Academic staff c)Student attainment, diversity of the curriculum and progression of […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that government cuts mean employers are looking for new ways of working to save money without cutting jobs. Often referred to as Lean or Agile Working, these methods were developed by Toyota and are predominantly used in manufacturing industries. If implemented correctly they can bring financial savings and improve working conditions. While we […]
Conference recognises over the last 10 years there has been a massive growth in UK University’s opening overseas facilities, UK Universities are also increasingly involved in offshore campus partnerships. Conference believes that working overseas can be beneficial, both professionally and personally, for the members involved and can provide a new and challenging context for teaching, […]
Conference condemns the large number of job losses in Local Government which are a result of the Tory led coalition cuts. Conference acknowledges the particular impact this has had on Local Government branches, the loss of members and often the loss of experienced activists. Conference is angry but recognises that these losses will continue for […]
Conference notes that local government pay and conditions remain the lowest in the public sector and that the effect of funding cuts on the Local Government workforce is largely overlooked by elected members and politicians. However, a reduced role for local authorities leads to greatly diminished local democracy. Conference also notes that:- 1)The 2015/16 Local […]
Conference Notes:- 1)The continued promotion of co-ops, mutuals and social enterprises by the Coalition Government as being a preferred delivery of local council services. By giving public sector workers a right to form mutuals, co-operatives and other arm’s length companies, the government claims to be giving power to local communities and offering a greater role […]
Conference notes that the erosion of pay in local government has had a particularly detrimental effect on women workers. 1)Women now make up the vast majority of staff in local government, but are disproportionately represented in the lower grades; 2)The majority of staff on zero hours contracts are women, with many of those women receiving […]
Conference notes that the Westminster Coalition government’s ‘austerity’ measures are causing devastation across local authorities and other UK public services. UNISON members working in them are facing redundancies, cuts to pay and conditions, increased workloads and increasing privatisation. Integration of social care and health is a further issue affecting all four UK nations. Conference recognises […]
Conference notes: – 1)The damage that the Coalition’s ‘austerity’ programme has inflicted on local services and local communities across the UK and the future damage that could occur if the plans set out in the Autumn Statement 2014 are followed; 2)The warnings from the Public Accounts Committee that discretionary local services may disappear and that […]
Conference notes with alarm the continuing attacks on facility time in local government over the last year. These attacks are part of a political attack on trade unions in local government. In 2014 the Department for Communities and Local Government issued revised guidelines on data transparency, which require local authorities and fire and rescue authorities […]
This conference notes and applauds the major campaign being waged by the BFAWU (Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union) within the national fast food takeaway companies, in partnership with the Fast Food Rights Campaign and Youth Fight For Jobs. The main thrust of this campaign is to recruit and organise young people into trade unions […]
Conference notes that increases in workload are causing severe problems for many school support staff across the UK. UNISON’s survey of over 15,000 school support staff members showed that:- 1)80.4% (10,804 respondents) said they were concerned about workload. The majority of respondents; 2)74.0%, said they regularly worked unpaid overtime; 3)81.0% of those working unpaid overtime […]
Conference notes that negotiations are underway between the European Union (EU) and the United States on a new trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which could serve as a model for all future trade agreements. TTIP will not just remove trade tariffs but would also harmonise regulatory standards; open markets in the […]
Conference recognises that challenging behaviour and violence in schools can have an enormous impact on school staff. Unfortunately most of the focus on dealing with and providing support for challenging behaviour has been primarily on teachers, despite support staff facing behaviour issues in classrooms, the playground and the general school environment. Additionally, specialist support staff […]
Conference we welcome the UNISON model procurement agreement, and we know that a number of Councils have now signed such a procurement agreement. Conference notes that the combination of privatisation and cuts leads to the fragmentation of local services. By getting involved at the beginning of the process it will ensure that information from the […]