SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENTS

This Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to use all means at its disposal to abolish discrimination against single persons and in particular older retired persons by hotels and other establishments in charging single room supplements.

FUTURE CARE IN THE COMMUNITY

This Conference believes Elderly people deserve the best possible care in their latter years. Conference has in the past expressed concern about the level of care in the community, particularly where this service has been outsourced. Some care provision in sheltered accommodation is now provided by contacts on refrigerators to indicate to a central point […]

SUPPORT FOR MOBILE PHONE (ICE) CAMPAIGN

Conference is aware of the anxiety suffered when a relative or loved one is caught up in an emergency situation particularly the elderly. Anything that can be done to reduce the anxiety and to aid more effective communications has got to be a good thing. In July 2007 Vodafone Netherlands started a national awareness campaign […]

Failing UK Energy Market

Conference reiterates its long held belief that privatisation of energy companies and liberalisation of the energy market have not worked in the long term interests of consumers, the wider community or the employees. An unacceptable number of people are falling into ‘fuel poverty’ as energy bills remain too high and incomes fall. Conference regrets that […]

Barriers to Attending LGBT Conference

Conference notes the importance of our union’s conferences, both in their democratic policy making role and also for the way they inform and inspire activists to return, re-energised, to their local union work. Conference notes with regret that only a minority of Energy branches send delegates to the annual UNISON lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender […]

Sickness Absence Management

Conference notes with concern that many employers have introduced draconian measures to reduce rates of sickness absence. These measures often seek to diminish the status of GP’s certificates in favour of assessments by company appointed private Occupational Health practitioners. They also attempt to marginalise existing collective agreements of sickness absence and often make no distinction […]

A New Economy Based on Green Energy

Conference recognises that many members employed by Energy Companies are suffering from the effects of the current international financial crisis. Although companies continue to report healthy profits, some have implemented cost savings leading to job losses and plans to invest in new greener energy infrastructure have been subjected to further reviews. Conference believes that both […]

Public Ownership of the Utilities

Conference Notes: i)The economic crisis which has spread rapidly across the globe, forcing thousands of businesses into bankruptcy and millions of workers into unemployment and poverty; ii)The hundreds of billions of pounds of public money which has been spent by governments across the world trying to prop up the world financial system in order to […]

HUMAN RIGHTS AND ELDER ABUSE IN CARE HOMES

The human rights now enshrined in legislation should affirm the equal dignity and worth, to which we are all entitled, but the human rights of our sector of society are daily and routinely violated and this needs to be stopped. Elder abuse is a shameful by-product of age discrimination and as such is totally unacceptable. […]

A NATIONWIDE CONCESSIONARY TRAVEL SCHEME

Conference will be aware that the Concessionary Bus Travel Act (CBT) 2007 came into force on 1 April 2008. The Act provides free, off-peak travel (valid between 9.30am-11pm weekdays and at all times on weekends and Bank Holidays) for pensioners and disabled people in England. This has been welcomed by pensioners but there have been […]

FUEL POVERTY

In the March 2008 Budget, Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, did not totally ignore the plight of pensioners and increased the fuel allowance by £50 to £250, a one-off payment to be paid in the autumn. But the Budget has once again failed to deliver on the eradication of pensioner poverty. Because of rapidly […]

THE CENTENARY OF THE INTRODUCTION OF THE STATE PENSION 1909 TO 2009 – THE NEED TO STILL IMPROVE STATE PENSION PROVISION

Conference notes the work that was undertaken by UNISON to mark the centenary of the May 1908 Old Age Pensions Act. This highlighted the proud role that trade unions played in the struggle to establish the older generation’s right to an adequate income and dignity in their later years. As a result of the Act, […]

Assistive Technology

Conference notes with concern the poor record of Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) and individual forces in introducing assistive technology for disabled police staff. Assistive technology is the provision of software applications which allow workers with disabilities to access IT which otherwise would be denied to them. Conference notes that recently introduced police software packages, […]

National Contact Management Programme

Conference notes that the National Contact Management Programme (NCMP) aims to improve public/police interaction through the introduction of a standardised approach to contact management and the provision of guidance, which serves to support, shape and drive improved citizen focussed service delivery. Conference further notes that, when effectively implemented, the National Contact Management Programme is meant […]

Challenging Racism in the Workplace

Conferences notes that a Labour Research Report from 2001 identified that not all employers were doing all they could to comply with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. The 2000 Act amended the 1976 Race Relations Act to place a General Duty on all public authorities to promote race equality. Conference notes that the General […]