Time for Change Conference, the thorny subject of mental health as experience by Black people, needs examination. David Bennett died October 1988. Sir John Blofeld chair of the David Bennett, Independent Inquiry panel found that Institutional Racism exists within the Mental Health Services, in his report December 2005. One of the key recommendations: Do not […]
Conference motions
Conference notes with great concern how the cuts in policing will greatly disadvantage the excellent work previously undertaken to engage with disadvantaged communities. Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) were set up following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report highlighted that the police were disengaged with communities. IAGs have played an active role in ensuring that police engage […]
While we all know the debate around Public Service pensions has reached a difficult and tense period, especially with all negotiations failing to be constructive and positive and the employers being more and more intransigent. We still do not have a true picture of how the changes in the Public Service Pension scheme affect our […]
Conference on 2 September 2011 Eric Pickles, the Secretary for Communities and Local Government new guidance called ‘A fair deal for the community and voluntary sector.’ The guidance states councils should not carry out equality questionnaires and use the money saved to fund the community and voluntary sector. They claim that the questions asked about […]
Co-ordinated action against the various English, Scottish & Welsh Defence League: UNISON needs co-ordinated action against the various English,Scottish &Welsh Defence League: 1)This Conference notes the increasing number of English Defence League (EDL) actions across the country. Sites chosen for those actions have been deliberately selected to: –Increase fear and intimidation to Black communities –Increase […]
Call for Equality and Democracy in Swaziland Conference calls to set focus on Swaziland – a country so brutally savaged by the impact of HIV/AIDS, poverty, poor governance, and minus democratic rights. Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy in Africa; it is a country where 10% of 1.18 million population controls almost half of the […]
Speaking up against racism Conference welcomes another successful year where the BNP were driven back at the ballot box, thanks to the hard work of anti-racist and anti-fascist activists, many of whom are UNISON activists and members. Of the 258 candidates the BNP stood in the English local elections, only two were elected and they […]
Conference is concerned by research that has shown greater numbers of women of African, African-Caribbean and Pakistani origin are likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer that has spread than white women. A breast cancer incidence and survival study found that 17% of Pakistani women, 15% of African women, 11% of African Caribbean women and […]
Conference pledges its solidarity with the communities and cities affected by the disturbances in August 2011. Conference condemns the widespread damage to property, homes, small businesses – many owned by Black people – and employees losing their workplaces and jobs. The disturbances devastated communities that could ill afford it. However, Conference notes that the stereotyping […]
Conference believes that since taking office the Con-Dem government has had a devastating effect on all communities in the UK. Their policies have hurt the economy, the jobs and livelihoods of working people and slammed the barriers down on higher education for young people. Their rhetoric on race, immigration and multiculturalism have sought to divide […]
Conference, in recent years we have seen a decline in the care of our Black Social Workers in the field of mental health and the valuable work they perform on a daily basis in our communities. They are undervalued, under supervised and unheard by managers of their hardship. It is a known fact that in […]
The Government’s plan to drastically reform public sector pensions will condemn many Black people to a life of poverty in their old age. Black people’s poverty in retirement is directly linked to the discrimination and low levels of pay they experience throughout their working lives in the labour market. Conference notes the Runnymede Trust research […]
Conference believes that the level of unemployment amongst young Black people in the UK is a disaster. The current economic crisis has had a severe effect on the livelihoods and futures of Black workers, especially young Black workers. Research has shown that since the recession started, an alarming 48% of young Black people are currently […]
The Cultural and Language Barriers in the Workplace Conference, many of our members experience communication and Language barriers in the workplace. These members are some of our most vulnerable Black workers – migrant workers, low paid members, those working in the ‘hidden workforce’ but are integral and valuable for service delivery and provision. The reality […]
Conference notes the revised and improved version of the UNISON Challenging Racism in the Workplace Toolkit. In the Northern Region, we have encouraged branches to organize specific training for branch officers, representatives and lay members and this we would hope is being replicated elsewhere in other regions. In the East Midlands we have worked closely […]