Higher education pay has fallen behind. Since 2009 our pay has lost around 28% of its value as a result of below inflation cost-of-living rises year on year. The extreme increase in prices during 2022 has brought this to a crisis point, and UNISON members working in Higher Education are facing real hardship as a […]
Conference motions
Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022. Throughout the year we saw renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in society, including those in the Higher Education service group. We used the year to highlight the important contribution our disabled members make to […]
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) gives people the right to request information from universities. The Act aims to promote a culture of transparency and accountability, and therefore facilitate better understanding of how the universities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend public money and that […]
Higher Education professional support staff across the country provide a vital service to our universities and students by carrying out hugely varied roles across our Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), though too often this work is not given the recognition it deserves by employers. UNISON has a brilliant membership benefits package. There are opportunities to promote […]
The primary role of UNISON, or any Trade Union, is to use the collective power of its members to deliver lasting and significant improvements to pay, pension rights and working conditions. We cannot help but be mindful of, and worried for the health and wellbeing of our members in HE, facing as they have been […]
Conversion therapy refers to the practise of attempting to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity. There are many different techniques, both physical and mental, that can include talking therapies and prayer, but more extreme forms can include exorcism, physical violence such as electric shocks and testosterone injections. There is no reliable scientific evidence that […]
Conference notes that it has been some years since HERA was introduced as the tool for role analysis in the majority of UK universities as part of the National Framework Agreement. As part of that many UNISON activists were trained and accredited as HERA Role Analysts to support members wishing to have their roles evaluated, […]
Conference police crime scene examiners are often one of the first attendees at crime scenes. During their careers they photograph hundreds of scenes and are exposed to a variety of traumatic and distressing situations. Scene examiners are dealing with the examination of dead bodies, close up photography of post-mortems, and fingerprinting the deceased. They are […]
Conference many of you will be aware that even today many organisations are comfortably functioning in an environment that not only contributes to, but condones racism. In the Probation Service commendable work had been done which revealed that people of colour had experienced racism and the Service had developed a strategy they agreed to immediately […]
There are pockets of policing which are still outsourced to private enterprise. This means that there are staff working for our policing services who are subjected to less favourable terms and conditions than those which many of our colleagues have managed to secure through the Police Staff Council and union influence. The staff affected need […]
The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the Police and Justice service group, supporting and representing our trans members effectively. Attacks on trans rights have escalated further in the past year. There has been a sustained attack […]
As a result of the release of Part 1 of the Winsor report, there became a requirement for police officers to prove their ability to remain fit for their role and for this to be tested annually. The JRFT became the test that to be successfully completed before personal safety training could be taken. It […]
This conference notes that the Government’s new Health and Care Act has introduced Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) into 42 areas of England, which became fully operational in July 2022. Under the Health and Care Act, the former Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have been absorbed into the ICSs – specifically into their Boards (ICBs). Each ICB […]
Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022. Although the year is not yet complete, we have seen renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in society, including those in the Police and Justice service group. We have used the year to highlight the […]
Amendments to SO 10.1 Delete the whole of the first sentence and replace with: “If, at the end of the Conference the business of conference has not been concluded, all outstanding motions and amendments shall stand referred to the National Retired Members’ Committee. The National Retired Members’ Committee in turn shall report back to the […]