Conference notes with pride the increase in UNISON membership during 2018 and commends the effort made by branches and activists towards this significant achievement in the face of unrelenting Tory cuts to public services. Throughout the decade of austerity UNISON has managed to mitigate membership losses and recruit new activists through its key Meeting the […]
Conference motions
Local government is a diverse network of roles and services that all work together to keep our local communities going. Local government workers have a vital role to play in this, working tirelessly to support the public in their everyday lives. They are true local champions, sometimes working ‘behind the scenes’ to make sure our […]
Conference is deeply concerned at the state of our public library service. In 2017-18 alone, spending by local authorities on public libraries fell by £30 million. The service lost 712 full-time equivalent posts and suffered a net loss of 127 service points. Volunteer numbers rose to a staggering 51,394 volunteers putting in 1,780,843 hours. Our […]
Conference deplores the use of zero hour contracts in local authorities, schools and in private contractors. Zero hour contracts represent an incredibly insecure form of employment, and are a major cause of in-work poverty. Employers can cancel shifts at short notice, or not award shifts in the first place. Many zero hour workers don’t know […]
Conference recognises that the crisis in social care continues apace across the UK as councils suffer the consequences of almost a decade of underfunding. According to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, £7bn has been cut from social care budgets since 2010. UNISON members have spoken out about the impact of cuts on […]
Conference re-affirms its belief that violence and aggression against workers, whether physical, verbal or psychological, is not part of the job. Conference notes, and congratulates all those involved in the work across the union in the past year, in highlighting this as one of UNISON’s key campaigning issues. It notes that UNISON has long campaigned […]
Conference believes that one of UNISON’s strengths lies in its recognition of the value and unique experiences disabled people bring to the workplace and to our union. UNISON recognises that people are disabled by societal and environmental barriers rather than their medical condition. Conference, commends the work of UNISON’s National Disabled Members Committee to raise […]
In G 4.2.4 at the end of the sentence insert the following: “and the law with particular reference to the Data Protection Act 2018”.
In existing Schedule B 2.3 after “above” delete the full stop and insert “with the exception of holding office. Persons in this category of membership shall not be entitled to hold any office in the Union.”
In existing rule G 4.1.6 insert after “branch secretary,” “branch chair”
Conference notes that brutal austerity has continued to blight public services. Despite claims from Prime Minister Theresa May in her 2018 Conservative Party Conference speech that “support for public services will go up”, all public services have been pushed to – and in many cases beyond – breaking point. Conference notes that during almost a […]
The damning report of the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur found that in the UK “14 million people, a fifth of the population, live in poverty. Four million of these are more than 50% below the poverty line, and 1.5 million are destitute, unable to afford basic essentials. The widely respected Institute for Fiscal Studies […]
Insert a new Rule G 3.4.4: “G 3.4.4 Agree any proposals for branch honoraria in line with the National scheme. Should the meeting be inquorate then these proposals should be considered by the Regional Council or the relevant delegated Lay body in the region.” Renumber existing Rules accordingly.
Delete current C 6.2 and replace with: “C 6.2 Details of where the rulebook may be downloaded from the UNISON website will be provided to each new member when they join. Hard copies of the rulebook may be requested.”
Conference recognises the major organising challenges facing branches and regions. Austerity, the continuing fragmentation of public service delivery as well as the loss of experienced activists through cutbacks, amongst other things, have contributed towards making the job of a UNISON activist ever more difficult. Conference believes that to meet these challenges, the union needs to […]