Conference notes that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) housing problems are related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Increasingly, more LGBT people are having to rent their homes from a private landlord, because of the lack of council houses, social rented accommodation and other affordable housing, or the housing and local allocations policies […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that: 1) Since 2010 the government has imposed a £2.6 billion reduction in social care funding which has had a devastating impact on home care services; 2) As local authority’s budgets have been squeezed they have used competitive tendering to drive down the costs and standards of home care; 3) A recent UNISON […]
Conference recalls that in 2010, the United Kingdom (UK) Coalition Government pledged: ‘We will stop the deportation of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because of their sexual orientation’. David Cameron promised that: “Those Africans seeking asylum on the basis of sexual orientation and at real risk of persecution in their home […]
Conference reiterates its belief that our members deserve fair pay, equal pay and that no member should earn less than the Living Wage. However we note that living standards for working people have now suffered the greatest fall since the Victorian era; wages are stagnant across the economy yet the price of essentials continues to […]
Conference notes that on 7 May 2015 a new government will be elected in Westminster. Whatever its political make-up, there will be repercussions for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. As evidenced by the LGBT group’s research on the impact of austerity, four years of Conservative-led government have seen LGBT workers’ pay fall in […]
Conference notes that the European Union (EU) and the United States have started negotiations on a new trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which could serve as a model for all future trade agreements. Conference further notes that the TTIP will not just remove trade tariffs but will also: harmonise regulatory standards; […]
Conference welcomes the increasing strength of the intersex movement and the third International Intersex Organising Forum, held in Malta in November 2013, attended by activists representing 30 intersex organisations from all continents. It notes that the Forum adopted a public statement including recommendations on a wide range of issues of concern to people born intersex. […]
Conference notes with concern the impact of a shift to a market centred model across Europe is resulting in an increasingly hostile debate around immigration. Parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on the immigration debate in the UK, are scapegoating some of the most vulnerable workers in the labour market for the economic […]
UNISON remains committed to and will continue to fight for public services delivered by workers directly employed on terms and conditions that have been collectively bargained by democratically accountable public bodies. Nevertheless, Conference recognises that more and more public service workers are employed by the private sector and the community and voluntary sector. Often working: […]
Conference notes that employers have increasingly been turning to zero hour contracts, as part of the general attack on staff terms and conditions that has accompanied the intensification of privatisation and cuts to funding across the public services. Zero hour contracts are where an individual is not guaranteed work and is paid only for the […]
Community Stewards: Training and Support, Negotiating, Bargaining and Facility Time Conference recognises that trained stewards are vital to the success of building and recruiting strong UNISON membership within the community sector and to ensure that its membership is fully able to represent its members. Also many groups of workers in the Community Service Group are […]
Conference notes a key finding of the report in the abuse at Winterbourne View Hospital was that the staff were not properly trained. Training is a key issue for Care. Often training is not provided, or is adhoc and/or inadequate. Furthermore, increasingly, more and more training is delivered as online courses whereby it is not […]
Conference currently local councils are setting budgets with substantial cuts in “Supporting People” funding. This is having a devastating effect on our member’s terms and conditions; removal of post TUPE enhancements for weekend working, Bank Holiday and Night Waking, sickness absence entitlements reduced from six months full pay, six months half pay to two months […]
This conference notes the devastating impact that marketisation, public sector funding cuts, and welfare reform, have had on workers in the community and voluntary sector. Market mechanisms have led to a race to the bottom in terms and conditions in many parts of the sector, as employers undercut each other to win contracts. The Government […]
This Conference notes: • The living wage is now set at £7.65 an hour and £8.80 in London. • By comparison, the national minimum wage is £6.31 an hour for adults and £5.03 for those aged 18 to 21. • That the national government and administrations of devolved nations pay their staff the living wage. […]