Reform Stop and Search

An article cited in the Birmingham Metro newspaper, dated 31st October 2007, titled ‘Police do stop more Blacks’ referred to Black people being seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by Police than Whites. In addition the Ministry of Justice report confirmed that an extra 14,000 Black people were targeted by Stop and […]

FREE NATIONWIDE TRAVEL

The Government included in the 2006 budget the introduction of free local bus travel for pensioners and disabled persons in April 2006 and free nationwide bus travel in April 2008. The implementation of the free local bus travel in April 2006 has not been consistent. Local schemes have been implemented but with many anomalies and […]

Review of UNISON Structures

At UNISON National Delegate conference in 2007 held in Brighton, Motion 12 – Under Participation and Headed “Black Members Self Organised Group – Possible Name Change” suggested that the title “Black Members Self Organised Group” was no longer adequate to reflect the ethnic diversity of our membership and could even prevent workers from Eastern European […]

Commisson for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR)

The Equality Act 2006 dissolved the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission; to make provision about discrimination on grounds of religion or belief; to enable provision to be made about discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation; to impose duties relating to sex discrimination on persons performing public functions; […]

Solidarity with Venezuela

Conference notes that President Hugo Chavez’s government in Venezuela has introduced a number of inspiring social reforms since his first election in 1998. Previously, despite Venezuela’s oil wealth, 80% of the population, mostly people of African, indigenous Indian and mixed-race origin, lived below the poverty line without access to basic services. Now, for the first […]

Opposing Racist Attacks and Violence

Conference notes that rising racism creates an increasingly dangerous climate for all Black, Jewish and other minority communities. Despite the most common form of racist crime being harassment and verbal abuse, some Black people tragically are victim to violent attack. Between 2002-2005 government figures show 23 racially motivated murders in Britain. And yet, many racist […]

Tackling Racism in Schools

Conference notes that education at all ages is essential to empower ourselves and challenge racism in society. In most cases school is the first introduction to formal education. The government has revealed that the number of pupils excluded on the grounds of racist bullying rose by 29% between 2004 and 2005. There are concerns that […]

Stop Scapegoating Muslims

Conference notes that in a context of rising racism against all Black communities Muslims have been particularly singled out and targeted. The largest project monitoring Islamophibia undertaken following the events of September 11 by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in 2002 published the “Summary report on Islamophibia in the EU”. The […]

Black Representation Throughout UNISON

Conference notes that in 2007 the National Black Members’ Committee (NBMC)have supported the UNISON Health Service Group to develop a toolkit for Black workers to become activists. This resource highlights a series of steps to address Black under-representation, including guidance on how to become a steward, how to set up a Black members’ group, how […]

Defending Multiculturalism

Conference notes that recent months have seen sections of the media and politicians attempt to discredit multiculturalism by holding it responsible for various social problems. Multiculturalism is the view that everybody should be able to live as they please, with the culture they want, so long as this does not harm others. It is a […]

Moving on Up Report: Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean Women and Work

Conference noted the Moving On Up report published by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in March 2007 which found that Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi girls obtain better GCSE grades, including Maths and English than white British boys. Yet Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women graduates seeking work are five times more likely to be unemployed than […]

Taking Action Against Climate Change

Climate change is the single greatest threat to the future development of humanity. It is estimated that by the year 2100, average temperatures will have risen by six degrees, if governments fail to act in the next ten years there will be catastrophic consequences in the future. The results of such climate change will be […]

Stop the BNP

Conference notes the British National Party (BNP) is a fascist organisation that denies the Holocaust and multiculturalism. It stands for creating an all white Britain, the destruction of trade unions and the elimination of basic democratic rights. The BNP has 49 councillors and polled a record 292,911 votes in May 2007. The May 2008 London […]

Slavery

Conference recognises 1.The first English Slavery expedition was carried out by Sir John Hawkins in 1562 and the transatlantic slave trade lasted for over 200 years. 2.This year marks 201 years since the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade; the Bill first proposed by Tory reformer William Wilberforce received Royal Assent on 25 […]

Honour Killings

Conference welcomes 8th March as International Women’s Day and the advances women have made however, there is still a long way to go. Conferences understand that violence against women, in addition to physical and sexual violence, can include trafficking, honour killings and female genital mutilation. Conference further recognises that domestic violence is the most common […]