Conference notes that alongside extra funding and improved levels of care, recent years have seen a continuation of government policies to extend the marketisation of the English NHS and to create a larger role for the private sector. It is highly likely that this trend will continue whatever the outcome of the 2010 general election. […]
Conference motions
Conference welcomes the fact that the issue of Palestine became a key international priority for the British trade union movement during 2009 following the unprecedented and disproportionate use of force by Israel against the people of Gaza. Conference notes the comprehensive policy on Palestine adopted by National Delegate Conference in 2009 and reiterates its support […]
The Philippines is becoming increasingly dangerous for trade unionists and labour activists. According to the International Trade Union Confederation’s Annual Survey of Trade Union rights violations, the Philippines is the most dangerous place in Asia to be a trade unionist. In 2008, 218 new cases of trade union and human rights violations involving almost 69,000 […]
Conference applauds Gordon Brown’s statement of commitment last year to the principle of the Tobin Tax and notes the immediate reaction from Boris Johnson in defence of an independent and greedy City which illustrated the determination of so many Tories to defend unfettered access to unlimited unearned income from the financial markets. The proposal to […]
Conference notes with concern that many employers have either introduced new draconian measures or have ‘tightened up’ existing procedures in an attempt to reduce rates of sickness absence. Many employers record, actively manage and pursue capability procedures against workers whose attendance is affected by illness. These measures often make little or no distinction between workers […]
Conference notes the devastation caused by the earthquake that has struck the Caribbean Island of Haiti. Reports have revealed that over 200,000 Haitians have died, including nursing staff, volunteers and other aid workers. The Haitian government estimate that 1.5 million have been left homeless in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and are sleeping on the streets […]
UNISON has had a long and historic link with the Labour party, but this government is no longer seen as a party for the working class or a party that has any interest in the masses, it continues to use political terminology such as disadvantage to place Black people in society. Therefore offering no hope […]
It is well known that young people are the future of this organisation and with that in mind we need a targeted advertising campaign to recruit more young Black members into UNISON, working directly with NUS Black Student campaign, UNISON young members and other Black orientated youth organisations. We call upon National Black Members’ Committee […]
Black members’ conference welcomes the Government’s proposed commitment to introduce new harmonised and comprehensive equality legislation in the Equality Bill. UNISON Black members have experienced the full effects of the recession and recognise that only strong anti-discrimination legislation, and a proactive public sector duty, will protect both Black communities and the workforce. In particular Conference […]
The present economic crisis is a threat to the living standards, jobs and pensions of all working classes around the world. In the United Kingdom where we have a one million young people under the age of twenty five year olds out of work and increasing unemployment across the private sector and public sector. A […]
Conference commends UNISON’s International work including Action Aid, Water and sanitation in Gaza, creating awareness of corporate tax evasion in developing countries, HIV and Aids in Southern Africa, to name just a few. Conference is, however, concerned about UNISON’s lack of work on the eradication of malaria, a killing machine that has, for so many […]
This conference would like to raise the issue of the current process of electing Black NEC members to the reserved Black seats. Presently this process is open to the whole membership of our union. We believe that any election to these seats should only be voted on by Black members as the seats are for […]
This conference notes that the RMS system still does not record data on the ethnic origins of all our members. Information is collected on members joining branches, however a member could change job in their workplace and never complete a membership update form. In order to have accurate records on the ethnic origins of all […]
UNISON was actively instrumental in winning August 23 as the National Slavery Memorial Day in 2007. However the response of our union in leading and organising Black workers and others to commemorate this day has been very low key or in some cases non-existent. The union must commit to a regionally supported event and an […]
This conference welcomes the work of UNISON’s International committee, Labour link and UNISON departments working on a range of issues. However, there is concern that the needs and interests of Black members appear not to be taken as seriously as other sections of UNISON. For instance, the non participation of UNISON at the UN World […]