Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the Water, Environment and Transport service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that there have been some staff wellbeing initiatives by employers in the Water, Environment and Transport service group related to mental health support, these are not consistent and there is still further to go for employee wellbeing. Conference recognises that at least one in four of us will experience mental health problems at […]
Conference, the Water Industry has for some time turned a blind eye to the fact that waste water employees are taking work wear home to launder. It is understood the reason for this is that the waste water industry has not whole heartily been able to find a laundry provision that accommodates the ability to […]
Conference is concerned to note that increasingly both branch activists and lay officials are finding themselves suffering extreme stress and anxiety when dealing with the levels of case load that they are presented with. In some cases representatives in WET have been placed under extreme personal pressure by employers. Conference notes that these pressures on […]
UNISON is committed to fair representation and proportionality (Rule D4.1). However, within the WET sector we do not see enough Black members represented at branch, regional and national committee level. Raising the profile of Black activists within Water, Environment and Transport employers and increasing the number of Black members involved at branch, regional and national […]
In 2009, the Department for Work and Pensions embarked on an experiment to understand the scarcity of non-white faces in top managerial posts in UK organisations. 2,000 fake job applications were created in response to 1,000 real vacancies across multiple sectors, professions and pay grades. Similar CVs – one with a “traditional Anglo-Saxon” name and […]
This Conference notes with alarm the stance that the Environment Agency took in imposing the 2018 Pay Award on its employees, following the announcement by all trade unions who consulted their members that there was overwhelming rejection of the 2018 Pay Award. The employer took little time to consider the news of rejection and simply […]
In the unexpected heat of the long Summer of 2018, workers employed in the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group experienced difficulties undertaking their normal roles with inadequate provision provided by employers. Whilst mains fed water coolers are becoming more common in our workplaces following a long campaign by our Service Group within UNISON other […]
As staffing levels plummet in both the public and private sectors, UNISON representatives in the areas covered by the WET Service Group find themselves dealing with more and more cases including those of stress and mental health. This in turn puts pressure on representatives themselves who get personally involved in some such cases and require […]
Conference notes the continual increase in the number of UNISON members working on phones in contact centres in employers covered by the Water, Environment & Transport Service Group. Currently, United Utilities only provides audio tests for employees reaching the upper noise limits as recommended by the HSE such as operational employees in hearing protection areas. […]
Conference notes the success of WET specific Health and Safety seminars in 2016 and 2018. Due to the ever-changing Health and Safety risks experienced by UNISON members employed within the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group, we call upon the Service Group Executive in conjunction with UNISON’s Health and Safety Unit to convene a similar […]
Conference recognises that health and social care workers are dedicated and hard working but lowly paid with poor terms and conditions. They do their best to provide quality care but against a background of crisis within health and social care services. Research confirms care for residents in privately run homes for the elderly can be […]
In Standing Order 10.1 After “report to” delete “members” and substitute: “the relevant Branch or submitting body”, and, after “submission of motions and amendments” add: “to Standing Orders” City of Wolverhampton Islington
In first paragraph, delete all after “(LGBT+) people,” in second sentence and insert “disabled people, women, and Black people, to consider apprenticeships. Potential members of the network have to demonstrate their commitment to make measurable improvements to diversity.” Insert new third paragraph: “Conference notes the disability employment gap is nearly 30%. There is limited research […]
A recent report in the Journal of Transport and Health by Dr Sarah Jackson, highlighted important benefits for older people who use a concessionary bus pass: a) Older people who use a concessionary bus pass tend to be more happy and physically active; b) They are also less likely to be socially isolated when they […]