Public services can be seen as one of the last bastions of a socially collective and cohesive society; yet our Health, Education, Housing, Transport and Utilities Services are now subject to the volatility of market forces. Our Health Service was in the vanguard of public/private partnerships (PP’s) as set out under a Tory Government over […]
Conference motions
Conference welcomes the work carried out by the Health Group on issues affecting lesbians and gay men but believes that bisexual and transgender issues have not received sufficient prominence. Conference notes, for example, that transgender health workers face particular pressures, especially when working in clinical environments (in both clinical and non-clinical posts). Conference acknowledges therefore […]
Many of us have fought for years for equality in all areas. We have had some successes, including some excellent employment laws. However, these laws can sometimes be used against us and when they are there is very little in the way of information and support. Many of our members work alone with another female/male […]
Conference is concerned to learn that Private Finance Initiative employers are not included in Agenda for Change. It is well known that in many trusts a high proportion of Black and Ethnic Minority workers are employed in the PFI sector. Research has also highlighted that Black and Ethnic Minority workers are amongst the highest number […]
This Regional Health Committee calls for a review of SGE reporting and communications with a view to improving information available to branches.
Conference notes that despite the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (RRAA) and introduction of race equality schemes, employers are continuing to drag their heels and do little to implement positive action. The publication of league tables is still not transparent, in that the majority of employers are not publicising the results. The Department of Health has […]
Conference notes the initiatives being pursued by the various health departments to address recruitment and retention of staff, specifically around flexible working and other initiatives to enable staff to achieve a better work-life balance. UNISON has campaigned long and hard to address these issues on behalf of members and the timing of key initiatives such […]
Conference is pleased to note the success of the work to create a learning culture in health branches carried out with support from Union Learning Funded projects across UNISON. To date since 2002 well over 750 learning advisers and reps* working in xx branches+ have been trained. Pilot branches in each region are trialling training […]
This Conference welcomes the British Government’s commitment to support national governments who want to take forward a combination of approaches, balancing the urgent need to prevent new HIV infections with efforts to treat and care for people with HIV and Aids. The nations with the highest HIV infection rates are predominately Black, leading to scaremongering […]
The Sudanese government’s campaign of the ethnic cleansing of Black Africans is all but complete. State-backed Arab militia and the Sudanese army have driven over a million people from their homes. Murder, rape and robbery are the tools used to force Black Africans to flee the Darfur region. The West’s response has been to flood […]
Conference note that over the last 18 years, the rebels of Lord Resistance Army (LRA) have been abducting children, torturing and slaughtering innocent people of Northern & Eastern Uganda. The 18 year war against Uganda Government by the LRA has resulted in numerous massacres of the local population and the abduction of up to 20,000 […]
Conference remains concerned about the drastic cuts in the Commission for Racial Equality’s (CRE) funding of free and accessible community-based frontline Complainant Aid services, which had been the primary resource for black workers seeking advice, support and representation for complaints of race discrimination. Conference believes that despite an increase in anti-discrimination laws, black workers and […]
Conference rejects the presence of the BNP and other far right parties in the UK and condemns its role in the increase in racist abuse and racist attacks against our ethnic minority members and communities. Conference welcomes ongoing initiatives being taken to combat racism and the rise of the BNP, such as the programme of […]
Since the Amendment to the Race Relations Acts of 1976 and the implementation of the Race Equality Schemes in April 2002, little progress appears to have been made in all of the public sectors. Employers continue to drag their heels and demonstrate lack of enthusiasm regarding producing and implementing their Race Equality Schemes. Conference therefore […]
This Black Members’ Conference notes the Government’s programme of managed migration and acknowledges that there is a need to open a proper debate about the demand for migration workers. If the UK is to sustain its place as the world’s fourth largest economy then migration is needed. Conference believes that as well as accepting the […]