Conference notes that many more women members might be encouraged into activity in UNISON if our structures and practices were ‘part-time worker friendly’. Conference instructs the National Women’s Committee to seek resources to undertake a survey of our part time women members to find out from them what actions we need to take and what […]
Conference motions
Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the womb lining (endometrium) is found outside the uterus. It is estimated that 10% of women of childbearing age have endometriosis, irrespective of age or race. Nobody knows how it is caused, but for those who suffer from the condition symptoms can include: 1)Pelvic pain; 2)Painful […]
These days menstruation can start from as early as 11 years and last well until the mid-fifties. For most women menstruation is natural and is the process which we must endure in order to keep humanity alive ensuring civilisation continues. Yet the question has to be asked “If it is the fundamental role of women […]
Conference deplores the growing evidence of widespread islamaphobia in the UK and elsewhere. Conference notes that part of this distorted world view is the portrayal of Muslim women as passive victims. This narrow stereotype denies the diversity of Muslim women and ignores the long tradition of Muslim women’s organisation. Conference welcomes the example of the […]
Conference deplores the: 1)Widespread persecution of women on grounds of gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. 2)Criminalisation and official mistreatment of lesbian, bisexual and transgender (lbt) women in many countries. 3)United Kingdom Government’s failure to take this up with these countries. 4)Restrictive definitions of ‘family’ under immigration and asylum law. 5)Demonising and stigmatising of immigrants […]
This Conference welcomes government measures to increase the incomes of working families. This Conference also welcomes the National Guide produced in conjunction with the Daycare Trust, the national childcare charity for UNISON members to find out about the Working Families Tax Credit scheme. This Conference calls upon the National Women’s Committee to develop easy to […]
Statistics show that the majority of carers are women. The results of The General Household Survey 1995 (completed five yearly), the latest published in 1998 gave the following statistics: 1)One adult in 8 is a carer and one in 6 households (16%) contains a carer; 2)There are 5.7 million carers overall in Great Britain; 3)1.7 […]
The Pill has made it possible for women to decide when and how many children they will give birth to – something which has revolutionised women’s lives and is an important issue in women’s rights. Taking the Contraceptive Pill at any stage in a woman’s life increases the chance of breast cancer according to new […]
This Conference is alarmed at the rapid increase of car jacking incidents taking place, often against women drivers. Many women are lone workers, collecting pensions and shopping for the elderly and housebound. This puts them at greater risk. Also, many women lead extremely busy lives, working, shopping and ferrying children around, so it’s no wonder […]
Conference is pleased to see that women still comprise two thirds of the membership of UNISON and that women continue to be recruited into the union in ever increasing numbers. Conference is concerned that every support should be given to women to allow them to take an active role within the union as stewards and […]
The Conference welcomes the decision of the Government to allow RU486 (or Mifepristone) to be used by women who have chosen an early abortion. RU486 is a steroid hormone similar in structure to the natural hormone progesterone. It is widely used in France and now accounts for about 30% of all French abortions. RU486 can […]
The Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Women’s Committee is very concerned at the continuing disparity in the sentencing passed on men who murder their partners and women who kill their partners in the process of defending themselves against sustained domestic violence/abuse. This continuing discriminatory practice and misunderstanding of the effect that long term domestic violence has […]
This Conference is aware that one of the founding principles of UNISON was to have reached proportionality and fair representation by the year 2002, whilst this goal has not been achieved we recognise that there has been progress – principally that delegations from branches to national/regional events are now expected to achieve proportionality and fair […]
There has been a lot of publicity recently concerning the safety of hormone replacement therapy. This will have caused great concern to many women who use hormone replacement therapy and general confusion about the benefits/dangers of the long term use. This Conference instructs the National Women’s Committee to produce a publication covering hormone replacement therapy […]
This Conference notes the findings of the 2002 UNISON survey of UNISON representatives which concludes: 1)The typical UNISON steward is 47 years old, male, working full time and has been a steward for nine years. 2)55% of stewards are men compared to 33% of members who are men. 3)7% of stewards work part time compared […]