Conference welcomes the increasing strength of the intersex movement and the third International Intersex Organising Forum, held in Malta in November 2013, attended by activists representing 30 intersex organisations from all continents. It notes that the Forum adopted a public statement including recommendations on a wide range of issues of concern to people born intersex. […]
Conference motions
The National Retired Members’ Committee continues to work to ensure that the UNISON website serves as an efficient means of communicating with over 166,000 Retired members. It is vital that members are provided with information about campaigns that they can get involved with and the activities being undertaken by UNISON. Conference notes that since the […]
Conference opposes any attempts by Governments across the UK to cut universal benefits for older people such as the winter fuel payment, free bus pass, free prescriptions and free TV licences. These benefits are essential to ensuring a decent standard of living and social inclusion for millions of pensioners who face daily poverty, fuel poverty […]
Conference notes with concern the impact of a shift to a market centred model across Europe is resulting in an increasingly hostile debate around immigration. Parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on the immigration debate in the UK, are scapegoating some of the most vulnerable workers in the labour market for the economic […]
UNISON remains committed to and will continue to fight for public services delivered by workers directly employed on terms and conditions that have been collectively bargained by democratically accountable public bodies. Nevertheless, Conference recognises that more and more public service workers are employed by the private sector and the community and voluntary sector. Often working: […]
Conference welcomes the progress of the Local Government Service Group’s Ethical Care Campaign. The campaign highlights how low wages and poor terms and conditions for workers undermines the quality and safety of the service and the dignity of service users, and urges local authorities to sign up to UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter. The Charter addresses […]
Conference recalls that in 2010, the United Kingdom (UK) Coalition Government pledged: ‘We will stop the deportation of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because of their sexual orientation’. David Cameron promised that: “Those Africans seeking asylum on the basis of sexual orientation and at real risk of persecution in their home […]
Conference reiterates its belief that our members deserve fair pay, equal pay and that no member should earn less than the Living Wage. However we note that living standards for working people have now suffered the greatest fall since the Victorian era; wages are stagnant across the economy yet the price of essentials continues to […]
Conference deplores the rise of the use of zero-hours contracts in local government. Zero hour contracts are a throwback to the sorry days of casual labour waiting at the dockside hoping to be picked out for work. Working hours can become unpredictable, meaning no guaranteed wage to help people pay their bills or plan for […]
Conference notes with concern the continuing threat to facility time to Local Government Branches. Such Branches now work with a plethora of employers and are dealing with the consequences of huge and unprecedented cuts to local government funding. Conference notes that a motion on Branch facility time was passed at National Local Government Service Group […]
Conference notes with concern that local government workers pay is falling behind other public and private sector workers. Many local authorities are trying to move away from NJC pay and conditions which could lead to regional or local pay. If this happens it is likely to divide UNISON members and further erode pay and conditions. […]
YOUNG WORKERS, APPRENTICESHIP SCHEMES AND WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMMES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT Conference believes that there is a staffing crisis in local government, with around half a million jobs lost since the General Election in 2010 (mainly as a result of UK Government cuts in local authority funding). The cuts mean diminishing prospects for young people […]
Conference values local government’s history as an important part of the gender equality movement, acting as a key employer for women. Women make up 65% of local government staff and many of those women are low-paid and working part-time. Women are also more likely to use public services than men, and use them more intensively […]