Defend the Right to Strike

Conference is alarmed at the new Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) Bill for Great Britain which further attacks the right to strike and with draw your labour in this country. Conference believes that the right to strike is a fundamental human right and needs to be exercised now to win better wages and conditions in the […]

Cost of Living

Conference notes that we are in a cost of living crisis with inflation and energy prices soaring, outstripping pay deals in every sector. The increases in interest rates and the impact on mortgages, and therefore also private renting, as a result of the Truss government’s failed economic policies have only heightened pressures on households. In […]

The Fat Cats are Still Smiling

Conference is only too aware of the ongoing mismanagement of water companies’ finances. Water companies need to be more transparent with how their organisations are being financed. A number of large Water & Sewage Companies have been with the begging bowl to OFWAT, the Government’s Water Regulator, for help yet are still taking out millions […]

Fuel Poverty and the need for a social tariff

Over the last couple of years, we have seen how the continued impacts of the energy crisis have affected ourselves, our members, and the customers we serve. Low wages, below inflation pay rises, substandard housing, to name a few, have seen us all struggling to make ends meet. We all know fuel poverty is on […]

A Vision for a National Care Service

Conference recognises the need for change in social care. The current system values neither staff or service users. It creates a low paid workforce and fails to recognise the skills required for the high quality social care that our most vulnerable citizens deserve. The current system across the UK enables and promotes a market approach […]

Time to Shine a light on Dark Practices.

Conference notes that due to ever increasing expectations on our members more and more work is done out of normal working hours and in some cases routine inspections on wastewater treatment works is becoming the norm in hours of darkness. Of particular concern to our members are those sites with inadequate lighting, security or access […]

Supporting our Disabled Members During Sickness Absence Meetings.

Conference is only too aware that having trained reps to support and guide our members during sickness meetings is essential in obtaining a good outcome. Conference will further acknowledge that supporting our disabled members requires a further detailed knowledge of the Equality act 2010. Some managers in the water industry may be competent with day-to-day […]

Managing Difficult Customers/members of the Public.

This energy conference notes that, In the past year we have experienced a cost of living crisis which has placed many energy customers in increasingly difficult circumstances. Fuel poverty is on the rise and many households are having to choose between eating or heating. It is making people more stressed and anxious and at times […]

Social Care Crisis – The Urgent Need for Reform an

Conference notes that it has debated many motions over recent years on social care, including for older people. However, the problems remain. Conference is appalled that adult social care continues to exist in a state of permanent crisis and that the sector remains severely underfunded, with hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled people being […]

Defend Our Right to Vote – Voter ID is Voter Suppr

Conference is deeply concerned at the changes in the law surrounding the requirement for mandatory voter ID at all general and by-elections in the UK and many other elections in England and Wales as part of the Elections Act passed in April last year. This is the requirement to show photographic proof of identity at […]

Young Black workers and the cost of living crisis

Conference notes that the cost of living in the UK has surged to crisis levels, with increasing energy prices, food prices and housing costs, against a background of wages which over the past decade have not kept pace with inflation. Conference further notes the specific impact of the cost of living crisis on Black workers. […]

Eliminating racism in Scottish sport

“25th July 2022, Scottish Cricket was found to have caused systemic discrimination and racism over many years, in a report by Plan4Sport called Changing The Boundaries. They found the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist. It confirms 448 examples that demonstrated institutional racism. Reoccurring themes were mapped against 31 indicators […]

The impact of the cost-of-living rise on Black low paid workers

The current cost-of-living crisis affects everyone especially given the huge rise in energy prices, but there is evidence that the impact will be disproportionately felt by those who are already struggling to make ends meet and particularly Black members who are over-represented in low wage jobs and often with limited career progression. Research conducted with […]

Cost of living impact on mental illness in Black workers

This Conference notes that Black communities continue to experience complex factors that significantly and adversely affect their mental health. The recent cost of living crisis is impacting significantly on Black members across the country. Black communities are already more likely to experience distressing events that affect them adversely due to racism, discrimination and inequity affecting […]

Black workers and non-apparent impairments

Conference notes that many employers still refuse to accept a worker is disabled and entitled to reasonable adjustments unless their impairment is obvious. However many impairments are not immediately apparent. Black people disproportionately experience impairments such as lupus, diabetes and sickle cell and thalassemia which are impairments that aren’t always obvious to other people. Some […]