Pregnancy and Family Leave In May 2023, the ‘Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act’ received royal assent. When it comes into force, the Act will modify the existing Employment Rights Act 1996 and introduce essential safeguards during pregnancy or family leave. It will give those who are pregnant or a recent returner from […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that within the public sector, almost 65% of workers are women and as more and more of the public sector is sold off, increasing numbers of working women are facing precarious and low paid work as a result. This is also an intersectionality issue with Black women and disabled women being disproportionality impacted. […]
Conference is concerned that women workers are being refused access to apprenticeships on the bases of working part-time. Conference is aware that 5.87 million people work within the public sector with 1.96 million working within the NHS and 2 million working in Local Government. Conference is also aware that around 65% of public sector workers […]
Conference notes that Infertility is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a disease of the reproductive system and should be handled at work in the same way as any other health condition. Research by Fertility Network UK has shown that most people experiencing fertility problems are reluctant to speak to their employer, because they […]
Conference, access to justice through legal aid was already significantly restricted following the major changes to legal aid in 2012. However, shockingly a recent report by the Women’s Budget group has found that women have been disproportionally affected by these changes, leaving them without essential support to fight discrimination, violence, and housing insecurity. Conference, Dr […]
Conference, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live our lives and inevitably will have significant consequences within our working lives too. Conference, we recognise the value of AI and as recently highlighted by PWC, AI alone could add an estimated £232 billion to the UK economy by 2030. The introduction of new technology […]
Conference recalls the “trans equality – louder and prouder” motion that was adopted by the 2022 women’s conference, which acknowledged the toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom (UK) government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) and recognised the need for our union, including the national women’s committee, to become more visible and […]
Conference celebrates that we are at the beginning of UNISON’s the Year of LGBT+ Workers and welcomes the opportunity that this provides to promote UNISON as the union for LGBT+ workers, raise awareness of LGBT+ rights, challenge discrimination, and recruit and activate LGBT+ members. The year highlights the important contribution our LGBT+ members make to […]
Menopause let’s get it on every agenda The menopause is part of the natural ageing process for most women. Commonly known as ‘the change’, it refers to the point in time when menstruation has ceased for twelve consecutive months and a person has reached the end of their reproductive life. It is important to note […]
Domestic Abuse ‘Access for all’ This Women’s Conference is appalled that two women are killed each week from Domestic Abuse and many women and children are stuck in abusive situations due to the fact that they cannot access a refuge space. The reduction in refuge provision for women and children throughout the UK is not […]
Employers are using COVID as an excuse to avoid addressing the menopause. UNISON and the TUC have made great strides in breaking down the menopause stigma, however, we feel that this work has now been majorly overshadowed by COVID-19 and employers are once again disregarding the impact the menopause can have on Women, their partners […]
Conference notes the UNICEF report from September 2023 which found that 70% of UK-based parents of children and new babies felt that life was getting harder for parents. Over two-thirds of parents believe that the Government is not doing enough to support them. In the UNICEF survey of parents of 0-4-year-olds, 78% reported that the […]
Conference notes the rule change passed at National Delegate Conference 2023 which raised the age limit for young members from all those aged 26 and under to all those aged 30 and under. Conference further notes that this roughly doubles the number of young members in UNISON, and is therefore a unique opportunity to build […]
This conference knows how much digital technology has changed all our lives. The use of mobile phones, social media, home camera systems does make our communication with work colleagues, friends, and family so much quicker and easier. In the main these are all good methods to keep us safe and in touch. However there has […]
Conference notes the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which gives parents the right to take up to two weeks’ time off work to deal with the death of a child, if the child has died under the age of 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, as well as […]