FINANCIAL PROBITY IN THE NHS

Conference notes with serious concern the unprecedented level of spending by the Government on global management consultants that advise on the marketisation and privatisation of the NHS. Public money paid to McKinsey Consultancy over the last 3 years has dramatically accelerated from spending £250 thousand in 2004 to £4 million in 2005 to almost £10 […]

NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICE STAFFING CUTS

Conference notes with alarm the savage reductions in staffing levels of donor collection staff and the closure of processing centres. The reduction of staff in teams has meant consistent understaffing, leading to stress, extended working days with the resultant damage to personal and family life. Whilst UNISON recognises the fall in demand for blood, it […]

JOINED UP EQUALITY

Conference notes the requirements for Equality Schemes and Equality Impact Assessments under the provisions for ‘positive equalities duties’ relating to race, gender and disability. Conference further notes: 1. Recent equality legislation including the Employment Equality Regulations covering sexual orientation and religion or belief; the Civil Partnership Act; the provisions of the Equality Act 2006 banning […]

NHS LONG SERVICE RECOGNITION

Conference notes the various Award schemes run by different NHS Employers to reward unbroken long service to its employees. These awards taking the form of vouchers, badges, meals, hampers and certificates presented at certain stages of what that particular employer deems as long service. Whilst this recognises the contribution and efforts of employees who have […]

HEALTH SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY & VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Conference notes and supports the important historical role the community and voluntary sector has provided in shaping public services – not as an alternative for directly-employed public sector workers, but as an innovator, working with the NHS and campaigning for new ideas and ways of working. Examples include the maternity and midwifery services built up […]

SICKNESS ABSENCE POLICIES

Conference is appalled by the continuing discrimination by employers in the National Health Service towards disabled members when using Sickness Absence policies. Many Employers in both Private and Public Sectors of the NHS carry the two tick logo. Schemes like the ‘Bradford Factor’, where a disabled Members could pick up 1000’s of points with ongoing […]

SUPPORT FOR MEMBERS UNDERGOING GENDER REASSIGNMENT

Conference welcomes the initial work on gender identity undertaken by the Department of Health’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group (SOGIAG) and the NHS Scotland LGBT Health Inclusion Project. Conference welcomes the increased profile of transgender issues but notes that trans people still face considerable hurdles accessing healthcare and the NHS does not yet […]

High Visa Fees for Fresh Talent Initiative Prospectors

UNISON welcomes the proposal to use the Scottish Executive Fresh talent Initiative as a model in the North West and West Midlands and applauds the efforts to sensitise the population on the positive contribution that immigrants make to the Scottish economy. We are however concerned at the very high fees associated with the Fresh Talent […]

Training and Work Opportunites for Black Mem over age of 50

This conference notes that a New Deal Plus is a Government initiative by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to engage with unemployed people over the age of 50 to access training and employment. Conference is deeply concerned that only 17 out of 32,000 adults in the Reading area who were placed via the […]

Use of Disciplinary Procedure Against Black Staff

This Conference notes that there is a disproportionate amount of black members who are subject to disciplinary procedures within the work place. This leads us to the question whether disciplinary procedures are being applied fairly and equally to all staff. A consequence of this is that the morale of black staff is negatively affected – […]

Barriers to Progression and Promotions for Black Employees

Conference is deeply concerned that black employees are severely disadvantaged for promotion and progression. In line with UNISON’s Objective 2: negotiating and bargaining on behalf of members and promoting equality, Conference instructs the National Black Members Committee to work with the National Executive Council to: 1)collate statistics, to form a report, from all the service […]

Electronic Submission of Motions to National Black Members Conference

Conference notes the processes and procedures used for a number of years for the submission of motions to the National Black Members Conference. The process currently sets specific dates for motions to be submitted to the Conference Office and currently this can be done by post or fax. We live in a world that is […]

United Nations (UN) World Conference Against Racism 2001

This Conference notes that UNISON sent a delegation to the UN World Conference against Racism 2001 as it did to the UN Women’s World Conference. We applaud the fact that a conference of over 160 nation states agreed that slavery was a crime against humanity even though the United Kingdom and the United States of […]

Black Pride – Inclusion and Unity

Conference notes that the first United Kingdom Black Pride took place on 19 August 2006, making history in the Black and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in Britain. UNISON was a key supporter for this event, however, the awareness of Black LGBT peoples existence is limited. There has been increased visibility of Black […]

A Commission For Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) that Delivers real Equality for all

Conference notes the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce a Single Equality Act through a Discrimination Law Review was charged with developing a ‘simpler, fairer legal framework that fits the needs of 21st century Britain’. The fact that 18 months after the establishment of the Discrimination Law Review, no proposals or process of public consultation on […]