Conference is angered that between 2010 and 2015 a five year austerity programme, driven by Conservative ideology rather than national necessity, saw massive cuts in public spending, huge public sector redundancies and pay restraint across the public services on an unprecedented scale. In his 2014 Autumn Statement last year, George Osborne let it slip that […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that the Conservative Party’s success at the General and local elections on May 7th carries with it significant threats to public services, our members’ jobs and standard of living and growing levels of inequality. As such Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to develop and put in place a comprehensive political campaign […]
The Westminster government announced in its last Budget that it planned to allow all those who have been contributing to Defined Contribution (DC) pension arrangements, the option of being able to take their whole pot of money as a cash sum from 6 April 2015. Up to then contributors could take a maximum of 25% […]
This Special Conference believes the decision of the NJC Committee on 9th October to suspend the action planned for 14th October was a mistake which completely undermined the national campaign to secure a decent pay rise for Local Government members and an end to five years of real terms cuts in our member’s living standards. […]
Conference condemns the continuing refusal by the government to give public service workers, and particularly local government staff, a proper pay rise. Years of pay freezes and pay caps in local government mean that many of our members are now forced to rely on in-work benefits or to take on extra jobs; in some cases […]
Conference condemns the continued attacks on the funding of public services and the impact of the poor pay awards for staff in the public sector. Our members’ wages have decreased in real terms and public sector pay no longer leads the way. Many employers within the public sector are now employed on rates less than […]
Conference condemns the continued attacks on the funding of Local Government. These cuts are the biggest threat to the continued survival of the concept of locally provided services controlled by democratically elected councils. Conference deplores the local government cuts across the UK, leading to:- 1. continuing cuts to local government services; 2. continued attacks on […]
Conference notes with alarm the Government’s revelation in January 2014 that it was seeking to cut £200m from the Student Opportunity Fund. Run by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The Student Opportunity Fund is open to undergraduates and taught postgraduates and provides non-repayable grants of between £100 and £1,000 for disadvantaged students. […]
Conference notes the increasing concentration of power in the hands of a few appointed executives on bodies such as pre 92 University Court (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Kings etc.) and Post 92 Board of Governors (e.g. Greenwich, Hertfordshire, Sunderland etc.). The main focus of these bodies is on commercial interests (potentially at the expense of educational […]
It is over 20 years since UNISON was formed and proportionality and fair representation were enshrined in the new Rule Book for the new union. After 20 years, the question must be asked – how well have we done on achieving proportionality and fair representation? Conference acknowledges the good work to date on developing mechanisms […]
Endometriosis and Adenomyosis are chronic and painful conditions where cells from the lining of the womb are deposited in other parts of the body instead of being lost during menstruation. These cells continue to change in size and bleed in response to a woman’s normal menstrual cycle. This can affect bowel, bladder and kidney function, […]
This Women’s Conference is concerned to learn about recent reports of abuse towards disabled women in the human trafficking industry. This is an industry where escaping is often met with even greater barriers than usual for non disabled women as accessible support systems are extremely hard to find, and their built environments and accessible information […]
Since the introduction of the Health & Social Care Act more care is expected to be provided at home, Women working in the NHS, Local Government and Voluntary Sectors are seeing the move towards a 24 hour / 7 day service being implemented at a rapid rate and more and more requests for flexible working […]
Conference notes that in May 2014, 28 member states of the European Union (EU) elected 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent their interests. These elected representatives have a 5 year term of office in which to advance any number of common policies and promote a Europe that celebrates all its diverse members […]
Conference believes that inclusive language is important in ensuring that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) women within the women’s movement and UNISON women’s self organisation feel welcome and valued. Conference also believes that language, and our understanding of language, is constantly evolving, and that as women, including LGBT women, we should always be […]