The local authority workforce faces an uncertain and difficult future in the face of continued pressure for “efficiency savings”, ongoing restructuring of local authorities, outsourcing, “shared services”, the impact of local area agreements of Councils’ financing and service provision, as well as radical changes in education and social care. UNISON’s briefing activity around “Making Local […]
Conference motions
This Conference notes: 1)The passage of the Children and Young Person’s Bill through Parliament with it’s proposal for the piloting of independent ‘Social Work Practices’ to care for ‘Looked after Children’. That ‘Looked after Children’ are a very vulnerable group of young people who are cared for by the state either due to them being […]
The Green Book advises all local councils to draw up Workforce Development Plans – Pt 2 (3) – and gives extensive practical guidance as to how these should be drawn up (4.8), including the role of the trade unions in developing and implementing these plans. Workforce Development Planning is now a key issue for local […]
Adult social services face a period of enormous change. The tight financial regime in which councils are operating is subjecting adult social services to major budget reductions in many authorities and the Government proposals to promote personal care budgets and self assessment means services are under threat. Members working in adult care could face redundancy […]
Conference notes the continuing and increasing use of the independent, community, voluntary and private sectors to provide social care services and recognises that this threatens local government member’ jobs and terms and conditions in the following ways: 1)privatisation and externalisation of services leading to transfer of staff or redundancy; 2)competition from the independent and private […]
Conference supports the innovatory work that the community and voluntary sector (CVS) has traditionally carried out, campaigning on behalf of vulnerable members of society, identifying gaps in public sector provision of services, and working alongside the government to develop solutions to those gaps. Many UNISON members have been involved in such work, in organisations providing […]
Conference notes that, despite strong campaigning by UNISON, pay and conditions for our members in the community and voluntary sector (CVS) are inferior to those in the public sector. UNISON members in the community and voluntary sector have long had a very strong involvement as providers of social care. As CVS organisations provide an increasing […]
This Conference believes that a successful pay campaign needs to be conducted prior to the wage year rather than during it. To be balloting for industrial action in October 2007 to take action in November, eight months after the wage claim should have been implemented was a recipe for failure. In future our claim needs […]
This Conference believes disabled people encounter particular disadvantage in the workforce and therefore propose that the post of Disabled Members Officer should be included in the Rule Book, to work specifically on behalf of disabled members, this post should be occupied by a disabled person. We therefore call for Rule G.4.1.1 to be amended as […]
This conference congratulates those UNISON branches that have negotiated the UNISON model Disability Leave Agreement with their employers and we commend their efforts to protect our disabled members rights at work. However, we note that many branches are still experiencing difficult negotiations and spending energy and resources persuading employers that their sickness absence policies and […]
Point i) After “National Women’s Committee”, insert “and two co-opted members from the Women’s Caucus at Disabled Members Conference”
Conference welcomes the publication of The DRC’s Mental Health Advisory Group’s Report ‘Coming Together – mental health, equality and human rights’ This Report notes that discrimination and unequality systematically destroy people’s mental health. People with long term mental health conditions face some of the most severe exclusion in Britain, including an 80 per cent unemployment […]
This Conference notes that many disabled people receive funding from Access to Work (ATW) to employ a support worker or reader. This means that the person in receipt of ATW has the same legal responsibilities as all employers, such as having in place grievance and disciplinary policies/procedures, providing an employment contract, sorting out tax and […]
Conference welcomes the great advances in cancer research. This has meant the availability of new drugs and treatment therapies, for some of the most common cancers affecting patients in the United Kingdom, resulting in many more people surviving, living and working with cancer. Cancer has a very strong impact on women. For example the vast […]
Conference notes the recent implementation regarding Disability Equality Schemes. 1.We call upon the NDMC/NEC to liaise with a)Service groups to monitor what is happening in branches; b)Send out guidance to branches to encourage employers to promote Disability Equality in the workplace. c)Liaise with all service groups, the Audit Commission and the Disability Rights Commission to […]