Conference will be aware that at the Tory Party Conference in October 2012, the announcements were made to extend attacks on facility time in the public sector. Britain has a tradition of progressing industrial relations through a joint approach with the trade unions. Public sector employers recognise the worth in having facility time as a […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that the issue of work-related stress has been of major concern to our union for many years. UNISON branches have been successful in negotiating workplace policies on stress and mental wellbeing and supporting members to remain in work, and UNISON has won compensation for members forced out of the workplace by unsympathetic employers. […]
Conference is concerned to note that in this time of austerity measures maternity, adoption, surrogacy and parental provisions are often being targeted by employers seeking to make savings in their budgets, particularly for those members working in the community and voluntary sector. Pregnancy discrimination already affects tens of thousands of women each year, with pregnant […]
Conference is deeply concerned at the potentially damaging effect that the government’s welfare reform and universal credit will have on women, their families and their lives. Already the changes to working tax credit, requiring at least one person in the household to work more than 24 hours per week, have meant that hundreds of thousands […]
Conference applauds the excellent work which UNISON at branch, regional and national level does in campaigning to end violence against women in all its forms. However, conference also notes that UNISON has a role to play in raising awareness of the atrocities which are committed against women across the globe. Rape and sexual violence continue […]
Conference notes that huge changes to occupational pensions are taking place, with the introduction of pensions auto enrolment. 1) All employees paying income tax and aged between 22 and State Pension Age are affected. 2) From the 1 October 2012 the very largest employers were required to ensure that eligible staff were automatically enrolled into […]
The 16th June is another historic day celebrated all over Africa, this is the day of the African Child. On the 16th June 1976, thousands of Black school children took to the street of Soweto, South Africa. In a march more than half a mile long, they protested the inferior quality of their education and […]
Conference is concerned with the current Online Conference System (OCS) and the representation at the National Black Members Conference. Black members are a disadvantage group and self-organised groups should be able to self-organise as currently stated in UNISON rules to meet and share their concerns and aspirations. To work within a flexible structure to build […]
Conference notes the benefits that Learning and Development in UNISON provides to our members. It is also noted that the assistance, advice and guidance provided by Regions and Branches is counter to and in some cases in the absence of any learning and development opportunities provided by employers. Conference recognizes that the experience of many […]
Conference notes, according to research carried out by Durham, Northumbria and Teesside universities, Police forces in the North East are failing in their duty to tackle racism in the region. The report explores issues relating to the increasing black and ethnic minority populations in the region and highlights racism in both urban and rural parts […]
Conference welcomes the election of Portia Simpson Miller as the first woman prime minister of Jamaica and celebrates the 50th Year of Jamaican Independence. Conference notes that Jamaica’s last prime minister had said he would not allow any homosexuals to serve in his cabinet. But Portia Simpson Miller said in a national TV debate in […]
Conference is deeply concerned about the Coalition Government’s plan to drastically cut the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) budget and staffing by 2015. Conference believes that these cuts represent an attack on equalities and amount to bringing an end to the EHRC as we know it and stripping it of most of its powers. […]
Conference is appalled at the Coalition Government’s attack on international students with a move to deport more than 2,600 students currently studying at London Metropolitan University. The University’s licence to teach and recruit students from outside of the European Union was revoked on 29th August 2012, which means that these students most of which are […]
Conference deplores the devastating impact the Government’s austerity measures are having on Black communities and the most vulnerable groups in the society. Conference notes with concern the severity of this impact on people from the Black community. Research from the Institute for Public Policy and Research shows that unemployment levels for young Black people (age […]
Conference is alarmed that figures show that Black men living in England have a three times higher risk of prostate cancer than white men. A study of all cases in London and Bristol has also found that Black men also tend to be diagnosed five years younger. Research has found that there are very few […]