Conference notes that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) recognition within family friendly policies is sketchy despite the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2003. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that line managers knowledge and interpretation of these policies is often lacking and open to misinterpretation. Conference instructs the National LGBT Committee to: 1.Work in conjunction with the service […]
Conference motions
Conference notes with some concern that many UNISON branches in the UK do not appear to have an active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender self organised group (LGBT SOG). Conference believes that branch-level LGBT SOGs are a key way to ensure visibility of the diverse LGBT agenda within branches, and that they serve as a […]
Conference notes with increasing concern that Conference business is liable to fall from the agenda if delegates are not on the Conference floor at the appropriate time. Conference should recognise that the funding of attendance is from national, regional and branch level and as such delegates have a responsibility to their branch/region to ensure that […]
Delete Standing Order 4.1 and insert new Standing Order 4.1: ‘The mover of a motion or an amendment shall not be allowed to speak for more than five minutes and each succeeding speaker for not more than three minutes, except where the Standing Orders Committee have decided otherwise.’
Delete Standing Order 9.1 and insert new Standing Order 9.1: ‘If, at the end of the Conference, the Final Agenda has not been concluded, outstanding motions and amendments shall be referred to the National Retired Members Committee which shall report to members its decisions on those matters. All such motions and amendments shall be responded […]
Conference notes that: 1)each winter more than 25,000 older people die from cold-related illnesses; 2)in the last five years more than 130,000 people over 65 have died as a result of the cold; 3)EU countries that experience more severe winters than the UK, such as Finland, Denmark and Austria all have much lower levels of […]
Age limits imposed by insurance firms are varied and outdated in respect of travel, medical, life and car insurances. It is clear discrimination against older people. Conference calls on the National Executive Council to make representation through the appropriate channels to remedy this unfair state of discrimination.
Conference notes that the current pension system was designed in the 1940’s and cast women as dependents. This means that subsequent generations of women have lost out because of unequal pay, part-time working, and caring responsibilities giving them lower incomes over their lifetime and for too many, poverty in old age. The plight of women […]
Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to campaign for improvement in the monitoring of the quality of care for the elderly, disabled and chronically sick delivered by all providers. The malnutrition and abuse of the elderly must be eradicated, and the valuable work done by carers recognised. Conference also calls for the re-affirmation of […]
Conference condemns the continuing uncertainty for and inequitable treatment of elderly, disabled or chronically sick persons taking up or residing in a nursing or residential home. This is because of the independent powers vested in local authorities to determine the extent to which the applicant and/or their family is required to contribute to the costs […]
Conference welcomes the introduction of Age Regulations which will outlaw age discrimination in employment and training from October 2006. Although it may be possible to outlaw age discrimination in the work place, changing the culture of ageism will be much harder. Older people continue to have to accept differences in treatment on the grounds of […]
Conference notes that over recent years many older people have been facing large increases in their Council Tax bills. However, up to two million pensioners are missing out on Council Tax Benefit which could cut their bill by £540 a year. Council Tax Benefit is the most unclaimed benefit of all – with pensioners losing […]
Conference congratulates those Public Transport Authorities who have joined together in partnership to provide free bus travel to those over 60 across and throughout their neighbouring boundaries. However, Conference deplores the fact that some authorities have less favourable schemes and continue to charge those over 60 the former concessionary fares for certain stages of a […]
Conference regrets that: 1)Lord Turner and the Pensions Commission have made no recommendations to improve the basic state pension until 2010: 2)the Government White Paper has no plans to increase immediately the basic state pension which represents at least half of many pensioners’ weekly income. Conference believes that improving the basic state pension and paying […]
Conference supports the view that to use the information needed to set the increase in state pension in the month of March that year preceding the April announcement would be much fairer because it would take into account any recent increases in costs, rather than using September the previous year. Conference calls upon the National […]