Conference notes that over 520,000 expatriate pensioners living in Commonwealth countries have contributed to a United Kingdom pension which has been arbitrarily frozen at the level it was first received. As a result, their state pension decreases in value in real terms every year. For example, a pensioner who retired in 1999 with a pension […]
Conference motions
This Conference welcomes the reduction in qualifying years for a full National Insurance Pension to 30 years from April 20th 2010. Conference notes with concern however that the Government has refused to phase in the change and this will result in individuals being significantly disadvantaged. It will also cause unfairness and resentment among those women […]
Conference believes that Retired Members’ Conference should include Caucus Meetings for Black Members, Disabled Members, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Members and Women Members. This would establish parity with all the Conferences of their working counterparts who have had such meetings as part of their timetable virtually since UNISON’s inception in 1993. These meetings provide […]
Conference deplores the increasing incidence of mail, internet, phone and other scams aimed specifically at vulnerable elderly people. Tragic tales of elderly people sending off hundreds or thousands of pounds to bogus competitions, lotteries etc on the promise of a large cash prize are all too prevalent, and seem to be on the increase. Conference […]
Conference condemns the continuing drive towards further privatisation and fragmentation of social care services but welcomes genuine initiatives to improve standards of care to service users. In this respect the use of personal care budgets as a source of greater independence and control for service users merits investigation. However, Conference views with concern that this […]
This Local Government Service Group reaffirms its opposition to the Government’s academies programme. We note with concern the Government’s plan to increase the number of academies to 400. We believe that this expansion will lead to the increased privatisation marketisation of education and encourage the development of the two tier workforce. The government is putting […]
Conference recognises that the Public Sector Equality Duties are a real opportunity for progress on equality in local government and welcomes the recent UNISON guidance on using the equality duties and the development of UNISON’s own equality scheme. The EOC (now EHRC) Guidance code lists key employment issues that should be considered by public authorities […]
Conference condemns the Government proposed 3 year 2% public sector pay ceiling. With inflation at more than 4% for the past year this is effectively a pay cut and at the same time pay rises in the private sector are running at 3.5% – 4%. Conference also condemns the blatant hypocrisy demonstrated by a majority […]
High quality public services can be delivered through two-tier or unitary local government structures where supported by adequate resources, a fairly paid and properly developed workforce, and a healthy respect and enthusiasm for democratic accountability to the local community. Proposals to create new unitary authorities should therefore be rigorously assessed to evaluate the level and […]
Conference notes the statutory guidance on ‘Safe, Strong and Prosperous Communities’ which replaces existing guidance from 2003 on ‘Best Value’. The sections which deal with workforce issues – including the ‘Best Value Code of Practice on Workforce Matters’ on the two tier workforce – are also withdrawn and replaced. The Best Value Code followed the […]
Conference notes: 1.that current government policies envisage a major expansion of collaboration and shared services to both ‘join-up’ delivery and to meet the requirements of harsh efficiency savings, affecting all parts of the UK and this especially impacts on members in local government.. 2.that Government policy is pushing an agenda of shared services as part […]
Conference whilst accepting UNISON needs to prioritise working members’ issues, regrets the minimal support given to retired members in UNISON publications as well as the failure of some branches to maximise the potential of their retired members. Conference instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee and calls on the National Executive Council to urgently address these […]
Conference notes that the present policy for venues is to have alternating venue in the North and South of the country. Conference considers, however, that this policy means that excellent venues in Central England are being overlooked in places as diverse as Birmingham, Derby, Gloucester, Nottingham and Oxford. Conference believes that venues in Central England […]