2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA
Brighton Centre 17 Jun 2014 20 Jun 2014 Organising and Recruitment Organisation and Development 1. Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach Conference notes with massive concern the ongoing savage cuts in public expenditure as a result of the Tory-led coalition government‟s dogmatic pursuit of its austerity agenda. These policies have already led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs across the public sector as a whole with estimates that the overall number of public service job losses is likely to be well in excess of one million by 2018.
In this situation, it appears increasingly likely that many local councils will have only halved the directly employed workforce that they had at the time of the General Election in 2010. This disastrous situation clearly has major implications for UNISON in terms of continuing to recruit and retain members.
The unelected coalition government‟s policies are also leading to the increasing fragmentation of public services as a result of ever more privatisation, outsourcing and the relentless drive toward academy status, trusts and free schools. This fragmentation is leaving more and more workers very isolated in areas where it is more difficult for UNISON to organise. It is also leaving many members in situations where it is harder for them to access support from branch activists who are frequently working for other employers and who may themselves be increasingly restricted as a result of the terms of their trade union facility agreements. This increasing fragmentation has affected all services in which UNISON organises - with sectors such as schools, social care and the voluntary sector having been particularly affected - and with many low paid women members being especially badly hit.
Conference recognises the positive work by Fighting Fund Organisers (FFOs) in strengthening UNISON's organisation and encouraging good recruitment and campaigning practice in the face of the government's sustained attacks. This work needs to be further developed as a key part of UNISON's response to the developing challenges.
Conference believes that in this climate of relentless cuts and organisational challenges it is more important than ever to recruit, train and develop the skills of new activists at a time when existing activists are under ever greater pressure and in a situation where existing trade union facilities are often under increasing threat.
Conference also believes that new members will be best attracted to UNISON if it shows itself to be actively campaigning against cuts and fighting job losses. In this situation it believes our trade union needs to further consider ways in which it can better integrate its organisation, recruitment and retention strategy alongside, and as part of, these fights and campaigns.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
Page 1 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 1) Continue to campaign as visibly and vocally as possible against all service cuts, privatisations and attacks on jobs, pay and conditions of service and to maximise publicity on the devastating impact of the government‟s dogmatic pursuit of its austerity agenda;
2) Co-ordinate the work of Regions, Service Groups, SOGs and Branches in campaigning against cuts and ensuring that the recruitment and organisation of new members and activists is fully integrated as part of these campaigns;
3) Ensure that the vital importance of the retention of existing members and activists is given a key organising priority as part of UNISON's recruitment and campaigning strategy;
4) Adequately resource activities aimed at developing sustainable strategies for communicating with and supporting activists and members in fragmented and isolated work places;
5) Continue to evaluate and develop the role of Fighting Fund Organisers in assisting Branches to implement good recruitment and retention practice alongside, and as part of, vigorous and visible campaigns against cuts in jobs and services.
South East Region 1.1 Insert new sixth paragraph:
“Conference welcomes the increase in recruitment of members in 2013 – and especially the substantial increase in recruitment of young members compared with the previous year - which appears to have been as a result of the union‟s recruitment campaign, although this has yet to be established.”
Add new point 6):
“6) Survey the young members recruited in the period of the recruitment campaign to establish why they joined the union at that time.”
National Young Members' Forum 1.2 Insert after the words "fighting job losses”:
"and co-ordinating action, where possible, as a more effective way to defeat job losses than leaving branches to fight alone."
South Derbyshire Healthcare 2. Learning from Community Organising Conference applauds the work undertaken by Citizens UK, a community organising movement, to develop and build a network of broad based community alliances of civic institutions working together in their common interest in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and Glasgow.
Page 2 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes the approach taken in late 2010 when East Midlands UNISON began working with Citizens UK on building a Nottingham Citizens organisation. Starting with an initial conversation amongst a small number of community leaders the process of using the tools of community organising to build a self funded alliance of communities who would identify the common ground they shared and were prepared to commit to working together for the common good began. £100,000 was raised by institutions working together to fund its creation in an initial organising drive in which over 1,000 individual meetings were held, over 200 people have been trained in community organising and 40 plus different organisations have been recruited to become dues paying members of Nottingham Citizens.
In June 2013 Nottingham Citizens held its first formal Founding Assembly with almost a thousand people in attendance and a joint agenda for the City – an agenda that has been developed by a powerful alliance of schools, faith communities, unions, housing associations, universities and charities which will then be pursued intelligently, persistently and powerfully through joint action to see justice done.
Conference recognises the power of the tools and techniques adopted in the Citizens UK approach to community organising and their potential relevance and applicability in a trade union organising context – especially the importance associated with the identification and development of new leaders – one of, if not the key issue for our union moving forward. Stewards are our workplace leaders, the most fundamental building block of our organisation. Where we have stewards who are informed and active, who listen to members and who are focused on working with members to do things for themselves as opposed to doing things for them – then we build strong workplace organisation. Strong workplace organisation builds strong branch organisation, strong branches build strong regions and strong regions build a strong national union.
This has been overwhelmingly proven by adopting this approach to organise in Derbyshire Schools throughout the Autumn of 2013.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to investigate the organising methodology adopted by Citizens UK with a view to:
1) Identifying the relevance and applicability of that methodology in a trade union organising context;
2) If applicable, consider how that methodology might be incorporated into UNISON Organiser and Activist training and development programmes;
3) Roll out any such training programmes across the union nationally as a priority in 2015/16.
Conference also calls on the National Executive Council to: a) Encourage Branches to become involved in existing or developing new “Citizens” organisations across the UK and;
Page 3 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA b) Work with the GPF Committee to see if it is possible to make provision from the General Political Fund to meet 50% of the cost of membership dues of any UNISON branch joining a “Citizen UK” backed alliance anywhere in the UK.
Derbyshire County 2.1 Delete point 3) and replace with:
“3) Roll out organising training programmes across the union nationally including lessons learned from Citizens UK organising.”
Delete “Conference also calls on the National Executive Council to:”
And also delete points a) and b).
National Executive Council 3. Organising, Recruiting and Equality The emphasis on organising, recruiting and negotiating around equality has become even more important than ever as the pressure is forced upon branches to become the membership protectors and organise around that.
When the doors are open to all in the same way our branches should provide support to all members, the fact that no one is excluded from branch secretaries, branch officers and stewards, guiding and setting good examples by showing inclusion not division it will draw more workers in the workplace into our union and encourage our existing members to become more active.
With our members looking for direction out of a relentless attack on our terms and conditions, fearful of losing their jobs, careers and livelihoods as we mitigate against reorganisations and redundancies, while our employers remove or re-negotiate facility agreements.
The equality agenda must go hand in hand with retaining, organising and recruiting new members.
The coalition and recent figures claim that the economy is growing and more people in employment, many of these figures do not take into account zero hours contracts and more part-time mainly women workers being subject to unsuitable working conditions and hours– the propaganda has to stop.
We must not become complacent as we look at our trade union movement‟s success at tackling and facing up to challenges of inequality, as this coalition government has entered into the implementation and eradication of UK‟s basic employment rights that the movement has fought so hard for over the past 30/40 years.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to challenge vigorously through the courts the eradication of UK employment rights and equality duty for all its members;
Page 4 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Adapt to the changing working environment and campaign to recruit workers subject to zero hour contracts and engage in a campaign to ensure they are subject to employment rights;
3) Explore the option of a one stop shop as part of the recruitment and organising campaign of members and encourage volunteers to help run such an initiative;
4) Report back on the development and update on point 1, 2 and 3 through UNISON mediums across all regions.
Hammersmith and Fulham 4. Education as an Organising Tool UNISON has a long history of commitment to education. It plays an integral role in the recruitment and retention of members, and going forward we must continue to use education as an organising tool.
Workplace learning is a key part of UNISON‟s activity and we should be proud of the excellent work we do. Over the last year this activity has enabled many, both in branches and communities, to access learning that previously they may have not had the opportunity to enjoy. We know many of those who access training through UNISON may have previously avoided such learning, and for so many this is a huge step – the support and advice they receive is vital. This support is especially appealing to those who have not engaged with learning before. This is most evident with „Return to Learn‟ course, which has resulted in many going on further study or even gaining new better paid jobs.
In the Northern Region we highlight these successes by nominating learners for the Adult Learners Week Awards, and many of our members have received awards in recognition of their hard work. This demonstrates that we are supplying what our members need, and this in turn empowers them with many going on to become more active in UNISON and even speak at Conference.
The learning and development that is offered by UNISON is an excellent tool to recruit new members and activists; we must utilise this when planning recruitment campaigns. It is also a great way to retain members who see more value in their union who provides such a range of courses and offers a national bursary scheme. We should continue to encourage our Union Learning Reps (ULRs) and shop stewards to promote our learning agenda, and should publicise the opportunities that are available in all workplaces.
UNISON should also highlight the key role that learning and development has in enabling staff to respond to the challenges they face. Severe budget cuts have meant staffing reductions in the public sector and we know that there are further reductions to be made. Active promotion of the learning agenda has many benefits: it provides opportunities for career development, enhances opportunities for redeployment to avoid compulsory redundancies and pay cuts, and promotes equality of access to learning and development for part-time workers.
It is clear that education promotes UNISON in the workplace and the community. In the workplace it is a positive tool to recruit new members and support the retention of
Page 5 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA existing ones; in the community it allows us to further build our links with the community groups and the third sector – alliances which are vital for the continued growth of the union in the future.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Ensure education information will be promoted in all recruitment and organising activity;
2) Improve links with our members to find out what training they would like to see available;
3) Increase awareness of national bursary schemes, which members can access for support with training costs; and;
4) Encourage branches and regions to negotiate additional courses with providers to broaden the choice for our members.
Newcastle City 4.1 After "Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:" add point 5):
"5) Encourage branches to engage with employers to establish a learning agreement promoting UNISON‟s aims and objectives within the learning and organising agenda."
Lanarkshire Health 5. Organising in the Fragmented Workforce UNISON remains committed to and will continue to fight for public services delivered by workers directly employed on terms and conditions that have been collectively bargained by democratically accountable public bodies.
Nevertheless, Conference recognises that more and more public service workers are employed by the private sector and the community and voluntary sector.
Often working:
1) In fragmented workplaces, such as academies;
2) Private homes, in the case of personalised care;
3) Or in places where there are many different employers delivering public services.
And notes that these workers increasingly find themselves employed on contracts: a) Where they are denied access to collectively bargaining rights; b) Or where their employment is precarious because they are:
i) On short term contracts;
Page 6 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA ii) Or on zero hours contracts;
iii) Or work for agencies;
iv) Or are in bogus self employment.
Overall it is estimated that over a quarter of all public service workers are working on outsourced contracts; this number is increasing as government increases the level of privatisation of public services under the mask of austerity.
Conference believes that current UNISON structures may inhibit the effective organisation of the increasingly fragmented public service workforce and that the organising these fragmented workers is a priority for UNISON and will require a change in the culture.
Current UNISON structures are built around employer based branches allocated to regions, and the regions largely reflect the local government provincial council areas. However the new patterns of employment no longer fit into this structure. Branches are no longer based on one employer, with the average UNISON branch representing workers employed by 26 different employers. Key branch activists are frequently denied facility time to support outsourced workers and find that their own posts are under increasing pressure as a result of the government‟s austerity programme. Regions frequently only have a partial picture of the extent and nature of the operation of the larger private and voluntary organisations that they deal with.
There is a need for a targeted and coordinated approach focused on delivering the most effective organising in the workplace, but appreciating that the workplace will frequently comprise, not one, but many employers where UNISON should be organising.
The evidence is that organising is most effective when it is coordinated with the bargaining agenda, as in the case of Four Seasons where UNISON membership has more than doubled since UNISON got recognition.
Conference therefore agrees that UNISON should implement a system of prioritising organising that incorporates branch, regional and national priorities. This should in the first place be done as part of an annual planning cycle so that resources can be tied to the prioritised organising campaigns. In order to ensure lay member engagement the following steps shall be taken each year:
A) Branches shall identify potential organising targets through the Joint Branch Assessment (JBA), ensuring that the wherever possible and appropriate employers other than just the main employer are targeted. As usual JBA priorities shall be signed off by the branch committee in conjunction with the region;
B) Regions shall produce a regional plan identifying regionwide targets amongst employers whose operations do not cover more than one region. These priorities shall be agreed with the Regional Council;
C) Service groups shall identify areas where the bargaining agenda offers organising opportunities which cover more than one region. Overall service priorities shall then be discussed with the Joint Service Liaison Committee;
Page 7 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA D) Discussion shall then take place at a National level bringing together regional and national priorities together with analysis from the Strategic Organising Unit to produce a coordinated and targeted organising plan, which shall be signed off by the National Executive Council In order to ensure that we are more effective in organising the fragmented workforce, UNISON at a National and Regional level shall work together to identify new opportunities for the changing workforce to be more fully integrated into union democracy.
To be effective the plan shall:
I) Target the fragmented workforce;
II) Initially focus on the larger employers with the greatest potential for membership growth;
III) Focus on those employers where organising and bargaining can be used in combination;
IV) Prioritise the development of new activists amongst the membership in the fragmented workforce.
National Executive Council 5.1 Add new sixth paragraph after "change in the culture.":
"However Conference acknowledges that many branches have established a multi- employer branch structure, as set out in the UNISON Code of Good Branch practice, and provide excellent support to members in non-lead employers"
Add new point V) at end:
"V) Ensure branches are adequately supported to deliver effective local representation of members interests by stewards in each work group, within a framework agreed by the branch."
Sefton Local Government 5.2 In point II) add at the end after "growth":
" including winning trade union recognition for UNISON where UNISON is not recognised;"
South Derbyshire Healthcare 5.3 In the paragraph that commences, "Conference therefore agrees" after "prioritising organising that incorporates branch, regional and national priorities" add:
"whilst ensuring that the key principle of a lay member led union is maintained and strengthened."
Page 8 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA
South Derbyshire Healthcare 5.4 In the seventh paragraph after after "UNISON should be organising."
Insert new sentence as follows:
"Conference recognises the role that retired members could play in assisting the Union meet its approach."
At end of motion, add new point V) as follows:
"V) Encourage the participation as appropriate of retired members by Regions and Branches to meet I) to IV) above."
National Retired Members' Committee 6. Organising in the Private, Voluntary and Independent Sectors Conference recognises the difficulties associated with organising workers in the private, voluntary and independent sectors. Representatives in our core employers are increasingly prohibited from using their facility time to recruit, organise, represent and retain members in these areas. It is also increasingly difficult for members in these areas to participate in our union - they often work for employers where UNISON is not recognised and where it is difficult to get time off - especially when UNISON meetings and activities tend to be focused or organised around the members in the core employer.
Conference believes that outsourced and fragmented workers who join UNISON must be encouraged to play a central role in the life of the union. Our current structures do not facilitate this.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to help develop new structures to ensure these workers are no worse off than those members employed by the core employer in our 'employer based branches' when it comes to playing a full and active part in UNISON.
East Midlands Region 6.1 In the third paragraph delete “help to develop new structures to ensure” and replace with:
"work with regions, branches, Service Groups and Self-Organised Groups to develop proposals for future employment legislation and future democratic, lay-led UNISON structures to seek to ensure”.
Lambeth 7. Root and Branch
Page 9 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA With a static or decreasing number of members in some of our branches we need to review how we organise and develop an effective and efficient way of representing our members. As moves are made to change our branches we need to find a structure that suits us before one is imposed.
There seems to be a coordinated effort to reduce the number of branches in Regions by targeting branches with small numbers of members and merging them with large branches. Although this is always denied when the leaders of the union are questioned about it, the reality is that branches across Regions, particularly transport branches, are having pressure put on them by their Regional Officers to consider alternatives.
We have to face the facts, as employers remove jobs from their structures and as people are having to make their wages stretch further we are unlikely to dramatically increase membership in the near future. So we need to consider how we organise to best serve the members we have.
At the root of UNISON is member participation. Any solution needs to protect the right of members to engage with the union at regional and national levels. Being subsumed into large branches from a different Service Group is going to reduce the opportunity for issues in our industries being debated across the union.
The matter is becoming urgent. We cannot wait for a review of structures across the Service Groups. We need alternatives now.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Consider alternative ways of organising a fragmented membership;
2) Review structures to ensure members in small branches are effectively represented.
East Midlands Airport 7.1 Delete second and third paragraphs and replace with new second and third paragraphs:
“As the pressure on UNISON resources increases as a result of the government‟s austerity programme and increasing fragmentation some regions have sought to encourage branches to merge in order to make best use of their resources.
Conference believes that where mergers take place it is important that the quality of service to members is maintained or improved, and that their access to the democratic structures and engagement with UNISON is not diminished, especially where they are from smaller service groups.”
In point 2) replace the words “Review structures to ensure” with “Consider ways of ensuring that”
National Executive Council
Page 10 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 8. Support to Stewards in UNISON Conference recognises that the role our shop stewards play in supporting members at work through discipline, grievance, absence procedures, changes to jobs, etc. can be very stressful on the individual stewards themselves. We recognise that stewards are often supporting members who have significant mental health issues. This can include members who consider suicide.
The pressure of supporting these members can lead to stewards developing their own stress and mental health issues. Where a member either attempts to take, or succeeds in taking, their own life the impact on stewards can be immense. Conference believes that it is crucial that UNISON has strategies in place to support our stewards in these circumstances.
Conference welcomes the development of support and mentoring systems for stewards and particularly welcomes the development of mental health and stress awareness training. Conference notes that some branches have worked with employers, mental health groups and health agencies to give stewards access to training on mental health and suicide awareness. The focus of the training is in being able to identify where members are suffering, being aware of how to refer members to appropriate support services and how the steward can keep themselves safe in these situations.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Instigate research into the impact on the well-being of stewards given the demands placed on them and the benefit to employers and society generally of stewards supporting members in these circumstances;
2) Identify what other supports could be offered to stewards in this field. This could include further training on stress management and publicising what services are available to refer members to;
3) Continue to campaign for employers to develop effective mental health in the workplace policies and produce advice for branches in negotiating these.
South Lanarkshire UNISON 8.1 Insert new point 3) to read:
“3) Carry out an appropriate review and investigate the provision of a counselling service for UNISON representatives that can provide empathic support when and where needed.”
And renumber subsequent paragraph accordingly.
Islington 9. Ensuring Trade Union Studies remain as part of the Higher Education Curriculum in the Future Conference notes that:
Page 11 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 1) There is a current paucity of higher education courses on offer for trade unionists and students in this country which threatens to remove an opportunity for them to study at the highest level, and leaves a huge gap in the provision of workplace training;
2) Universities and colleges are axing courses such as the Masters Degree in Labour and Trade Union Studies, the diploma in employment law and health and safety courses for trade unionists;
3) London Metropolitan University will no longer be running its Masters Degree in Labour and Trade Union Studies once the current crop of students has graduated. Central Bedfordshire College staff protested outside their campus in October over proposals that the college will end its trade union studies course which have been running for over 25 years. A college spokesperson reported “as a public funded organisation, we must work within finite resources and not attempt to be all things to all people”;
4) This leaves Ruskin College in Oxford as the sole providers of the Masters Degree in Labour and Trade Union studies in a country with over six and a half million trade union members.
Conference believes: a) That education works best when a range of provision is available to students including UNISON and TUC courses and those from higher educational establishments such as colleges and universities; b) Public money should be utilised to train students in trade union studies; c) That if trade union studies disappear from the curriculum then trade unionism ceases to be studied in educational circles therefore depriving us of a future generation of well educated and informed individuals whether they are trade unionists or not.
Conference instructs the National Executive Council to: i) Publicise the fact that higher education establishments are axing trade union courses and degrees, and make the issue part of a campaign to ensure that there is a provision for a wide range of higher education courses in trade union studies; ii) Work with bodies such as higher education establishments, local government, trade unions and other organisations to campaign for trade union studies to be part of the higher education curriculum; iii) Consider working with education providers and other bodies to fund a range of diploma and degree courses in trade union studies for members which is run by UNISON for our members and students.
Eastern Region Probation 9.1 Add to the start of point iii):
Page 12 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA “In the light of savage cuts and changes to Further Education and Higher Education funding,”
National Executive Council 10. Membership Led Union Conference reaffirms the principle that UNISON is a lay led trade union. It is only through being membership led that enables our union to be a successful and effective democratic fighting organisation that truly reflects the views of the membership. Our extensive branch structure in every city and town across public services is built on voluntary activism by working members and gives UNISON a unique strength within the trade union movement.
Democracy must be, and must remain, at the core of our union with the members having the ability to shape union policy through the structures of UNISON. The democratically elected workplace representatives, the shop stewards, health and safety reps and learning reps are the most important link between the members and the wider union. Indeed to the members in the workplace these representatives are the face of the union and the representatives' effectiveness determines members' views of UNISON, if it is worth being a member, and for other workers, if it is worth joining UNISON.
It is the lay activists that recruit and organise at the grassroots, campaigning on the issues, representing and speaking on behalf of the members. With 1.3 million members and 1200 branches we have significant resources and have the potential to have a massive influence on national governments, productive political representation, and to have an effective say for our members in the workplace.
A fruitful working partnership with UNISON staff is essential for our union to achieve its potential in fighting the cuts and posing its alternative economic and political strategy.
Conference reaffirms in the strongest terms that the decision making process in our lay led union, lies with the membership, operating through UNISON's democratic structures.
West Dunbartonshire 10.1 At the end add new paragraph:
“Conference believes that the most effective way to ensure the strength of our union is to develop more activists, especially amongst young members and under- represented groups. Conference therefore welcomes the work being done by the National Executive Council Development and Organisation Committee in conjunction with the Strategic Organising Unit and Learning and Organising Services, together with branches, regions and Self Organised Groups and National Young Members‟ Forum to encourage more members to become active.”
National Executive Council 10.2
Page 13 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Add at the end:
"As such, any proposed changes to branches as a result of the fragmentation of the workforce and/or branch finances must make sure that the key principle of a lay led member union is maintained and strengthened."
Bromley Education and Training 11. Promoting Political Education and Developing Activists Discussion, debate and learning from one another are both at the heart of trade union education and are central to engaging people in union activity. Debate on the history of trade union struggle and the impact of political and economic change on working people and on women and minority groups in particular has always been an important part of trade union education, and it is more important now than ever in the run up to the 2015 General Election. To defeat this coalition which has attacked public services so savagely, we need to give confidence to our members to challenge the rhetoric that there is no alternative to cuts and that we are all in this together, and to highlight the equalities impact of government policies which are disproportionately impacting on women and disadvantaged groups.
Political education is an essential part of achieving this. In UNISON this can range from debating issues such as the value of the public sector in core activist training and running short workshops such as those available to support the political education wallcharts, right through to supporting activists studying on degree courses which focus on trade union and labour movement studies.
Conference recognises the value of:
1) Work already underway in regions and branches to promote debate on austerity, including innovative education and campaign events in a number of regions making use of UNISON resources including political education workshops;
2) Linking political education to the development of new activists, including sessions targeted specifically at women and young members;
3) The development of initiatives such as the member learning workshop offer which are bringing tasters of UNISON learning, including continuing professional development, to a wider audience;
4) The extension of bursaries for activists to support them with costs associated with learning outside the fee costs.
We know however that many UNISON members do not currently access member or activist learning and therefore may miss out on opportunities to engage in informal or formal education including political education.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with relevant parts of the union including Labour Link to:
Page 14 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA a) Develop further political education materials to encourage debate on the causes of austerity in the run up to the forthcoming political fund ballot and the General Election; b) Ensure that new resources focus on the disproportionate impact of government policies on women and the least advantaged groups in society; c) Develop a clear strategy for rolling out current and new political education resources which can also support recruitment of new members and activist development; d) Promote the benefit of broad political education as a means of engaging new members in activity and developing new activists.
Conference calls on regions and branches to: i) Create and make maximum use of opportunities such as branch AGMs and members meetings to make use of short workshops designed to encourage political awareness; ii) Support the training and development of lay tutors and discussion leaders who are able to deliver short workshops and initiate discussion and debate on the origins and implications of austerity and the worth of public service.
National Executive Council 11.1 In the first paragraph, third sentence delete part of sentence after “to defeat this coalition” until “rhetoric” and add:
“and replace it with a Government that values and respects public services, we need to build the knowledge and confidence of our members so that they can effectively challenge the myths that there is no alternative to cuts and we are all in this together."
Insert new full stop at end and create new fourth sentence by deleting “and to highlight the equalities impact “and inserting:
“So many of our members have personal experience”
After “disadvantaged groups” add: “ we must encourage and motivate from that experience so that our members have a loud and organised voice."
Add new point iii):
“iii) Ensure that all training activities delivered within regions include time for participants to consolidate their understanding of the political world in which we all operate and the impact of Government on all that we do."
Eastern Region 11.2
Page 15 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA After fourth paragraph ending “... including political education.” add new paragraph:
“Conference notes the success in the Scottish Region of the lay tutor training programme where lay activists participate in intense training to become accredited as lay tutors enabling them to deliver UNISON courses and workshops. The Scottish Regional Education programme is then mostly delivered by lay activists. This method of peer education, supported by regional staff, is seen as beneficial in building the confidence of activists and enhances the networking experience within the training programme. The lay tutor training builds capacity within the Region and branches to deliver both political and trade union based education materials. The skills learned by the UNISON accredited lay tutors are transferable into many branch based and community campaigns.”
Scotland Region 11.3 Add new second paragraph:
"We must also ensure that our members appreciate that different variants of far-right politics, including those espoused by the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) are entirely contrary to the interests of working people."
Lambeth 12. Branch Communications Training We recognise the hard work that UNISON has done over the past year to improve communications nationally, such as the new website layout and increased use of social media, but we believe that many local branches throughout UNISON are unable to participate from actively communicating online due to the lack of specific training.
The internet is recognised as a vital communicating tool for activists and branches and is used not only for online campaigning, but also as a means of general communication by branches and a way of connecting to non members.
We call upon UNISON to work with all regions to;
1) Provide online communication training and guidance;
2) Ensure the training and guidance is made available at different ability levels for those branches starting from scratch through to those branches who have already developed good online communications, but need to further training and guidance;
3) Ensure the training is available to all UNISON branches, regardless of region or sector.
Conference believes that making available online communication training and guidance to all UNISON branches will benefit not only those branches participating, but also the wider union and its ongoing campaigns.
Humberside Police Support
Page 16 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Lay Structures 13. Motion 9 Self Organisation Group Review - Next Steps Conference recognises the substantial work carried out by the working group on the review of self-organisation (SOG's) within our union.
Conference also wholeheartedly appreciate the important work that our SOG's do and is in no doubt that this work underpins all that our union stands for and is built upon. Self-organisation is crucial to our aims, objectives and values.
Following the review, commonly known as the 'Motion 9 Review' which reported back to Conference and recommended a number of rule changes we must now ask ourselves did it go far enough?
Our SOG's have a structure of 'caucus groups' yet the review, in our view, did not look or reflect on these and how their structure fits into self organisation or the union structure, Conference believes that this was an oversight.
SOG's at their conferences have caucus meetings for anyone who identify within another SOG, these meetings can and do elect to the National Committee of that SOG. This increases the number of committee members therefore increasing costs. There is also a question of accountability to the body from which you are elected as this body will not meet until the following the year's conference.
UNISON must ensure that our great union is 'fit for purpose' going forward into very difficult times and that our finances and resources at all levels of the union are used in the best interests of our members.
Therefore Conference asks that the National Executive Council:
1) Review the caucus structure and reporting mechanisms within and across SOGs and the union;
2) Consult with all SOG's within the review and other relevant sections of the union;
3) Report back to National Delegate Conference 2015.
Lancashire Police Authority Negotiating and Bargaining Bargaining 14. Attendance Management Conference is concerned that in the 21st Century some employers are still using draconian sickness absence polices, such as the Bradford Factor, which we know can discriminate against disabled workers.
Absence from work due to a disability should be recorded separately and treated differently to non-disability related sickness absence with a separate policy explaining the procedure. Disability Leave Policies protect disabled employees from the discrimination that can arise if disability related absence is treated as sick leave.
Page 17 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA At a time of widespread redundancies and cuts disabled people can be at a disadvantage if their employer doesn‟t have a disability leave policy and they are selected for redundancy due to sickness absence procedures that do not take account of disability-related absence.
Employers do not have to continue to pay sick pay if a disabled employee has exhausted their entitlement but is unable to return to work for a disability related reason. This can lead to disabled employees feeling pressured to take ill-health or early retirement due to continued sickness absence even if they may have been able to continue to work if reasonable adjustments were implemented.
Conference notes that under the Equality Act 2010 employers are obliged employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Although there is no framework or definition of what is a reasonable adjustment disability leave could be classed as a reasonable adjustment. Although employers do not legally have to have a disability leave policy it is good practice and could reduce the risk of legal challenge for failing to make reasonable adjustments.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with National Disabled Members Committee, Service Groups and Labour Link to:
1) Campaign for an end to the use of potentially discriminatory attendance management policies;
2) Promote, with branches and regions, UNISON‟s model Disability Leave Policy and encourage employers seek to adopt it.
National Disabled Members Committee 15. Sectorial Wage Councils for Vulnerable Workers All service groups in UNISON will have members who are employed by private contractors that have traditionally suffered from low pay and poor employment conditions. For example social care and support, private health care, cleaning, security and catering services. These sectors also tend to employ women and BME staff, pay the minimum wage rate with no decent sickness protection or pensions on insecure contracts.
The employers are often very small and have fragmented workplaces over a large geographically area. Many staff also work part time and/or shift work.
It has always been very difficult and challenging for unions to organise in these workplaces which are a major reason for the low pay and poor conditions.
Due to austerity and the polices of this Tory led government the pay and conditions of these already badly paid staff has gone down due to cuts in government, council and health budgets. Attacks on TUPE and the growth of zero hours employment contracts have made things even worse.
Millions of UK workers are treated in this way. The government has to spend billions of pounds on tax credits and housing benefit subsidising employers who treat their
Page 18 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA staff in this way. This is an unacceptable state of affairs in the fifth richest economy in the world.
In other European countries such vulnerable workers are protected by wage councils where employers and trade unions collectively bargain on binding national agreements not only on pay but training, overtime, sickness benefits, holidays, pensions and trade union recognition.
In the UK during the 1930‟s the Conservative government of the time set up wage councils in order to increase demand in the economy in order to pull the country out of recession. Over the years these councils have been abolished by post Thatcher Conservative governments on free market ideological grounds most recently the Agricultural Wages Council in 2013. Conference believes that the UK should support and campaign for the setting up of sectorial wage councils in this country for such vulnerable employment sectors.
Conference calls on the UNISON National Executive Council to:
1) Investigate how they can support and implement this campaign;
2) Labour Link should be also asked to consider supporting such a campaign.
Housing Associations 16. Strengthening and Extending Collective Bargaining Conference welcomes the recent Institute of Employment Rights publication by Keith Ewing and John Hendy "Reconstruction after the crisis: a manifesto for collective bargaining".
The document highlights some key trends in industrial relations including:
1) In the UK, over 80% of workers had some part of their terms and conditions set by collective bargaining in 1979. It is now below 25% and falling;
2) The decline in collective bargaining corresponds with the shift in the distribution of GDP from wages to profits;
3) The UK is an outlier in Europe in having collective bargaining coverage below 50%, but the EU governing elite are using the crisis to attack national industrial relations systems elsewhere. In Greece and Romania there are concerted moves away from national and sectoral bargaining and towards enterprise-level agreements – including agreements with non-union associations.
Conference believes that: a) Wages are too low and that this is the root cause of the economic crisis in the UK and elsewhere; b) An increased National Minimum Wage, increased take-up of the Living Wage and the banning of zero hours contracts would all help to improve the condition of employees in the UK. What is needed though is a historic shift in resources from
Page 19 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA profits to wages. Collective bargaining is the best mechanism for achieving a sustained increase in the share of GDP paid in wages.
Conference notes with concern that: i) Our national collective bargaining and pay determination arrangements in local government and health respectively have not delivered decent pay increases for staff over several years; ii) The privatisation and contracting out of public service functions are multiplying the numbers of employers and pay determination systems that we face. An increasing share of public service employees and our members are not covered by collective bargaining arrangements; iii) The implementation of changes to TUPE in January 2014 have weakened the protection that outsourced workers will have in future. Of particular relevance is that protected terms and conditions are to be static such that TUPEd staff will not receive pay increases achieved through collective bargaining structures covering their former employer.
Conference endorses the ten point collective bargaining manifesto formulated by Ewing and Hendy which sets out the legislation required to establish a system of sectoral collective bargaining in the UK.
Conference believes that we cannot advance the interests of our members who are employed away from core employers through piecemeal advances toward collective bargaining at enterprise level alone. In most cases, individual employers will be reluctant to cede a cost advantage to their competitors for public service contracts. We need collective bargaining arrangements that cover multiple employers at the national and sectoral levels.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
A) Work to strengthen the union‟s negotiating power within existing national collective bargaining arrangements. This will require boosting our membership density and workplace organisation;
B) Seek to bring members employed by voluntary or private sector employers within collective bargaining arrangements;
C) Pursue an ambitious agenda of boosting collective bargaining at the national and sectoral levels.
Sefton Local Government 17. No Compulsory Redundancies Conference recognises the efforts of branches in all sectors to resist cuts in services and attacks on members‟ jobs and their terms and conditions. These attacks are part of an ideological attack on the public provision of services and workers‟ rights and wages masquerading as the austerity policies of the coalition government to deal with the country‟s economic problems. Cuts in funding are being forced on to the
Page 20 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA devolved governments, councils and other public bodies, forcing them to implement cuts in services, jobs and conditions.
Conference recognises that branches must determine the appropriate response to local cuts but believes that a national campaign to highlight the impact of cuts is also essential.
In particular conference notes that the traditional trade union demand for „no compulsory redundancies‟ continues to be relevant and needs to be fought for. Conference applauds those branches that have successfully ensured through either negotiation or actions that a policy of no compulsory redundancies is adhered to by the employers. However we note that this has not been possible in all circumstances.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council, the Service Group Executives and the Labour Link to develop a vigorous campaign to win support for a policy of no compulsory redundancies amongst our members, in the community, political parties and with employers.
Conference pledges support to any branch facing the threat of compulsory redundancies and calls on the National Executive Council to ensure that any such threats are publicised throughout the union.
South Lanarkshire 18. Mental Health Awareness Provision in the Workplace Currently no employer has a specific procedure for supporting workers mental health conditions and/or disabilities.
Conference agrees that UNISON, as a union, should develop a good example of such a procedure, covering both temporary and long term hidden mental health conditions. In addition, that we will commit to work with employers to promote appropriate, quality training for staff of all levels around mental health awareness issues.
Conference believes this would help challenge negative and assuming attitudes towards mental health in the workplace. It would be a first step towards removing the stigma, so prevalent in society, around what can often be unseen, misunderstood and unreported conditions.
Conference hopes this motion will result in assisting members with mental health conditions and employers by providing a framework to refer to, and encourage employers to start an open dialogue with staff on this issue.
Through increased understanding employers will have greater opportunity to work with us to help keep workers both physically and mentally healthy; provide support in the workplace and meaningful assistance in getting back to work for workers experiencing mental health related issues.
Southwark 18.1
Page 21 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Add new final paragraph:
"Conference also notes that some UNISON members requesting advice and support from stewards and branch officers may present themselves with mental health symptoms which require understanding and a sympathetic approach in order to effectively represent their needs. Conference calls on the National Executive Council to ensure that regions are encouraging branches to provide information, advice and training to branch representatives on mental health first aid and any other similar approaches and supportive initiatives."
Newcastle City 19. Administration of Medications Conference raises concerns in regard to the expectation of school support staff across the UK being put under increasing pressure to provide the administration of medications. Currently our members not only support but in some cases, against UNISON advice, administer medications on a voluntary basis. We feel that this is putting those members at risk with no accountability for appropriate training, monitoring or support from the authority. In Aberdeenshire a trawl on the administration of medications across all of our schools has proved that the staff are untrained and that there are vast arrays of medications being delivered by these untrained staff which the authority have no accountability for.
We are all aware that this is a growing issue across the UK but have been finding it increasingly difficult to pull together a cohesive strategy across all UNISON branches to tackle how administration of medications within schools is dealt with. With inclusion being key to education there are an increasing number of pupils entering the school system requiring anything from a Paracetamol to intrusive medical intervention, all of which require substantial medical training and healthcare provider support. We know that this is not happening and authorities are getting away with accessing healthcare on the cheap by utilising our lowest paid, predominately women, members.
Conference welcomed the current UNISON advice on the administration of medications a couple of years ago, for members working in schools, but our authority like many others, would like to make the administration of medications compulsory for all pupil support assistant‟s in Aberdeenshire. We have fought against this but we, like many of our colleagues in UNISON are under increasing pressure due to cuts in staffing over the past three years to deliver a medical service with little or no support from our health service providers in educational settings. Across the UK teaching assistants, classroom assistants and pupil support assistants are being pressured into volunteering to support or administer medication. This situation is becoming unmanageable and unsafe for our members working in our schools putting them all at risk for their own health and safety and open to legal challenge.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Review and strengthen the current guidance on administration of medications working in partnership with local government and health branches;
Page 22 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) To campaign and lobby the government to increase the budgets for the administration of medications in schools across the UK;
3) To ensure that the appropriate training for the support of medications is clearly set under strict guidelines and practise procedures to protect our members;
4) To campaign for fair pay in accordance with equivalent qualified roles for school support staff supporting administration of medications within their role;
5) To call on healthcare professionals to support their colleagues in local government.
Aberdeenshire 19.1 In first paragraph, delete second sentence.
Insert new fourth and fifth paragraphs:
“Conference congratulates UNISON‟s pupil support assistants in Glasgow schools, who took industrial action spread over a period of seventeen weeks against their employer‟s proposal that all pupil support assistants should carry out the full range of administration of medication and healthcare tasks for no additional money. Members‟ action forced revised proposals that give staff the choice over whether or not to take on this additional level of responsibility rather than be forced into doing it, along with additional payment where additional responsibility is taken on.
Conference also welcomes the news that the Department for Education in England has listened to concerns from UNISON and other campaigners; proposing an amendment to the Children and Families bill that introduces statutory guidance on the administration of medicine from September 2014. In the meantime, UNISON members working in UK schools are still too often forced into difficult positions where they want the best for their pupils, but are asked to administer medicines with little or no training.”
National Executive Council 19.2 At the end add new point 6):
"6) To write to National Academy Chains to highlight the importance of this issue and support UNISON's position on this motion."
Dorset County Health and Safety 20. Risk Assessments This motion has been withdrawn from the agenda.
Page 23 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 21. Oppose the Commercialisation and Privatisation of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Conference condemns the current attack by the Conservative-led Government on health and safety rights in the workplace. David Cameron has declared his aim to “kill off the health and safety culture” which he views as an “albatross around the neck of British business”. This should be seen as part of the wider attack on working people including UNISON members and their families. Most deaths and injuries at work are preventable and the plans of the current Government will only worsen protections in the workplace. Health and safety regulations do not kill jobs but a lack of regulation kills workers.
Conference notes:
1) The important functions performed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in keeping workers safe through enforcing employers‟ health, safety and welfare responsibilities in workplaces;
2) That one aspect of the Government‟s attacks on health and safety is its questioning of the functions and operation of the HSE;
3) That the recent Government-initiated review of the HSE, headed by Martin Temple, a former Director-General of an employers‟ organisation, recommended:
a) That the HSE should continue to perform its current functions as a non- departmental public body;
b) That the HSE should maintain its current board structure which includes a role for trade union representatives.
The Review also highlighted the potential damage that can be done by models of HSE funding that tie its organisational income to the fines that it levies.
Conference condemns the Government response to the Review which has been to ask the HSE to immediately: i) Examine commercial models for the HSE; ii) Review the HSE board to ensure that it has the right skills to oversee future efficiencies and commercial income-generating options.
Conference believes that the Government‟s true intention in setting up the Review was to seek support for its pre-determined ideologically-driven aim of commercialising and ultimately privatising the HSE.
Conference notes that there are concerns with the current funding arrangements and effectiveness of the HSE under the Con-Dem Government:
A) The HSE is to receive 40% less funding than it received in 2009/10;
B) Hazards magazine and the TUC have identified concerns that the HSE has begun to state that it seeks to avoid “employer over-compliance” with regulations.
Page 24 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA This is a bizarre position for a regulator to take and such examples would be better considered as best practice;
C) PCS have identified a concern with the HSE becoming less proactive and more reactive in its enforcement.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
I) Highlight the importance to our members and the wider working public of the HSE‟s functions and its position as a public body;
II) Oppose moves to commercialise and privatise the HSE;
III) Oppose funding cuts to the HSE;
IV) Support organisations including Hazards and the Institute of Employment Rights in criticising and campaigning against the government‟s reckless ideological assault on the health and safety of workers;
V) Work with the Labour Link to seek support for the HSE as a properly-funded public body, and a rigourous and proactive enforcer of health and safety requirements.
Stockport 22. Maximum Workplace Temperatures Conference notes the unacceptable working conditions many of our members were forced to work in during the unusual hot spell in July 2013.
UNISON believes that the maximum workplace temperature should be 30 degrees with a maximum of 27 degrees for those undertaking strenuous manual work.
Conference calls upon the National Health and Safety Committee to lobby the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), government and other appropriate bodies to achieve our aims as soon as is reasonably practicable.
United Utilities 22.1 Add new third paragraph:
"Working in temperatures over 30 degrees can have serious impacts on people with disabilities such as myalgic encephalopathy (ME), multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune disorders as well as other conditions. Adoption of UNISON's aims could be adopted as a reasonable adjustment under the Equalities Act 2010."
Third paragraph becomes fourth paragraph.
Add new fifth paragraph:
"Conference requests Labour Link to call on the Labour Party to commit any future Labour government to a legal maximum working temperature."
Page 25 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Dorset County 23. Safety Representatives - New and Expectant Mothers Branch safety representatives drive health and safety regulation within their respective workplaces.
Such regulation appertaining to new and expectant mothers places a duty of care on an employer to carry out a risk assessment of any processes, working conditions, physical, chemical and biological agents that could jeopardise her health or safety or that of her child while they are pregnant, breast feeding, or have given birth within the previous six months.
Whilst UNISON itself is not an employer of its members, nominated safety representatives of local Branches recognise the need to introduce and apply care to those safety representatives that become a new and expectant mother.
Conference requests that UNISON in conjunction with the National Health and Safety Unit provide guidance to Branches.
United Utilities 23.1 In third paragraph add second sentence:
“This recognition also extends to all UNISON stewards.”
National Executive Council 24. Electronic Cigarettes (e-cigarettes) - The Control and Use of in the Workplace Safety representatives drive Health and Safety Regulation within their respective workplaces.
The Smokefree (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006 does not include and/or apply regulation to the use of e-cigarettes; a fast growing alternative to smoking tobacco, in the workplace.
Safety representatives must ensure that employers do not allow the use of e- cigarettes in enclosed places or anywhere that smoking tobacco is prohibited, until such time that regulation provides clearer guidance.
As part of health promotion for our membership, safety representatives should work with their employers to encourage smokers to give up their tobacco addiction, by switching to the use of other methods that address and gradually reduce their craving of the hazardous substance nicotine.
If the use of e-cigarettes is an individual preference in the reduction of / or stopping of smoking tobacco, employers must be prepared to provide employees using these devices with a designated place for the safe use of, away from smoking employees and places that are currently covered by the smoking ban.
Page 26 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference requests that UNISON contacts the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to expedite regulation on the use of e-cigarettes within the workplace which will not only benefit our membership but all employees.
United Utilities Pay 25. Campaigning on Pay and Living Standards Conference reiterates its belief that our members deserve fair pay, equal pay and that no member should earn less than the Living Wage. However we note that living standards for working people have now suffered the greatest fall since the Victorian era; wages are stagnant across the economy yet the price of essentials continues to rise. Conference notes that this is a direct consequence of government policy, attacking the incomes of working people while boardroom pay continues to rise beyond inflation with tax breaks for the wealthy. It is this that results in increasing levels of pay inequality across the economy.
Conference condemns the public sector pay freeze and the ongoing pay cap. As a result of pay failing miserably to keep pace with inflation, Conference notes that some public sector staff have suffered a 16% cut in the value of their pay packet since 2010, with the average worker losing £2,000 from the value of their wages. In addition, many private companies and community and voluntary sector providers of public services have mirrored the freeze and cap. Also, in 1999 the bottom point on the Local Government NJC pay scales was 24% above the National Minimum Wage and in 2013 it was only 2.2% above. This means that UNISON members across our services and pay grades have seen their living standards plummet.
Conference notes, in particular, the number of workers earning less than a living wage has rocketed in recent years to more than five million, with one million of whom are public service workers. Conference further notes that with four-fifths of new jobs being low-paid, for the first time ever more working families are now in poverty than non-working ones, and two-thirds of children living in poverty now come from working families. It is increasingly apparent that, despite government rhetoric, work does not pay. Many of those seeking help from Food Banks are in work and they, or their families, are also facing increasing fees for access to further and higher education opportunities. Within the public sector and in public sector contracting, the rise of casualisation, zero-hours contracts, and unpaid travel time have been a means of restricting pay and allowing employers to circumvent minimum wage law, especially in areas such as social care: austerity and privatisation will intensify the zero-hours culture for both in-house and outsourced public services and that the quality of our public services will suffer.
Conference welcomes UNISON‟s Ethical Care Charter as a means of addressing such issues in home care and seeking to benefit service users by clamping down on the use of rushed care visits
Conference asserts that improving living standards for our members is a key priority issue. Conference notes that there is an international consensus that wages led economic growth is needed now in our economy, while our belief in social justice
Page 27 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA means that we need policies for fair increase in workers‟ wages to tackle income inequality while tackling the bonus culture at the opposite end of the scale.
Conference welcomes the significant findings of a report by senior economist Howard Reed which concluded that a statutory living wage would result in “an economic win-win on a number of levels”, by boosting demand and economic growth, reducing earnings inequality, increasing the share of wages in national income, raise Income Tax and employer National Insurance payments and reducing the extent to which the benefit and tax credit system has to prop up low wages.
Against this backdrop, Conference welcomes UNISON‟s Worth It campaign and its goal to place the pay and living standards of our members centre stage.
Conference is encouraged by the achievements of the union, working with our allies, over the past year in campaigning for a living wage. Conference recognises that there is a still a need to ensure that public bodies pay the living wage to contractors as well as direct employees. And Conference reiterates the importance of a living wage being used as a means of bringing pay up, not levelling it down.
However, at a time when the coalition are trying to persuade the public that the economy is improving, it is vital that we continue to ensure that the continuing struggles of working people for a fair wage is continually placed centre stage.
Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to use the Worth It campaign, and our key political campaigning to:
1) Campaign for an end to the public sector pay cap;
2) Continue to highlight falling living standards;
3) To support UNISON‟s sector-based activity around pay, in particular to ensure support where members democratically decide on lawful industrial action;
4) Use the Worth It Campaign to engage with UNISON membership is a key way of fighting back in conjunction with sector based campaigns;
5) Promote a living wage as a means of ending the blight of in-work poverty;
6) Campaign for an end to the use of zero hours and other exploitative contracts;
7) Work with Labour Link and UNISON regions to encourage Councils and other providers to sign up to the union‟s Ethical Care Charter;
8) Work with allies to make living standards a central part of the 2015 general election campaign; and
9) Use the activity associated with the Worth it campaign to recruit new members and to reach out to the wider community.
National Executive Council 25.1
Page 28 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Add at end of eighth paragraph:
“We note with concern Ed Balls and other leading Labour politicians have indicated that a Labour Government would continue with public sector pay restraint. The dangerous consensus of the major political parties on public sector pay restraint underscores the need for a coordinated industrial and political response on pay restraint.
Whilst recognising that it is for the appropriate service and bargaining groups to determine their own pay strategies. In a period of government driven pay freezes it is essential however that we have an overall strategic view as a union of encouraging the maximum unity across the public sector of opposing the continuing driving down of our pay."
Add at end of point 1):
" and call for a clear commitment to this from Ed Balls and Ed Miliband."
Add new point 10):
"10) Seek to coordinate across service groups and with unions across the public sector to organise united action against the pay freeze."
Tower Hamlet 25.2 Remove the word "and" from the end of point 8), add the word "and" to the end of point 9).
Add new point 10):
"10) To continue to highlight how outsourcing is driving down wages with private sector workers paid less for doing the same job as public sector staff and that the competitive tendering process can have a depressing effect on public sector pay as in-house teams compete on price with private providers to retain service provision."
East Midlands Ambulance Trust 25.3 Add new points 5) and 6) and renumber as appropriate:
"5) Strongly encourage branches and regions to ensure a very substantial UNISON presence on the TUC-initiated 'Britain Needs a Pay Rise' demonstration on Saturday 18 October;
6) Highlight, promote and facilitate the coordination of sector based campaigns, working with service groups to encourage and assist the coordination of action up to and including discontinuous industrial action taken by UNISON members, across sectors and service groups and to the maximum feasible degree with other trade unions, particularly in the public sector."
Camden UNISON
Page 29 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Islington Kensington and Chelsea Lambeth 25.4 At the end of the fifth paragraph add new sentence:
"Conference also welcomes the work done within UNISON Scotland in achieving the living wage within NHS Scotland with the removal of point 1 on band 1 within Agenda for Change."
Lanarkshire Health 26. Worth It Campaign and Living Wage Conference notes that in 1999 the Labour government brought in the national minimum wage. This benefited approximately two million people and boosted the economy; it did not cause the job losses the Tories had said it would, and improved the lives of many.
Conference believes that at a time when austerity and spending cuts are the order of the day and workers are being expected to show restraint, at the same time as seeing growth, we should still be showing our public service workers, and our members in particular, that they are „Worth It‟. UNISON‟s „Worth It‟ campaign and „Living Wage‟ campaign both recognise the hard work and dedication of all of our members. This is important at a time when members are faced with ever increasing living costs, and many have seen up to an 18% real terms drop in wages - a harsh reality and a devaluing of their work.
Conference believes these two campaigns would give our young workers the motivation and encouragement to become who they want to be, invest in themselves, maybe take on a college course or go to university, and give them the opportunity to improve themselves. Conference believes we must invest in our youth so they can invest in our future, and build strong foundations for stability - the youth of today are “worth it”.
Conference further believes that winning the difference - as at time of writing - of £1.34 between Minimum Wage and a Living Wage (outside London; £2.49 in London) would indeed show our workers they are “Worth It”. The Living Wage affords people the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families with 75% of employees reporting increases in work quality as a result of receiving the Living Wage. Campaigning for a living wage and showing young members they are worth it will improve the productivity and quality of work; we would see lower attrition rates within companies and stronger bonds built in communities, offices, home and leisure.
Conference agrees we need to move this forward and really drive these campaigns and secure our future, our kids' future and the country‟s future by calling on the National Executive Council to:
1) Produce targeted materials for young members for the Living Wage and Worth It campaigns;
Page 30 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Encourage young members at regional and branch level to get involved in both campaigns and to engage young members locally to develop their own campaigning initiatives on both campaigns.
National Young Members' Forum 26.1 After third paragraph add:
"Conference reaffirms its demand for an end to the discrimination of young workers allowing employers to pay lower rates of pay based on age alone.
Conference is also opposed to forcing young people on to short term workfare job schemes paid at the minimum wage rather than the rate for the job."
Bromley UNISON Hackney Local Government (M) 27. Public Service Pay Conference condemns the attitude of Government and employers alike towards public service pay settlements. UNISON members have been subject to the pay freeze for up to five years, yet the cost of living has been climbing unceasingly. It is estimated that UNISON members are on average 15% worse off in real terms than five years ago, and that the proportion of UNISON members relying on benefits to make ends meet is steadily increasing. Wage awards of 1% and thereabouts are not increases but wage cuts. The pay freeze has to be broken.
Conference welcomes UNISON‟s Worth It campaign. Members are nervous about taking action over pay, and the different pay bargaining timetables tend to fragment a whole union approach. The Worth It campaign is makes a valuable contribution in building up member confidence and forging a union wide strategy.
Conference agrees that pay must be a core priority for the union this year, and calls on the National Executive Council to work with branches, activists and members to build a pay campaign in accordance with national strategy. This campaign should include:
1) A union wide campaign that spans the various service groups and also includes the ever growing number of members who are no longer covered by national pay bodies;
2) Draw on lessons learned from the recent pensions campaign, particularly the successful ways we communicated and educated members on why the issues were important and how they could get involved and make a difference;
3) Recruiting and organising must be at the core. The campaign should motivate members to get active in the union and should be used as a recruitment tool to increase density wherever possible.
Greater London Region 27.1
Page 31 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Add new first sentence in second paragraph:
"Conference recognises that national industrial action, co-ordinated as far as is reasonably practicable across sectors, will be essential to halt and reverse the erosion of real pay."
Add at end additional points 4), 5) and 6):
"4) Learning from the successes of those regions who engaged most effectively with building support for industrial action in the 2011 pensions campaign, and sharing this learning with regions which engaged less effectively at that time;
5) Encouraging joint working between branches across service groups, for example by encouraging all regions to do all they can regularly to hold quorate meetings of their Regional Council;
6) Maximising democratic engagement of all UNISON members, across all UNISON Service Groups in our campaign to secure real pay increases for all our members."
Camden Islington Kensington and Chelsea Lambeth 28. Rebalancing the Economy: The Need for Higher Pay Conference believes that the historic shift of resources from wages to profits over the past 35 years has impacted negatively on the economic performance of the UK as well as on social justice.
Conference notes with concern that between 1977 and 2008 the wage share fell from 59% of national income to 53% while the profit share increased from 25% to 29%. Where as wages translate into demand and economic activity, profits are often not put to productive use – as evidenced by the increase in UK companies‟ reserves during the economic crisis.
Conference further notes that the distribution of wages has become more polarised. Only the USA has a larger proportion of low paid workers than the UK amongst developed countries.
Conference believes that:
1) There is an urgent need for a shift in societal resources from profits to wages;
2) A recent report by the New Economic Foundation entitled "Raising the Benchmark" usefully identifies the role that public sector employment has historically played in setting decent pay levels and labour standards and highlights that this role is no longer being adequately performed;
3) Government as an employer should move to increase the wages paid to its own employees such that their real value is restored. Public sector pay freezes and caps must end;
Page 32 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 4) Our experience of privatisation is that it always involves an effort to insert a profit layer through cutting and worsening jobs. Privatisation is part of the damaging trend of increasing profits at the expense of wages;
5) The growing take-up of the Living Wage is to be welcomed. In the North West, 50 organisations have now signed-up and this has had a positive impact on the lives of many low-paid workers, some of whom work for public sector employers;
6) There are limits to what can be achieved through the voluntary Living Wage as the self-interest and enlightenment of employers cannot be relied upon. To help address the historic fall in wages there is a need for sustained increases in the National Minimum Wage.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to campaign: a) To highlight the argument that higher wages are needed for the good of the economy; b) To defend public sector jobs, which provide decent pay and labour standards; c) Against privatisation, which impacts negatively on the economy through redistributing public money from wages to profits; d) For wider uptake of the Living Wage and a substantially higher National Minimum Wage.
Stockport Campaigning Privatisation 29. Resisting Privatisation and Defending Employment Rights Conference notes that:
1) Despite the manifold failings of the private sector to deliver high quality public services to service users or cost savings to the taxpayer, the trend toward privatisation continues apace;
2) Privatisation is always a threat to the terms and conditions of our members. Private companies necessarily attempt to extract a profit, which in the provision of a free public service can only come at the expense of labour. Our experience of voluntary sector organisations is that they behave similarly to the private sector.
Conference reaffirms that: a) The union is committed to campaigning against the privatisation of services; b) Where privatisation does occur, the union will work to protect the terms and conditions of our members.
Conference condemns:
Page 33 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA i) The weakening of TUPE regulations. This has made it more difficult to protect the terms and conditions of staff following a transfer. It may also make privatisation more attractive to cash-strapped public bodies as the private sector is able to offer larger and more immediate cost savings; ii) Irresponsible commissioning decisions by some public bodies in contracting out work to private or voluntary organisations that do not have the resources to fulfil their responsibilities to the transferred workforce.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
A) Redouble efforts to resist privatisation through:
I) Ensuring that staff threatened with privatisation know that it is likely that their terms and conditions will come under attack, and that with the weakening of TUPE this will be harder to resist;
II) Publicising the failings of private and voluntary sector providers.
B) Work through the Labour Link to ensure that an incoming Labour Government will revert to the 2006 TUPE Regulations;
C) Highlight instances where public bodies pass on financial pressures to contractors, who in turn worsen the terms and conditions of transferred staff;
D) Continue to provide support and training to branches to shape commissioning decisions and develop in-house alternatives to privatisation.
Sefton Local Government 29.1 Add new points E) and F):
"E) Campaign to ensure that the new UK Public Procurement Regulations (covering England, Northern Ireland and Wales) and the Scottish Procurement Bill with any secondary public procurement legislation includes provisions that affirm that contracting authorities may (legally) introduce social considerations throughout the procurement process and that privatisation and mutualisation concerns are addressed and that Freedom of Information, transparency and scrutiny powers are included in the new regulations;
F) Campaign for the new Public Procurement Regulations to allow all public contracting authorities to have the right to firstly not tender and to keep services in house or opt for a public – public model of delivery and to be able to give preference to bids that offer better working conditions, such as limiting zero hour contracts or the Living Wage, ensuring the Fair Deal on pensions and TUPE conditions are met, address employment needs of disabled, vulnerable and disadvantaged workers and provide in – work progression, training and skill development for the workforce."
National Executive Council 30. Stop Probation Privatisation
Page 34 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference condemns the Tory-led Coalition Government‟s plans to split the probation service to create a small national probation agency for England and Wales to manage high risk cases whilst leaving the majority of the work to the private sector. The plans would see the dismantling of the 35 current probation trusts, who will not be allowed to bid, to the detriment of their experience, professionalism and track record of delivering a highly sensitive public service.
The break up of probation services will severely disrupt existing local community safety partnerships between probation, the police and local authorities. The fragmentation of the service will disrupt sensitive work supervising offenders whose risk level can change frequently.
Conference believes that the government‟s plans are fundamentally flawed and will introduce a profit motive to an essential and sensitive area of public services with predictable results. There is no evidence that the private sector can run probation services more effectively or cheaply and the untried and untested payment by results model appears to be designed to exclude Probation Trusts from making in-house bids.
Conference notes reports in The Observer on 15th December 2013 that the Ministry of Justice‟s internal risk assessment found that their plans would have a „very high chance‟ of putting the public at greater risk and result in a poorer service for victims of crime. Conference further notes ongoing investigations by the Serious Fraud Office into allegations of fraud by private companies delivering contracts for the Ministry of Justice.
Conference also notes with concern recent reports that the Government Office in Scotland has been consulting with Ministry of Justice officials in relation to the „transforming rehabilitation‟ programme in England and Wales. Conference believes that the fight to protect public services from cuts, job losses and privatisation brings together all regions and nations in the UK.
Conference believes that probation privatisation is as unpopular with the public as the Government‟s plans for police privatisation proved to be last year. Police privatisation became the key issue within the election campaigns for the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales in autumn 2012, with wide- ranging concerns expressed by voters around transparency, financial and political accountability and dangers to public safety. Conference therefore also believes that successful local campaigning by local police service UNISON branches underlines the potential to mobilise communities locally and nationally against yet another dangerous experiment with public safety.
Conference asserts that a public service ethos is at the core of successful delivery of probation services and re-affirms UNISON‟s commitment to a locally run and locally accountable service rooted in public-public partnerships. UNISON has an alternative vision for a sustainable future for the probation service. Under UNISON‟s model developed with the Local Government Information Unit, local authorities and probation would work together, with the emphasis being on cooperation and sharing of resources. It would retain services and jobs and develop genuine localism in probation provision. Conference believes that it is vital to oppose the erosion of the public services and campaign for a positive alternative vision.
Page 35 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to;
1) Work with branches, service groups, self organised groups and regions to campaign against the privatisation of the probation service and to promote UNISON‟s vision for „Primary Justice‟;
2) Work with the political funds to influence MPs, MSPs, AMs, PCCs, Councillors, local communities and other stakeholders to highlight the dangers and risks in privatising this essential service;
3) Work with branches and regions to organise the privatised probation workforce with the police and justice service group;
4) Work with Labour Link to influence the Labour Party to develop a progressive, community-centred approach to the rehabilitation of offenders;
5) Work with stakeholders to ensure that human rights and international labour standards are upheld in the delivery of probation services.
National Executive Council 30.1 Insert new third paragraph:
“Amongst those most at risk will be the victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Each year around 40,000 individuals are required to attend programmes focussing on drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, thinking skills and behaviour and sexual offending – the majority of those attending are prolific offenders. With privatisation and the inevitable cuts in funding and provision, plus the loss of expertise through redundancy, women and children particularly will be put at high risk as lack of intervention is known to cause an escalation in such behaviour.”
Insert in action point 2) after “local communities”:
“appropriate women‟s sector organisations”.
National Women's Committee Public Services 31. Rebuilding Local Democracy Conference reaffirms our opposition to the sustained attack on local public services and the public service workers who deliver them – including brutal cuts to local government funding made by a Tory-led government pursuing an ideological agenda that rivals the Thatcher attack on councils in the 1980‟s. Despite David Cameron saying councils were “officially the most efficient part of the public sector”. since the 2010 General Election consecutive Budgets and Autumn Statements have slashed council funding so that by the General Election in 2015 councils will have had their collective budgets cut by over £20billion.
These drastic cuts will fundamentally change the role of local government, the scale and range of services that it provides and its capacity to deliver services to
Page 36 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA communities and individuals, regardless of their needs. Councils have had to bear the brunt of public sector cuts – compromising the care and support they provide to older people and most disadvantaged. In addition to these cuts, councils have seen their tax raising powers restricted, with bribes from central government to freeze council tax. These bribes will contribute to the “funding black hole” when they are eventually withdrawn, forcing councils to make further cuts to services.
Conference is acutely aware that these services will become even more difficult to deliver in the context of an ageing population and calls on all political parties to address the financial black hole in council funding for the elderly. We also cannot ignore the negative impact of these cuts in the homes of local government workers – the vast majority of whom are women. Large scale redundancies, falling wages and cuts to local conditions have seen huge pressures placed upon the lives of council employees and their families, destroying many hopes for a better future.
Conference is aware of the cuts to services taking place in every part of the United Kingdom but is particularly alarmed that these regressive cuts are also unfairly distributed with significant regional differences. For example, between 2010/11 and 2014/15 the ten most deprived local authorities in England, many but not all in northern cities, will lose six times the amount in spending per head of population compared to the ten least deprived local authorities.
Alongside the cuts in funding, this right-wing promotion of councils which simply commission services rather than deliver them has led to the scaling back of vital services, such as counselling, meals on wheels and youth support. Conference remains opposed to plans to meet these challenges through greater privatisation and the government‟s re-introduction of compulsory competitive tendering under the banner of “community right to challenge”, which introduces privatisation through the back door. Those councils which merely privatise or outsource their responsibilities are in denial of all the evidence that shows that privatisation costs more in the longer term and rapidly leads to shoddy services. Where services are being delivered by the community, for example with local libraries, are no substitute for professionally staffed and properly funded services.
Conference welcomes the hard-hitting series of UNISON reports published under the title “The Damage” and the work undertaken by the union to establish the true cost of cuts to local public services. Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to support a UK-wide campaign to defend local council services from further attacks;
2) Work at branch, regional and national levels to highlight the importance of democratically accountable and collectively provided local public services;
3) Encourage alliance building with relevant partners in our communities in pursuit of this campaign;
4) Support the union‟s branches and officials engaged in responding to cuts at a local level - including through the provision of educational materials, training and practical tools;
Page 37 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 5) Commit to a vibrant local democracy and to work with allies, including sympathetic councillors, to ensure that local government remains a vital component of local democracy;
6) Work in alliance with like minded organisations to find new proposals to tackle the local government funding deficit and secure a stable settlement for locally delivered and properly funded local government services.
National Executive Council 31.1 Insert new sixth paragraph:
"Conference notes that „Public Service Reform‟ is being pursued through various central government initiatives including community budgets, Whole Place and City Deals. These initiatives involve: a) Breaking down functional boundaries between services; b) Breaking down geographical boundaries between councils; c) Freeing up „locally elected‟ decision-makers.
Conference believes that it is necessary for the union to engage effectively with these initiatives, which present both threats and opportunities. Conference recognises that such engagement will be difficult as it will require the union to work outside our normal branch and service group frameworks."
At the end of the motion, insert new point 7):
"7) Develop a consistent and principled approach to „Public Service Reform‟ initiatives that is based on our continued opposition to austerity and privatisation, and our support for quality jobs and services and democratic accountability. Ensure branches that are involved in Public Service Reform initiatives are provided with the necessary support and information to engage effectively. This should involve the publication of useful guides for branches and sharing best practice."
North West Region 31.2 In third paragraph, after the first sentence, insert:
“These cuts to services also disproportionately impact on tailored services designed to meet the needs of Black, disabled, women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, services which are sometimes seen as “a nice thing to do” when times are good but dispensable in a time of cuts. In reality these local services can save lives.”
In the same paragraph, after “women” insert: “and a disproportionate number of whom are Black, disabled and LGBT due to local government often being perceived as a relatively good employer as a result of trade union negotiation.”
Page 38 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA In fifth paragraph insert new fourth sentence:
“In addition, where services are moved outside the public sector, women, Black, disabled and LGBT workers may find their hard-won protections in the workplace are eroded.”
In sixth paragraph, insert new second sentence:
“Conference also notes the ground-breaking research into the effects of austerity on LGBT people undertaken by the LGBT group and UNISON‟s work on highlighting the impact of the cuts on Black and disabled people through the use of freedom of information requests.”
At end of point 2), insert:
“, including tailored services to meet the needs of women, Black, disabled and LGBT people”.
National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee 31.3 Insert new point 3):
“3) Take the opportunity under 2) above to inform, educate and engage young people in the campaign to defend local public services.”
And renumber accordingly.
National Young Members' Forum 32. The Democratic Deficit and Public Service Fragmentation Conference believes that UNISON members are triple stakeholders of public service provision as workers, service users and tax payers. Conference share the widespread public concern that the increasing fragmentation of our public services amongst thousands of providers and contracts can lead to secrecy, a lack of co- operation and a loss of public accountability.
Conference has long recorded the employment consequences of this fragmentation process in terms of budget cuts, cut price tendering and cuts to terms and conditions. But what is also apparent is that increasingly UNISON members feel they cannot positively influence services as workers, citizens and taxpayers.
Conference finds that it is often dedicated union representatives who can see problems across services and contracts that organisations stuck in the contract culture cannot and that it is UNISON activists who raise the alarm about cuts, standards and malpractice.
Conference believes that the recent floods across the UK showed how public service workers across local government, fire, police, utilities and the Environment Agency
Page 39 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA can work together in the national interest. With cuts and fragmentation this is becoming harder and harder to sustain.
Conference is alarmed at the difficulty in applying Freedom of Information, human rights and equality regulations to publicly commissioned contracts and the inability of elected politicians to effectively inspect, challenge and change contracts.
Conference notes that applying health and safety regulations becomes more difficult in fragmented public services.
Conference is alarmed at the spread of academy schools in England and the small groups of self selecting people who manage them without council, public, parent and staff involvement.
Conference notes that the integration of services, co-operation and a focus on preventing problems has been easier in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a lesser spread of competitive tendering.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to campaign for:
1) Wage standards and trade union facility time in public procurement;
2) The rights of health and safety reps to inspect contractors and sub-contractors;
3) For Freedom of Information laws to apply to all public contracts;
4) For councils to be able to call all public bodies and providers in their area to scrutiny sessions;
5) Greater transparency and accountability of academy schools to local communities, parents and staff;
6) Support for a Public Services Users Bill to give service users a voice.
Northern Region 32.1 Add new points 7) and 8):
"7) Campaign to ensure that the new UK Public Procurement Regulations (covering England, Northern Ireland and Wales) and the Scottish Procurement Bill with any secondary public procurement legislation includes provisions that affirm that contracting authorities may (legally) introduce social considerations throughout the procurement process and that privatisation and mutualisation concerns are addressed and that Freedom of Information, transparency and scrutiny powers are included in the new regulations;
8) Campaign for the new Public Procurement Regulations to allow all public contracting authorities to have the right to firstly not tender and to keep services in house or opt for a public – public model of delivery and to be able to give preference to bids that offer better working conditions, such as limiting zero hour contracts or the living wage, ensuring the Fair Deal on pensions and TUPE conditions are met,
Page 40 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA address employment needs of disabled, vulnerable and disadvantaged workers and provide in – work progression, training and skill development for the workforce."
National Executive Council 32.2 After the seventh paragraph add:
"It is increasingly clear that the only genuine long term way of securing high quality, accountable and coordinated public services to meet the needs of those that use them and those that work in them, is for the end of the privatisation of public services and for those services privatised to be brought back in house under the control of directly elected representatives and for the money stolen from the Public sector in grants to be returned."
After the eighth paragraph add:
"Conference instructs the National Executive Council to work with sympathetic councillors, MP and MEPs to secure these policies.
Conference instructs the National Executive Council to work in alliance with like minded organisations to secure theses aims.”
In the ninth paragraph before “Conference calls on the National Executive Council to” add “In the interim ”.
Bromley 33. Retaining and Returning Adult Social Care Services under Local Authority control Conference believes that all aspects of adult social care should be brought back in- house, to ensure that a dignified, skilled and first-rate service is delivered to our society‟s most vulnerable people.
The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 made local authorities introduce competition within the home care service, whereby “providers” would tender for contracts to deliver a home care service on behalf of the local authority.
This outsourcing of domiciliary care is the wrong approach to take as we move forward with an aging population, that current research shows we face a resulting dementia time-bomb.
This is because many private sector providers lack the funds to invest in substantial training and education for its employees, training which should provide the staff with the skills and qualifications needed to support vulnerable adults, people with disabilities and older people.
Training and regular educational workshops would be available if the adult social care sector was in-house because the intention would not be focussed on “profit”, but rather the focus would be to ensure that a quality service is being delivered.
Page 41 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Improving the skill base of the employees within this sector will only raise the quality of care delivered to those who need it.
Any revenue from the home care sector should be re-invested into training programmes and qualifications for its staff, so that high quality care giving can be maintained.
Paying the staff who work in the adult care sector will not only ensure that a quality service is given, it will also lead to more efficient services and also staff to be recognised for their hard work.
The private sector “providers” pay adult social care staff the bare minimum wage, if they‟re lucky. The majority are also employed on zero-hour contracts.
This poverty pay leads to a lack in moral and motivation which in turn leads to a poor quality service for the service users.
The poverty pay adult social care staff receive also has a knock on effect to their families and local communities.
Predominantly, the employees in the adult social care sector are female, who have to juggle family life and sometimes personal caring responsibilities with the flexible working hours which their work requires.
Unfortunately, due to continuing privatisation plans, many local authority controlled “residential care homes” have also been left in the hands of the private sector.
Many privatised residential care homes offer inadequate training and extremely low pay to their staff.
For a company to make a profit out of those who are too vulnerable to reside at their own homes goes against the fabric of our society.
As many local authorities embark on budget cuts and privatisation, they must not automatically assume that a race to the bottom in the delivery of adult social care is the best possible solution.
We, as a trade union representing these workers, need to make the case that retaining services in-house and training those staff adequately is the best way to make savings.
Investing in adult social care staff‟s pay will mean loyal workers that recognise they are getting a fair deal and will be motivated to take pride in their work.
Investing in sufficient training programmes will increase awareness of the service user needs and reduce the risks that poor quality services pose for the most vulnerable in our society.
This will lead to more improved outcomes for the service user.
Conference calls on UNISON to lobby all interested parties and stakeholders within the adult social care sector to:
Page 42 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 1) Stop councils outsourcing its residential care homes and domiciliary services and bring currently outsourced adult social care services back into local authority control;
2) Work with all interested parties to develop a comprehensive training programme that all workers in the Adult Social Care sector must complete as they develop their careers;
3) Increase the pay that adult social care workers receive in line with the Living Wage;
4) Repeal the Act that actively seeks competition and outsourcing within adult social care, so no vulnerable, elderly or disabled members of our society can be used for profitable gain. And amend the Health and Social Care Bill to ensure that vulnerable people are at the heart of the Bill, that only the highest quality care is delivered and that such care is actively monitored by independent agencies;
5) Fund the Adult Social Care in-house programme by:
a) Ending all contracts with private sector “providers” so that all payments being made go back into the Local Authorities account, which can be spent to improve the service;
b) Actively seek to claim the unpaid tax owed by the multi-national corporations and individuals by closing all the legal loopholes that allow them to avoid tax receipts.
Kent Local Government 33.1 After seventeenth paragraph add new paragraph:
“Conference applauds the development of UNISON‟s Ethical Care Charter and notes that it is achieving increasing success with several local authorities across the UK signing up. The Charter should be promoted to all local authorities to improve the delivery of their homecare services and its principles should also be applied to the commissioning of residential care.”
After twentieth paragraph add new paragraph:
“In all of this, Conference is clear that – as long as proper pay, training and other professional development is provided – choice for those disabled people who choose to directly employ their own care staff should not be affected.”
National Executive Council 34. Campaign for Full Cost Recovery on Public Sector Contracts Conference deplores the situation whereby public sector contracts with charities are often not on a full cost recovery basis (basically, staff costs plus overheads).
Where this occurs, the consequence is a shortfall between contract income and the cost of delivering a contract. This effectively leaves affected charities to choose
Page 43 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA between cross-subsidising state contracts from other charitable funds or reducing the terms and conditions of the staff who will deliver the contract. This has happened across the public sector.
Where the response is to attack terms and conditions this inevitably helps fuel the „race to the bottom‟ currently being faced by UNISON‟s members and the wider workforce.
Where charities decide to cross-subsidise, this in effect turns charitable donations into a form of hidden taxation, which, if donors realise what their money is being used for, could damage the reputation of the organisation concerned and lead to a fall in income with all the consequences that might flow from that, including job losses. It could also damage the charitable sector more widely with widespread reductions in donations and consequent job losses, potentially leaving the often vulnerable people the sector serves with nowhere to turn for help.
One of the knock on effects of this situation is that it makes it very difficult for public sector providers to compete when contracts are put out to tender, so they risk losing jobs to organisations that are subsidising contracts. As UNISON knows from bitter experience, where staff are transferred over as part of the process, TUPE provides very little protections and existing terms and conditions, and even jobs, are frequently slashed very quickly afterwards. With the Community Right to Challenge (brought in under the Localism Act 2011) allowing community and voluntary sector organisations to instigate a tendering process for delivery of public services, this will almost certainly prove to be a growing issue for UNISON‟s public sector members.
Without further research it is unclear exactly how widespread the problem is but one known example is a national charity whose audited accounts show a shortfall on legal aid contract income against delivery costs of over £20.73 million over the past eight years. That is quite a subsidy from charitable income and anecdotal evidence suggests this is far from the only charity affected although, unlike with this particular charity, it is often difficult to tell or quantify from other charities‟ published accounts.
Therefore, Conference calls upon UNISON‟s National Executive Council to:
1) Carry out research into this matter and gather information on examples of this practice; and share on an on-going basis with appropriate branches;
2) Use this information to publicise and campaign against this practice and;
3) Report back to next year‟s National Delegate Conference on progress.
Norfolk County 35. Ethical Care Campaign Conference welcomes the progress of UNISON‟s Ethical Care Campaign since its launch in 2012. The campaign puts recruiting and organising the home care workforce at its heart and highlights how low wages and poor terms and conditions for home care workers undermine the reliability of the service for users and service users‟ human rights.
Page 44 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference believes that home care workers pay and status should reflect the compassion and skill their job requires.
Conference welcomes in particular:
1) The commitment of a small number of local authorities, led by Southwark and Islington, which have been first to adopt UNISON‟s Ethical Care Charter and the work of the respective UNISON branches which have brought this about;
2) The launch of UNISON‟s “Pay Up for Travel Time” campaign and the successful legal challenges which have established that travelling time between service users‟ homes is work time and must be paid;
3) Her Majesty‟s Revenue and Customs‟ (HMRC) exposure of the growing number of social care employers not complying with National Minimum Wage legislation by not paying for travelling time, not paying for training time, unlawful deductions and other practices and it welcomes the new rules to name employers to whom HMRC has issued Notices of Underpayment; and,
4) The splendid results of the UNISON Northern Ireland Home Care Project where innovative approaches have trebled the number of home care workers in membership.
However, this leaves the position unaltered in the great majority of local authorities etc. which deliberately under-fund the commissioning of home care distorting the market and driving it ever downward. Nor have many branches made much headway recruiting and organising the growing home care workforce.
Conference urges all councils etc. to commit to commission home care services which meet the standards of the charter, in particular to: a) Commission services based on users‟ needs not workers‟ time, end the scandal of fifteen-minute visits, end “call-cramming” and give workers enough time for the human contact and care people deserve; b) End the practice of commissioning from large numbers of providers without guaranteeing work from one week to the next so that providers cannot guarantee hours to their staff; c) Refrain from commissioning from providers which do not pay the Living Wage, which make unlawful deductions from wages for items like uniforms, which impose zero-hours contracts, which do not pay for travel time or training time or which fail to offer staff an appropriate range of training; and, d) Rebuild a public sector in home care with in-house services which offer an excellent standard, accountability, an organised and trained workforce and where none of the resources are creamed off as profit for shareholders.
Conference considers that achieving UNISON‟s objectives widely will need sustained local campaigning based upon:
Page 45 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA i) Learning the lessons of the Northern Ireland project to recruit and organise a scattered workforce with rapid turnover where there are many small employers mainly in the private sector; ii) Linking workforce demands with the needs, experiences and aspirations of service users and strengthening UNISON‟s links with appropriate pensioners‟ organisations, charities etc. to help do so; iii) Ensuring equality and diversity issues arising both among the workforce and among service users are addressed appropriately; and, iv) Building local coalitions to exert influence upon councils etc. seeking support from each section of the Political Fund as appropriate.
Conference instructs the National Executive Council to work with relevant service groups to seek to ensure that:
A) This campaign is given an appropriate priority in regions and relevant branches;
B) Campaign material and other resources are available to mount campaigns in line with i)-iv) above;
C) Regions offer opportunities to exchange information and build on campaign successes; and,
D) Work is put in hand with Labour Link to encourage the Labour Party and Shadow Ministers to adopt the Ethical Care Charter in local councils etc., promote an adequate and sustainable funding regime for social care, to commit to issuing human rights guidance to local authorities etc. with respect to social care and to extending the definition of “public function” under the Human Rights Act 1998 to include home care provided by the private and voluntary sectors.
Wolverhampton General 36. Home Care Commissioning Crisis Conference notes that:
1) Since 2010 the government has imposed a £2.6 billion reduction in social care funding which has had a devastating impact on home care services;
2) As local authority‟s budgets have been squeezed they have used competitive tendering to drive down the costs and standards of home care;
3) A recent UNISON survey of care workers found that 79.1% of respondents have to rush their work or leave their client early in order to be on time for their next appointment. There is considerable evidence of the cuts leading to deterioration in the terms and conditions of care workers;
4) The crisis in home care has become so profound that a group of housing associations backed by the National Housing Federation and Chartered Institute of Housing recently demanded a national review of care commissioning;
Page 46 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 5) Brendan Sarsfield, CEO of Family Mosaic recently argued that care providers are now stretched to the limit. He said: „Tendering drives down wages, destabilises services, crushes innovation and draws limited resources away from the real work with service users‟;
6) UNISON recently published an Ethical Care Charter (the Charter) advocating a minimum standard of care that local authority commissioners should seek to deliver.
Conference considers that: a) The case for addressing the home care crisis is particularly compelling in light of Britain‟s aging population. In the next two decades the number of people aged over 65 will increase by 50% and the number of people aged over 85 will double; b) The government so far has failed to take adequate action to address the crisis in home care funding and has instead allowed local authorities and service providers to make the difficult decisions about allocating inadequate resources; c) Recent comments by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb that "Social care organisations are independent and make their own decisions about their staff‟ expose unacceptable complacency about this issue at governmental level.
Conference resolves to: i) Promote the Charter and raise awareness of the challenges faced in the home care sector; ii) Lobby central and local government to ring fence home care budgets and offer a fairer deal to care workers as set out in the Charter. Key demands include: an end to zero hour contracts, a guarantee of paid travel time, care appointments of a fair duration and pay which reflects skills, qualifications and responsibilities and is at least at the level of the Living Wage.
Conference instructs the National Executive Council to:
A) Request a formal response from the government to the Charter;
B) Deliver a high profile campaign to highlight the difficulties faced by home care workers and raise awareness of the Charter and its demands;
C) Write to the Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb to highlight examples of unfair working practices in the home care sector and explain why a change of approach is required.
West Midlands Community 37. Women and the Housing Crisis Conference notes that the UK is suffering from an acute housing crisis, with rents soaring and house building grinding to a halt as a direct result of the recession, whilst the number of new households is increasing faster than the number of new builds.
Page 47 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Against a background of mounting debt across the country, huge numbers of homeowners are having their homes repossessed. This is particularly the case for women with children whose relationships have ended and who are unable to keep up with their mortgage repayments on a reduced income, or those who have become unemployed due to public sector job cuts.
In the rental sector:
1) Over two million households in the UK are currently waiting for social housing;
2) Some homeless women - many with dependent children - wait for years in temporary accommodation – often these women will be escaping abusive relationships;
3) Women renting privately on low incomes have to put up with poor living conditions and little security;
4) Lone women are not prioritised for social housing;
5) Above inflation rate increases in private rentals are not matched by housing support.
And at the sharpest end, many hundreds of women sleep rough on the streets every night, cold and fearing for their safety.
In rural areas and the devolved nations, lower wages and high rental and living costs exacerbate the problem, with many women being unable to remain in the areas where they have the support of family and long term friends.
Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to work with Labour Link, appropriate partner and community organisations to lobby the current and future UK government to: a) Provide secure, affordable, decent housing for all, by investing in affordable homes to boost the economy and to help solve the housing crisis; b) Increase regulation, including rent capping, in the private sector, and increase the maximum penalties for rogue landlords; c) Ensure that the housing needs of women are taken into account in housing policy.
National Women's Committee 37.1 In point a) after "investing in affordable", add "council".
Kent Local Government 38. Campaign for Affordable Council House Building Programme Conference believes that homes are for people not profits.
Page 48 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA It believes that putting profits before people has resulted the in the national housing crisis that affects UNISON members and other people on low to middle incomes; and in the growing inequality in our society where houses are seen as assets and those with the money monopolise those assets while the rest of society suffers.
Conference recognises that affordable housing is in desperately short supply and is inadequate to meet to the needs of the 7,500 households on the waiting list in Aberdeenshire, the 180,000 in Scotland, and the many more households in England and Wales .
The lack of affordable housing marginalises people, breaks up families and ruins communities.
Housing that is affordable, secure, fit for purpose and responsive to the needs of local communities is essential to a Fair Society and the private sector has not been able to deliver these homes.
Conference notes that the 1930‟s Council House programme not only housed people, it provided jobs that helped the UK economy to recover from the Great Depression, revitalised local communities, peoples sense of identity and offered hope to millions for a better, healthier life.
A 21st century public sector led house building programme could deliver similar benefits, reduce welfare costs and the rents could be reinvested instead of being dumped in an offshore tax haven
Conference believes that we need a new generation of council housing built by the people for the people now! A new public sector led house building programme is an investment in our future not a luxury.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Step up UNISON‟s campaign for a new council house building programme;
2) Engage with the TUC and Scottish Trades Union Council, Shelter, other like minded groups, and the People's Assembly to build a broad coalition to support a campaign for new council house building;
3) Work through Labour Link to lobby for investment in new council house build across the UK.
Aberdeenshire 38.1 Delete point 1) and replace with:
“1) Step up UNISON‟s campaign for a mass housing investment programme including a new council house building programme. This should involve committing to a target of 250,000 new homes per annum, as argued for in the UNISON Housing Voice report and include at least 80,000 new local authority and housing association homes every year;”
Page 49 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Delete point 3) and replace with:
“3) Work with GPF and Labour Link to lobby for investment in affordable housing, particularly new council and housing association homes across the UK.”
National Executive Council 39. Housing for All Conference notes with alarm the virtually unprecedented housing crisis and the possible housing bubble that has been growing particularly since the government launched the 'Help to Buy' Scheme. The problem is exacerbated in London and the South East with both house prices rocketing, and landlords in the private rental sector charging higher and higher rents.
Many working class households can no longer afford to rent particularly in the London and South East, and are increasingly being forced to either move in with family, not move out from family homes, or else move far away from their support networks. This is increasingly affecting those in work, adding to the higher cost of commuting to and from workplaces that are ever further away from home addresses.
The level of private sector rents is now so high in most areas of London and the South East that some private landlords are targeting only those who can afford to pay the full 'market' rent and refusing tenancies to take anyone who needs to claim benefits. This exploitation of the crisis of affordable housing is increasing the segregation between “haves and have nots” and making the search for decent accommodation increasingly desperate for thousands of households. It is now only the very rich who can afford to either rent or buy in most London boroughs, and increasingly in other parts of the South East.
UNISON policy has clearly recognised the growing problem of the lack of affordable, safe, adequate and secure housing, and recognised the need for rent controls in addition to a large-scale home building programme to increase the stock of council housing.
However, Conference believes that without a commitment from any future Labour Government to introduce rent controls and speedy plans for a massive extension of council housing, we may well face years of talk and end up with a generation facing housing problems more akin to the post-war period than what should be expected from one of the richest countries in the world in the 21st century.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council and the Labour Link to work specifically towards a clear manifesto pledge to end housing poverty, introduce fair rent controls and establish a clear timeframe for a mass building programme to provide decent housing for all.
Camden 39.1 Delete fifth paragraph and replace with:
Page 50 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA “However, Conference believes that without a commitment from a future Government to introduce fair rent controls set by local authorities and speedy plans for a massive extension of social and affordable housing, we may well face years of talk and end up with a generation facing housing problems more akin to the post-war period than what should be expected from one of the richest countries in the world in the 21st century.”
In sixth paragraph add “ for tenants and landlords” after "fair rent controls".
Add new seventh paragraph:
“Conference notes that rent controls should be part of a wide range of measures that links rents with a landlord‟s register, decent homes standards and more secure tenancy agreements. Conference therefore calls for the effective regulation of all landlords – social and private – and guaranteed minimum standards for environmental, management, repairs and increased security of tenure.”
National Executive Council 40. Supporting Public Transport Having an integrated, efficient public transport network is vital to the economy and to the daily lives of millions of people.
While billions of pounds will be spent on building the HS2 rail line money is being cut from local authority budgets which leads to bus services being stopped, threatening the jobs of our members.
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) has collated startling figures from around England and Wales on the number of bus routes already removed. Entire bus networks are at risk of collapse. Their report “Buses in Crisis” shows 46% of local authorities reduced their support for buses in 2013.
Buses are the most flexible form of public transport serving people in remote, rural communities, giving young people some independence, allowing the elderly to attend medical appointments or go shopping without inconveniencing family members yet they receive far lower subsidies than the rail services.
UNISON has supported the Campaign for Better Transport and, hopefully, will continue to do so. The plight of our bus services urgently needs to be communicated widely before catching a bus becomes a distant memory.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Promote UNISON‟s Transport policy to a wider audience;
2) Support the Campaign for Better Transport in its work on the Save Our Bus campaign;
3) Work with Labour Link and the Shadow Transport Ministry team to develop a transport policy that includes improving funding for bus services.
East Midlands Airport
Page 51 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 41. Concessionary Bus Passes Conference notes with concern the fact that Welsh concessionary bus travel passes for disabled or older persons can only be used wtihin Wales or journeys that start in Wales. This is mirrored in the other countries of the UK.
Conference believes that those entitled to concessionary travel should be able to access bus travel anywhere within the UK.
This is necessary particularly in respect of travel for medical treatment or to travel with or visit relatives receiving medical treatment. This issue is becoming more prevalent as the NHS concentrates specialist services. Therefore, this may also affect, for example, people in England receiving specialist medical care in Wales.
Conference agrees to progress this matter by:
1) Raising with Labour Link to progress on our behalf;
2) Drawing this matter to the attention of the TUC.
Cymru/Wales Region 42. Funding for Bus Services Conference notes the report by the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) which highlights cuts to bus services across the country. These cuts have reached critical levels and up to 47% of local authorities reduced their support for buses in 2013. Conference further notes that three authorities, including Darlington and Hartlepool, have already stopped supporting bus services and others, such as North Yorkshire, are considering cuts.
This is especially of concern to UNISON members employed in the transport industry as their jobs, terms and conditions are inextricably linked to levels of funding for bus services and public transport in particular.
According to the study, Buses In Crisis, the drop from £7.87 spent per person on bus services in Yorkshire in 2011-12 to £7.05 in 2013-14, a fall of 10.4 per cent, is the fourth highest of the nine regions in the country. But despite the fall in funding, in the 2013 financial year only seven bus services have been altered or withdrawn in the Yorkshire region. The report says 15 per cent of all bus spending in the country is spent in Yorkshire, despite the region only having 12 per cent of the population.
Four local authorities in the Yorkshire region cut their spending on bus services in 2013, these include North Yorkshire County Council cutting funding by eight per cent, the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority by 11 per cent and East Riding of Yorkshire by seven per cent.
Cuts to bus services are now reaching critical levels. We have seen services lost year on year and with further deep cuts planned in 2014, some authorities may stop supporting buses altogether. If Government doesn't take action to help support buses, we will see whole networks disappear. Politicians, both locally and in Westminster, need to understand how important buses are.
Page 52 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Bus services may not be as politically sexy as big transport projects but they make a significant difference to the economy, the environment and to wider society. It would be a disaster if whole networks were allowed to disappear. In the last year there have been £17m of cuts in the budget for support buses in England. The CBT report recommends a shake-up in the way bus services are funded from the current model where most support comes from local authorities and the Department for Transport.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with the Water Environment and Transport Service Group Executive to continue to work with Campaign for Better Transport to protect bus services and campaign for continued financial support towards tendered services.
West Yorkshire Transport 43. Save the Pensioner's Bus Pass It has been reported that the government is considering introducing means testing for the Pensioners Bus Pass.
This is a short sighted policy that will bring little benefit to the taxpayer. It will however bring isolation and misery to those pensioners who rely on public transport to travel but who will not be able to afford to use it if their bus pass is withdrawn.
This proposal would affect UNISON members employed in the transport industry too. The use of public transport by pensioners helps to ensure bus routes remain viable and keeps our members in employment.
While the savings likely to be made by removing the bus pass are less than £1.4 bn according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, are small relative to the whole welfare budget the social and political cost of taking it away could be huge.
We call on the National Executive Council to:
1) Support the National Pensioners Convention campaign to protect the pensioners bus pass;
2) Work with Labour Link and the Shadow Transport Ministry team to ensure maintaining the pensioners bus pass is part of the Labour manifesto for the forthcoming General Election.
East Midlands Airport 44. Sure Start Sure Start is incredibly vital. It provides priceless support to families from all backgrounds. In the process it enriches and strengthens our communities.
As the government has brutally slashed Sure Start, communities across the country have fought back. This activism has been a true testament to the value communities attach to Sure Start. Through local campaigning we can tap into this strength of community feeling to preserve Sure Start and to make it even stronger.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
Page 53 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 1) Provide support, guidance and assistance to local campaigns to stop Sure Start closure;
2) Maximise publicity to ensure the public are aware of the consequences of the loss of service;
3) Ensure local branch campaigns are integrated into a national campaign.
Bromley 44.1 Add new second paragraph:
"While the Coalition Government‟s continued austerity cuts are the catalyst for local councils to review the future of Sure Start Childrens' Centres, UNISON believes that many young people and parents have benefited from the services provided within Sure Start Childrens' Centres, particularly those located in less affluent areas, and there is a need to continue to provide them in the future, councils must do all they can to retain these services, as a universal service."
Add new point 2):
"2) Support and encourage branches to coordinate campaigns to protect Sure Start Childrens' Centres, bringing together workers, parents and families."
Renumber remaining point.
Newcastle City 44.2 Add point 4):
"4 ) Highlight the effects of Sure Start closures where they have already happened."
Kent Local Government 45. Barnett Formula Conference notes with serious concern the cuts in public funding made by the UK Coalition Government that are, in turn, having serious impacts on essential public services in Wales. The Welsh Government has seen a £1.7 billion reduction in its budget since the UK Government‟s austerity measures commenced in 2010.
The Barnett Formula, which is the basis on which devolved nations receive their funding from UK Westminster Government, is less favourable to Wales than it is to either Scotland or Northern Ireland. The formula does not take proper account of the relative needs of each nation and was not designed with the current asymmetrical pattern of devolution in mind. In reality it was a formula introduced when all the nations of the UK were directly governed from Westminster.
Conference notes that the public services in Wales are subject to less privatisation, outsourcing and PFI than any other nation of the UK. In the NHS, for example, there is no fragmentation of services as there are in England and to a lesser extent in
Page 54 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Scotland and Northern Ireland. For this reason, we firmly believe that the Tory-led UK Westminster Government continues to deliberately starve Wales of resources that it should rightly receive in an attempt to undermine the Welsh Labour Government and its stated aim of protecting public services in Wales.
This ongoing Tory-led attack on Wales is leading to massive cuts in services, jobs and terms and conditions and, while we can try to fight this industrially, there must also be political recognition that the needs of the devolved nations and the Regions of England are met through a system of fair funding.
Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to campaign for a fair funding system, that takes account of need and not just size of population, to replace the Barnett Formula.
Cymru/Wales Region Health 46. An NHS for the Future With the NHS having celebrated its 65th birthday in 2013, Conference believes it is necessary to reassert its importance as one of the few remaining symbols of social solidarity left in the UK.
Conference condemns the government for having subjected the NHS to almost constant attack since it took office in 2010 – whether through the Health and Social Care Act, running down funding, or shamelessly seeking to make political capital from the failings in care at Stafford hospital.
Contrary to these deliberate attempts to denigrate the service, Conference believes that the NHS model still represents by far the most equitable and efficient way of providing healthcare in the 21st century.
Conference notes the alarming expansion of privatisation within the English NHS that will continue to fragment services for patients.
Conference believes that the competition provisions of the Health and Social Care Act and the subsequent Section 75 regulations are beginning to have a significant impact; even the outgoing NHS chief executive has pointed to the damage being done to the NHS, with competition lawyers “all over the place”.
Conference asserts that the procurement regime set up by economic regulator Monitor has robbed clinical commissioning groups of the autonomy they were supposed to enjoy, binding their hands with inflexible rules that make it very hard to avoid using competition, and making a mockery of government changes being “clinically-led”.
In addition to these threats, Conference notes that the failed experiment in “franchising” at Hinchingbrooke Hospital is likely to be replicated elsewhere, as trusts that will struggle to attain foundation trust status look to bring in external organisations.
Page 55 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes that different approaches to NHS reform have been taken in Scotland and Wales that have largely shunned the use of the market. For example, spending by the NHS on private healthcare currently amounts to less than 1% in Scotland, and Conference welcomes the fact that this figure is set to reduce further as new guidance has instructed health boards to clamp down on their use of the private sector. In Wales, Conference welcomes the first minister‟s confirmation of his government‟s desire to avoid NHS privatisation, as improvements in A&E performance and public satisfaction contrast sharply with England.
Furthermore, Conference notes the increasing financial pressures on the NHS in all countries of the UK. The Prime Minister‟s claim to have protected health funding has been increasingly undermined by a swingeing set of “efficiency” cuts in England and by the knock-on effects of Westminster-based austerity for health funding in the devolved nations.
Conference notes that the integration of health and social care has become a key debate in the NHS across the UK over the past year. Although only Northern Ireland has full structural integration, governing parties from all political persuasions are pursuing integration policies in Scotland, Wales and England.
In addition, Conference notes Labour‟s plan for “Whole Person Care” that includes a welcome promise to repeal the Health and Social Care Act, alongside a commitment to full integration of health and social care in England.
Conference believes that integration has the potential to bring about benefits for patients and service users, in terms of a more seamless joined-up service across sectoral boundaries. In addition, it may help reduce some of the time and money wasted when responsibility for a patient or service user‟s care is transferred, sometimes repeatedly, between the NHS and local authorities.
However, Conference warns that for meaningful integration to take place, staff and patient/user involvement is essential. Moreover, Conference asserts that integration should never be used as a cover for cuts to services; it cannot be done on the cheap and requires decent funding if it is to work properly. Conference believes it is essential that integration is not used to level down staff terms and conditions.
Conference is concerned by the complacent analysis of the Westminster government that integration is fully compatible with competition; this is not the case – integration should proceed on the basis of public sector values and be used as an anti-market tool to reduce fragmentation.
Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to support the NHS model as the best way of delivering free health care at the point of delivery and defend it against any government attempts to undermine the service;
2) Continue the union‟s strong campaigning against privatisation and cuts at national, regional and local level;
3) Campaign for safe staffing levels to help ensure the best care;
Page 56 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 4) Build capacity amongst UNISON members and local communities in responding to privatisation threats;
5) Work with allies to monitor and expose the expansion of privatisation in the run- up to the 2015 general election;
6) Support the integration of health and social care where this is in the interests of patients/users, but on the basis of proper staff/patient/user involvement, and with the provision that integration should never be used as a cover for cuts;
7) Keep branches up to date on the ongoing initiatives on health and social care integration, monitoring the progress of those areas where it has become a reality;
8) Work with UNISON Labour Link to feed the union‟s views into Labour‟s plans for Whole Person Care.
National Executive Council 46.1 After sixth paragraph ending add the following paragraphs:
"Conference is concerned to learn that the Department for Health has requested the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to take into account a patient's future societal contribution when deciding provision of medication.
Conference further notes that NICE has rejected this request but has decided to hold its own consultation exercise on societal contribution."
Add new point 5) as follows:
"5) Reaffirm the principle that free health care should be available to all irrespective of a patient's perceived societal contribution;"
Renumber remaining points.
National Retired Members' Committee 46.2 Add at end of eleventh paragraph:
"Conference further notes that Labour have announced that 25 councils across England (not all Labour controlled) have agreed to be “innovation councils” to test these ideas before the 2015 election"
After existing thirteenth paragraph, insert new paragraphs as follows:
"Conference is therefore concerned that in a November interview with the Local Government Chronicle, local government minister Stephen Williams said the councils involved in integration would be expected to enforce “substantial savings”.
Conference also notes that many services are already facing severe cuts and job losses under austerity, particularly those services which meet the needs of
Page 57 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA minorities. For example, research by NatCen Social Research for UNISON into the implications of austerity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and services showed that specialist jobs and services are particularly badly affected. Even before austerity cuts, there was a postcode lottery on provision of specialist services, but now dedicated LGBT mental health, sexual health, care and support services and specialist job roles are disappearing, just as the pressures of austerity increase the need for them."
Add at end of existing fourteenth paragraph:
"Conference reaffirms UNISON‟s policy to promote a national care service free at the point of need, based on the NHS model in all devolved regions. Conference also affirms the importance of checking compliance of integration proposals with the public sector equality duty and Human Rights Act."
In point 2), after "cuts", insert: "and for properly funded services that are accessible to and meet the needs of all, including minority communities,"
In point 4), delete "Build" and insert "Work with service group executives (SGEs), regions, the self-organised and young members groups to build"
In point 6), after "staff/patient/user" add "and trade union".
Insert new point 7):
"7) work with service groups to encourage close working between branches in pioneer sites and in Labour‟s whole person innovation councils;"
Renumber remaining bullet points accordingly.
National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee 46.3 Add the following at the end of the fourteenth paragraph:
"Whereas health care is overwhelmingly provided by the public sector and consumed without reference to ability to pay, social care – especially home care – is now dominated by the private sector and means-testing is widely used. It is essential that the NHS principles of direct public provision, and consumption on the basis only of need, are exported to social care."
Add the following to point 6):
"…and with the aim of extending the principles of NHS provision and consumption to social care."
Sefton Local Government 46.4 In paragraph eight after "clamp down on their use of the private sector." add new sentence:
Page 58 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "In Scotland conference welcome the commitment by the Scottish National Party (SNP) government and the Scottish Labour Party there will be no privatisation of the NHS in Scotland. However, with the introduction of Health and Social Care Integration through the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill there is a need to recognise that there is a number of local authorities that have outsourced their care services which may impact on the integration agenda."
Lanarkshire Health 46.5 Add new fifteenth paragraph:
"Conference welcomes the large number of local campaigns against hospital closures, cuts and privatisation across the UK. Conference congratulates regions and branches on the large turnout on the TUC march in defence of the NHS at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester last year. "
In point 2) add at end:
"including providing active regional and branch support for broadly-based local campaigns;"
Add new point 3):
"3) Continue to work with the TUC and other trade unions to fight to defend the NHS;"
Re-number following paragraphs.
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 46.6 Add new point 3) and renumber accordingly:
"3) Campaign for the cancelling of all PFI contract debts, that are sinking the NHS, as an immediate step to securing the health service that is required."
Bromley South Derbyshire Healthcare 47. Influencing the NHS Conference welcomes UNISON‟s Guide to Influencing the NHS (Stronger Together – A UNISON Guide to influencing the NHS).
As trade unionists, we are used to being involved in workplace negotiations and have an honourable tradition of arguing the case on behalf of our members. Getting involved in public sector bodies - for example the new NHS - does not compromise our trade union principles but allows us to support and promote our union values.
As activists and members of UNISON we can join many groups that are being set up to represent our communities, schools and new health bodies.
Page 59 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA In this new NHS there are far more decision making bodies now than ever before.
In April 2013 out went the primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities and in came a market system dominated by largely unaccountable quangos, including:
1) The NHS Commissioning Board who manage commissioning functions and are responsible for some primary care;
2) Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), which are run by GPs and responsible for commissioning approx. £60-80bn of services previously provided by PCTs;
3) Health and Wellbeing boards, set up in an attempt to bring health and social care closer together but which have only limited powers.
UNISON members and activists can get involved in these decision making bodies and influence how they will use their yet to be determined powers in the future by: a) Joining a patients' group, such as Health Watch will generally allow people to have a say in how patients‟ interests are represented; b) GP practices run Patient Participation Groups which can be used to both find out about and question wider changes in your local NHS c) Becoming a member of a Foundation Trust will ensure you get information and can vote in governor elections; d) Becoming a governor of a Foundation Trust either by being elected as a public member, a staff governor or in some cases, becoming appointed. You could even become a non-executive director of a Trust; e) Becoming a patient rep on one of the new CCGs – there are already more than 200 and many will co-opt patient representatives onto their boards and create patient groups.
These are just some of the ways we can exert influence and pressure on the future direction of the NHS.
Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to: i) Work with UNISON structures and relevant bodies, including Labour Link and Learning and Organising to educate, mentor and support activists and members by providing additional information, materials and training that would allow them to stand for / join / influence the various patient interest, Foundation Trust and commissioning bodies that will shape the future direction of our health services; ii) Work with other service groups especially colleagues in local government and the National Executive Council to highlight the risks to our members working in health, local government and the private sector to their jobs and terms and conditions through the integration of health and social care and the privatisation of health services.
Page 60 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Leeds and York Community Health 48. Influencing the New NHS Conference welcomes UNISON‟s Guide to Influencing the NHS (Stronger Together – A UNISON Guide to influencing the NHS).
As trade unionists, we are used to being involved in workplace negotiations and have an honourable tradition of arguing the case on behalf of our members. Getting involved in public sector bodies - for example the new NHS - does not compromise our trade union principles but allows us to support and promote our union values.
As activists and members of UNISON we can join many groups that are being set up to represent our communities, schools and new health bodies.
In this new NHS there are far more decision making bodies now than ever before.
In April 2013 out went the primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities and in came a market system dominated by largely unaccountable quangos, including:
1) The NHS Commissioning Board who manage commissioning functions and are responsible for some primary care;
2) Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), which are run by GPs and responsible for commissioning approx. £60-80bn of services previously provided by PCTs;
3) Health and Wellbeing boards, set up in an attempt to bring health and social care closer together but which have only limited powers.
UNISON members and activists can get involved in these decision making bodies and influence how they will use their yet to be determined powers in the future by: a) Joining a patients' group, such as Health Watch will generally allow people to have a say in how patients‟ interests are represented; b) GP practices run Patient Participation Groups which can be used to both find out about and question wider changes in your local NHS; c) Becoming a member of a Foundation Trust will ensure you get information and can vote in governor elections; d) Becoming a governor of a Foundation Trust either by being elected as a public member, a staff governor or in some cases, becoming appointed. You could even become a non-executive director of a Trust; e) Becoming a patient rep on one of the new Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) – there are already more than 200 and many will co-opt patient representatives onto their boards and create patient groups.
These are just some of the ways we can exert influence and pressure on the future direction of the NHS.
Page 61 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to: i) Work within UNISON structures and relevant bodies, including Labour Link and Learning and Organising to educate, mentor and support activists and members by providing additional information, materials and training that would allow them to stand for / join / influence the various patient interest, Foundation Trust and commissioning bodies that will shape the future direction of our health services; ii) Work with service groups particularly colleagues in Health, Local Government and Private Sector highlighting the risks to our members, jobs, terms and conditions of employment posed by the integration of health and social care and the privatisation of health services.
Grimsby and Goole Health Campaigns 49. Bringing in the LGBT Vote for Public Services, Jobs and Growth Conference recognises the importance of getting UNISON‟s campaign messages out to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, particularly as we approach the next general election.
Conference notes the Tories‟ success in convincing many of the lie that their devastating cuts to jobs and public services are fair, necessary and good for the economy. They portray workers rights and equality protections as burdensome red tape, stifling growth. Even relatively union-friendly media have failed to effectively challenge this.
Conference is also deeply concerned about the rising profile and electoral performance of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). Despite UKIP‟s desire to slash public sector jobs and National Health Service (NHS) funding, MORI polling suggests that UKIP support is high amongst public sector workers.
UKIP want the United Kingdom (UK) to withdraw from the European Union (EU) because they want to end regulations on weekly working hours, holidays and overtime and get rid of statutory sick pay and maternity pay. They are also opposed to equal marriage. Instead of acknowledging the real causes of the double dip recession, UKIP scapegoats migrant workers, blaming them for unemployment, poverty wages, NHS queues, overcrowded schools and lack of affordable housing.
Persistent harassment and discrimination or lack of recognition can turn LGBT people away from political engagement. This may leave them – and other disadvantaged groups - more easily influenced by the corporate bias in the media, which persistently ignores and denigrates trade unions.
We must show the real problems, such as successive governments not investing in housing, and how low wages and unemployment are an inevitable consequence of this Tory-led government rolling back employment rights, refusing to protect vulnerable, agency and contract workers and failing to invest in growth.
We must spread our campaign messages through traditional face to face contact and mailings and through tools such as social media. We must reach out to
Page 62 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA disaffected and disengaged communities to explain why we need a change of government.
Conference acknowledges the role of the LGBT group in politicising and recruiting LGBT members – like recruits like. Branch and regional LGBT groups attend scores of pride and community events, recruiting, reaching existing members and encouraging trade union and broader political activism. But conference recognises that the LGBT group cannot do this on its own – all parts of our union must address LGBT equality, include LGBT concerns in all of our campaigning work and bring LGBT workers into UNISON.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with the self-organised groups towards the election of a pro-public services government in 2015 by:
1) Encouraging branches, regions and service groups to involve self-organised groups in recruitment strategies and community campaigns, encouraging people to register to vote and to use their votes for public services;
2) Highlighting the damage the Tory-led government is inflicting on public services in general and also on tailored services for LGBT people;
3) Reaching out to non-traditional audiences by encouraging and promoting trade union specific social media training and campaigning;
4) Raising awareness of UKIP‟s policies, including their opposition to workers‟ rights, equality protections and equal marriage, and exposing their myths about migrant workers;
5) Raising awareness of the effects of anti-discrimination legislation;
6) Working with Labour Link to seek to ensure the policy programme of the next Labour government focuses on the real causes of the recession; invests in growth, a living wage for all, including agency and contract workers, and affordable housing; and returns to its previous task of strengthening equality laws.
National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee 50. Immigration, UKIP and Impact on Public Service Policies for the Next General Election Conference notes with concern the impact of a shift to a market centred model across Europe is resulting in an increasingly hostile debate around immigration. Parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on the immigration debate in the UK, are scapegoating some of the most vulnerable workers in the labour market for the economic failures of austerity. Public and political debate around jobs, housing and public services has been distorted by this type of political dialogue to the detriment of ordinary people. It has prompted a race to the bottom amongst mainstream politicians who believe that „talking tough‟ on immigration will resonate with voters. Furthermore, UKIP, alongside some national newspapers have shifted general political debate to the right.
Page 63 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference is deeply concerned about the effect the Government‟s new immigration measures will have on migrant workers and those who appear to be migrants. Plans for NHS charges will mean that workers who contribute in exactly the same way as UK citizens will have to pay for NHS services, including UNISON migrant worker members working in the NHS.
Conference believes that asking landlords to make checks on the immigration status of their tenants will in effect make it more difficult for anyone who appears to be of migrant status to access decent housing.
Conference also believes that a rights-based approach to tackling the problem of exploitative work will be more effective than its punitive approach towards migrant workers, which leaves them at the mercy of employers who are all too aware of how precarious their position can be. Requiring document checks of workers and imposing penalties for their employment reminds all migrant workers of how vulnerable they are in the workplace. It puts employers in the position of immigration officers who can threaten to report undocumented workers to the authorities unless they accept low paid and dangerous working conditions. These threats are also used to discourage workers to join trade unions to collectively bargain for their rights, a vital protection against workplace exploitation and bad pay.
Conference believes that the debate around immigration and the resulting punitive measures are being used to advance further cuts and restrictions to public services. Rather than responding to public anger about lack of jobs and housing, blaming immigrants divides our communities, erodes solidarity amongst workers and prevents positive and sustainable solutions being found.
Conference notes that UKIP at the 2010 general election proposed to „freeze‟ public sector pensions and end statutory maternity and paternity pay and leave, as well as „scrap‟ most „equality and discrimination legislation‟. However, Conference believes that anti-immigrant sentiment has become a proxy for anxiety about jobs and the futures of local communities and that simply “myth-busting” about immigration will not be effective on its own.
Conference notes that with the help of the General Political Fund, UNISON‟s activists have taken on this challenge before, when tackling the rise of the British National Party and other far right groups. Across the UK, local campaigns that have focussed on re-engaging overlooked local communities have been able to succeed in turning voters away from the far right. This is the challenge UNISON faces in the run up to the General Election in 2015.
Conference further notes that the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 requires individual registration (instead of household) for new voters and anyone voting by proxy or post this summer and will make individual registration compulsory for all voters from 2015 onwards. It is expected to drive down voter turnout, with the biggest impact being felt by students, low paid people and black people.
Conference believes that in the run-up to the 2015 General Election, UNISON must build and develop on the lessons learned in fighting the far-right, to tackle the rise of a newly respectable, xenophobic right-wing populism.
Page 64 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to:
1) Evaluate and learn from the campaigns around the 2014 European Parliament and local government elections to develop effective materials and resources for the 2015 General Election, modelled on the work done by UNISON activists in conjunction with groups such as Hope not Hate;
2) Highlight to all members the importance of voter registration with a targeted campaign specific to UNISON‟s self-organised groups;
3) Work with Hope not Hate to scrutinise and monitor UKIP‟s new Councillors;
4) Challenge the toxic rhetoric around migration and place a renewed focus on organising and recruiting migrant workers in public services;
5) Continue to work with organisations such as Show Racism the Red Card to expose the myths of migrant workers to young people;
6) Highlight UKIP attacks on workers in general and public service workers in particular.
Northern Region 50.1 Insert in sixth paragraph, after “equality and discrimination legislation”:
“Despite the UKIP leader‟s claim to have excluded those with extremist views from the party, he continues to attack women‟s role in the workplace, claiming that women who have children are worth less to employers; that they must sacrifice family life if they are to get ahead in the city; and that there is no discrimination against women in the financial sector. Such beliefs presumably extend to other women in senior positions in society, including those in the public sector and political life.”
Insert new action point 3) and renumber:
“3) Raise awareness of the archaic views held by UKIP in respect of women‟s place in the workplace and the potential damage to hard-won women‟s equality rights should UKIP be in a position of power;”
National Women's Committee 50.2 Insert new fourth paragraph:
"Conference believes that these policies are a distraction from what is needed to help all people in the UK. A lack of jobs is not caused by too many workers, but a lack of demand for the produce of labour. Inadequate housing is not caused by too many people for the housing stock, but a lack of affordable housing. Alleged health tourism is minimal and greatly exceeded by Britons who travel abroad for treatment, whilst 40% of nurses and 30% of doctors are born overseas. Whilst benefit cuts for the few migrants that claim will drive them into the illegal economy, undercutting all workers. These policies are unfit for purpose and should be exposed as such."
Page 65 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Replace in next line "also" with "therefore".
Add new point 7):
"7) Ensure that UNISON publicity and education material, for both activists and members, exposes the flawed logic that workers in general are helped by battering the most vulnerable. On the contrary, we need a race to the top, not to the bottom."
Sefton Local Government 50.3 Add a new paragraph at the end of the sixth paragraph:
"In some areas UKIP are campaigning locally against some cuts to local services. In the absence of a clear trade union and labour movement campaign they can pick up support from disenfranchised working class people. To fundamentally undermine the likes of UKIP requires a campaigning trade union and labour movement, offering a radical political programme that can unite all working people, young people, unemployed and retired people. It requires a manifesto that will genuinely address issues such as unemployment and underemployment, low wages, lack of housing, decent health and education services and a clear commitment to reverse this government‟s cuts and austerity programme. Unfortunately it is clear that none of the major political parties are willing to offer such a solution and therefore the role of UNISON and other trade unions will be key in stemming the growth of UKIP and providing a progressive alternative."
Surrey County 50.4 At end of sixth paragraph add new paragraph:
"To fundamentally undermine the likes of UKIP, requires a radical political programme that can unite all working people. It requires a manifesto that will genuinely address issues such as unemployment/underemployment, low wages, lack of housing, decent health and adequate education services. Unfortunately it is clear that none of the major political parties are willing to offer such a solution and as such UNISON must play its part in offering such a solution."
Bromley 50.5 Add new point 6):
"Continue to work with Unite Against Fascism, Hope Not Hate and appropriate local campaigns against the English Defence League (EDL) and British National Party (BNP) and other far right groups;"
Renumber final paragraph.
Page 66 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 50.6 Add after ninth paragraph:
"Conference welcomes the success of the 22 March Stand Up to Racism demonstrations organised by Unite Against Fascism and the TUC in London, Cardiff and Glasgow. The day was a magnificent display of Britain‟s diversity, multiculturalism and unity against racism and hatred in the face of a growing wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric."
Add at end of point 1):
" , UAF and Stand Up to Racism;”
Tower Hamlets 50.7 Add new point 7):
"7) Send a message of solidarity to Unite Against Fascism (UAF) for organising the Stand up to Racism and Fascism demonstration on 22nd March 2014 and to sign up to the Stand Up to UKIP campaign".
Kirklees Local Government 51. Campaign for Pro-Equality, Anti-Discriminatory and Anti-Hatred Practices Conference expresses its anger and horror at the savage murder of Bijan Ebrahimi in Bristol in July 2013. Before his murder, Mr Ebrahimi suffered months of abuse on grounds of his race and physical disability. Despite reporting these alleged hate crimes to police, little action was taken and his attempts to secure photographic evidence of the harassment led to his tragic death.
Conference believes that the climate of hostility in which Mr Ebrahimi lived is partly fostered and encouraged by those groups who seek to stigmatise immigrants and migrant workers and turn communities against them. The daily rhetoric of lies and hysteria helps to convince communities most damaged by austerity policies that their real enemies are those seeking asylum or seeking work in our country.
Conference resolves to provide an alternative voice which refutes the hateful untruths, sets out the arguments against UKIP and others, and promotes a different society where communities work together to demand better lives for all working people rather than fight amongst each other.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Encourage every region to develop with their regional TUC customised versions of the hugely popular and re-printed guide “Myths about Immigration, published by South West TUC” and purchase, distribute and widely disseminate its contents;
Page 67 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Develop long term campaigns in each region to combat the politics of hate and provide guidance to branches on how to challenge UKIP candidates and elected officials on what their policies really mean for working people;
3) Extend with LAOS existing programmes on good practice in anti-discrimination and ensure such programmes form a core part of UNISON‟s regional education programmes;
4) Campaign for the comprehensive training by employers of all who deliver front line services and support to individuals and communities in the application of pro- equality, anti-discriminatory and anti-hatred practices in their work.
South West Region 52. Rise of UKIP Conference expresses its concern at the rise of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) as an electoral force, and notes the large number of UKIP representatives that have clearly expressed xenophobic, racist, sexist, homophobic and Islamophobic views. UKIP‟s economic policies are of an extreme neo-liberal nature, hostile to public services, and hostile to labour rights. Conference believes that one important reason for former Labour supporters switching votes to UKIP is the profound shift of the Labour Party towards the right of the political spectrum, accepting virtually uncritically the “market economy”, and the agenda of cuts in public expenditure, leaving many working class areas impoverished and feeling abandoned. Conference calls for the continuation and stepping up of our campaigning work against all forms of bigotry and discrimination, in support of public services and workers‟ rights and posing alternative economic policies to those of austerity, based on the needs of the many, not the greed of the few.
Knowsley 52.1 Add additional paragraph at the end:
"Conference welcomes the excellent work of organisations such as Hope Not Hate and Show Racism the Red Card. The need for greater community cohesion is vital as further cuts to services, increased poverty and mass unemployment particularly amongst the young is fuelling the politics of hate; and UKIP will continue to use the Government‟s anti-immigrant agenda for their own ends. Conference notes that whilst there has been some demise of the organised Far Right, the threat of racism and those who will use it remains, and that the campaign against all parties promoting racism and division in our workplaces and communities must continue to be an integral part of the campaign to defend public services."
Add new points at the end:
"Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Provide material that highlights the link of fighting the Far Right to defending public services, and use this as part of our organising material promoting an alternative economic, social and political strategy;
Page 68 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Produce material exposing and countering the myths that the likes of the UKIP, BNP and EDL spread;
3) Encourage regions and branches to work with organisations such as Hope Not Hate and Show Racism the Red Card, and to campaign alongside local community coalitions."
Newcastle City 53. Defending Trade Union Activists Conference notes with concern the increasing number of trade union activists who are being victimised under this Tory-led government. We believe there will be an increasing number of victimised trade union reps, because we are at the forefront of defending the public sector from the cuts we all face.
We must learn the lessons of campaigns to defend trade union activists – both successful and unsuccessful. One successful example is the campaign to „Defend Jawad, Max and Steve‟. Max Watson was Chair of London Met University UNISON Branch on 7th Feb 2013 when he was suspended alongside Jawad Botmeh (also a UNISON member) and Steve Jefferys (a UCU member).
Conference notes the campaign for „Freedom and Justice for Jawad and Samar‟ against the miscarriage of justice they faced when imprisoned in 1996 on a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions, which received national UNISON support. We believe this support was fundamental to gaining support for the subsequently successful campaign to reinstate Jawad, Max and Steve in 2013.
After five weeks of campaigning, including; rallies outside investigation hearings attracting over 200 people; 2,500+ names on a petition; hundreds of emails and letters sent to the university management; letters of support from across the labour movement and around the world; all support publicised via a campaign website; organised through a Facebook group, email list and twitter account; 200+ people at a public meeting with speakers from across the labour movement; an immediate threat of (lawful) industrial action (within UNISON‟s rules); and vitally, all with the full and support of UNISON‟s National Executive Council and Presidential Team, Max Watson was reinstated and returned to work on 13th March 2013.
As a direct result of this vigorous campaigning with the full support of our union the direct threat of dismissal, which could have decapitated the branch, was reduced to a six months final written warning. UNISON‟s solicitors, Thompsons, then challenged this sanction with a claim for trade union victimisation to an employment tribunal.
Conference - made up of delegates of active trade unionists who put our necks on the line for our members day in day out - resolves to do all in our power to protect our own; to stand up for each other when called on, and to protect the „backbone' of our union.
It is inevitable that anyone fighting austerity will face attacks form their employers and this is increasingly the case. So trade union activists must know that the full force of their union will come to their aid if they are singled out for attention.
Page 69 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA To this end, conference calls on the National Executive Council to monitor all known cases of UNISON activists who are facing persecution in their workplace and to ensure the maximum, vigorous support for their campaigns is forthcoming whenever requested. We cannot and we will not allow a single UNISON activist to be victimised under our watch.
London Metropolitan University 53.1 Add at end:
"Conference also notes with deep concern the ongoing attacks on trade union facility time orchestrated by a number of ministers in the Tory-led government - aided and abetted by the right wing media along with unrepresentative pressure groups such as the „Taxpayers‟ Alliance‟.
It is increasingly clear that a number of employers are using the coalition government‟s austerity agenda to step up the attack on trade union facility time across all the sectors in which UNISON organises. The fragmentation of services across a multiplicity of employers due to privatisation and other outsourcing, as well as the relentless drive towards academy status for schools, is also giving further impetus to this hostile and negative trend.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to monitor the activities of the government, hostile employers, and other anti-trade union organisations in terms of any attempts to deny or undermine trade union facility time;
2) Highlight to UNISON members the attacks which are being made on facility time in all sectors by the Tory-led coalition government;
3) Vigorously defend the statutory right of trade union representatives to facility time;
4) Build on the research already undertaken by the TUC, UNISON and other trade unions which shows the positive value of trade union facility time in terms of good industrial relations and to promote this information to both employers and the general public;
5) Provide all necessary support, resources and guidance to branches and regions to defend, and where possible improve, existing trade facility agreements to meet the needs of UNISON members and activists;
6) Work closely with all self organised groups to ensure that all relevant equality perspectives are taken into account in campaigns to defend and promote the importance of adequate facility time;
7) Work as closely as possible with UNISON‟s Labour Link and the General Political Fund to maximise influence with MPs, councillors and all relevant employer groups as a key element in the campaign to promote the value of effective trade
Page 70 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA union facility agreements as a key component of good employment relations practice."
South East Region 54. Motion on the 30th Anniversary of the Miners Strike (1984-1985) This year sees the 30th anniversary of the miners‟ strike, and its legacy will be bitterly contested. We feel it is essential that voices of the ordinary men and women who took part in and supported the strike are heard. The Miners‟ Strike of 1984-5 was a struggle of epic proportions. The Tory government of Margaret Thatcher mobilised all the forces of the state to crush the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
This motion supports the Justice for Mineworkers Campaign and the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign in their work to keep victimised miners at the forefront of the trade union movement. Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Publicise regional and national events commemorating the miners‟ strike to our members;
2) Facilitate discussion on the strike to combat right-wing propaganda and claim back our trade union history.
Kensington and Chelsea 55. Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign Conference agrees to affiliate to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign.
Kirklees Local Government 56. Save our Co-op! Conference expresses its deep concern at changes being brought in at the Cooperative Bank at the behest of its new economic partners.
The Cooperative Bank was founded on principles of mutualism and ethical investment, principles enshrined in its constitution and articles of governance, and which neither can nor should be jettisoned on demand by banking institutions and hedge funds brought in to restore financial stability.
Moreover, the earlier merger of the Cooperative Bank with the Britannia Building Society means that the future of yet another building society based on the principles of mutualism is placed under threat.
Conference believes that mutualism in banking and home loaning provides an honest and viable alternative to the “for profit” banking system, acting much more in the interests of UNISON members and their families rather than their big business competitors, and calls upon the National Executive Council to open discussions with the Cooperative Society to explore how we may work together to build a campaign to restore the principles of mutualism into the heart of the Cooperative Bank‟s banking and building society operations.
Page 71 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Housing Associations 57. Boycott Amazon Conference notes:
1) That according to the trade union that represents tax collectors, the PCS, tax avoidance and evasion costs the UK economy £120 billion each year;
2) Amazon is Britain‟s biggest online retailer, employing around 15,000 workers with its distribution network, yet for corporation tax purposes Amazon‟s base is Luxembourg, where it employs around 500 staff;
3) In 2012 Amazon sales in the UK were £4,200 million, yet paid less than £3 million in corporation tax, whilst receiving £2.5 million in government grants. Such online business is growing each year;
4) Amazon is notoriously anti-trade union and its treatment of staff has been publicly criticised;
5) Despite assurances from government on clamping down on tax cheats the HMRC has a unit chasing such tax cheats of just four employees.
Conference believes: a) That if the tax avoided and evaded in the UK was paid in full there would be no need for any cuts in public expenditure.
Therefore Conference resolves to: i) Continue to highlight the cost of tax avoidance and evasion in the UK; ii) Call upon members to boycott Amazon in an attempt to pressurise the organisation into changing its behaviour over both trade union recognition rights and paying corporation tax in relation to its sales and profits in the UK; iii) Campaign to change legislation to enable the Government to enforce corporation taxes on business profits generated in the UK; iv) Send this motion to TUC.
Sandwell General 57.1 Add new point iii) and renumber accordingly:
“iii) Join with appropriate union and civil society campaign coalitions in calling for Amazon boycotts on specific days.”
Delete current point iv).
National Executive Council 58. No to NATO in Newport – Welfare, not warfare
Page 72 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes that, whatever its original purpose was, since the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO has become a vehicle for furthering the political and economic interests of elite „Western Powers‟. Far from being an alliance for defence it has engaged in a number of aggressive imperial adventures such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
Under the guise of humanitarian intervention is has become a de facto self appointed global police force, intervening where its suits the needs of the US, but conspicuously staying out of greater humanitarian conflicts such as the Sudan and Somalia.
Many of its actions have been counterproductive and actually inflamed situations. Prior to the invasion of Iraq it was a secular country, but the actions of NATO members turned it into a hot bed of radical fundamentalism and it became a magnet for jihadists from all over the world, including the UK.
In the 21st century we are not under threat of military attack, we face a far greater threat from individual terrorists. Lone bombers in the UK will not be defeated by the UK spending £35 billion on the replacement of trident nuclear missiles, which will never be used. Terrorist cells are not going to be put off by illegal assassinations of people by drones in countries we are not at war with. Building a new missile defence system for Europe will not make Europe a safer place to live; on the contrary, it is likely to cause friction with Europe‟s neighbours.
At a time when libraries are being closed, A+E facilities are being reduced, flood defence schemes are being scrapped and people on a low income are being evicted from their home because they have a spare room, the UK is still spending £60.8 billion a year on its military budget – the fourth highest spender in the world.
NATO‟s annual budget is £1,190,156,684.42 (£1.1 trillion) and constitutes 75% of total global military spending, despite the fact that we are not at war with anyone.
Even when the UK is not involved in NATO operations, through joint funding it contributes to the overall budget for other countries that are participating in NATO operations.
On 4th and 5th September 2014, NATO will be holding it‟s annual summit in the Celtic Manor in Newport. The Chief Constable for Gwent police has stated that he expects the police budget for this event to exceed £60 million and will involve police forces from all over the UK. All to protect 140 VIPs for two days - whilst down the road food banks are being opened, public services are being slashed and public sector workers having to deal with a pay freeze and soaring cost of living increases.
The only beneficiaries from this excessive military spending are the arms manufacturers and the private „security‟ industry. Many of these companies, by coincidence, are funders of many political parties in Washington and other seats of power throughout NATO.
No to NATO in Newport is a broad coalition of campaign groups opposed to the excesses and aggression of 21st century NATO. They will be holding an international counter summit on the weekend prior to the NATO summit, where over
Page 73 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA a 1,000 delegates from all over Europe are expected to discuss alternatives to the NATO model and look to creating a safer world free of the worries of an arms race.
There will be a number of other events around the summit, including a mass rally on the Saturday before the summit and another on the first day of the summit.
Conference therefore resolves to:
1) Publicly support the „No to NATO in Newport‟ campaign;
2) Make a statement opposed to excessive military spending in a time of austerity;
3) Make a statement opposed to the aggressive nature of NATO;
4) Encourage branches and regions to participate in the counter summit and the rallies and other events leading up to the summit.
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Economy 59. Campaigning Against Austerity up to the General Election Conference is angered that the last five UNISON National Delegate Conferences have born witness to the pain of public service workers who have lost jobs, suffered pay freezes and attacks on their conditions at work, seen the withdrawal of the public services on which they rely and whom have been subjected to increasing pressures on their financial and family life as a direct result of the devastating economic decisions taken by the current Coalition government. After three and a half years of a flat lining economy, rising prices and falling wages, all working people across the UK are worse off under this Coalition government.
As a result of the decision to drastically cut public spending in 2010 the UK has seen its slowest economic recovery for 100 years, with GDP improving by only a third of the amount George Osborne predicted in his first budget. All of this has been done on the backs of the poor and disadvantaged, whilst big businesses and wealthy individuals continue to get huge tax cuts.
The number of people who want to work full-time, but can only get a part-time job, is at a record high, whilst around a million young people continue to be out of work. Conference believes that this Government has no policies to tackle the crisis in employment that this country faces, but rather is content to see exploitation of the workforce as the only way of keeping the economy afloat. Conference is appalled that the re election of a Tory government will see the continuation of such policies, while it is increasingly apparent that pensions and pensioners benefits will increasing be subject to draconian cuts. Rather than the private-sector led recovery and industrial growth we were promised, we‟ve seen a dangerous emphasis on the housing market and higher levels of personal debt; a rise in reliance on food banks and an increase in the number of zero hour contracts; while housing policy has
Page 74 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA reached a crisis with nearly one million households on housing waiting lists while private sector rents rocket.
In addition across public services in which UNISON organises from local government to health, nursery to higher and further education, from the community and voluntary sector to justice, legislation has been introduced by the coalition promoting privatisation and outsourcing to the detriment of publicly provided services, and ensuring profits for private business at a loss to the public purse and the taxpayer.
Conference notes with concern how the rightwing political parties, including the Tories and UKIP, have used the immigration debate in the UK to scapegoat some of the most vulnerable workers in the labour market for the economic failures of austerity. They have distorted public and political debate around jobs, housing and public services to the detriment of ordinary people. Conference believes that the debate around immigration and the resulting punitive measures are being used to advance further cuts and restrictions to public services. It has prompted a race to the bottom amongst mainstream politicians who believe that „talking tough‟ on immigration will resonate with voters.
Conference notes that not only have this government been determined to pursue this agenda but have attempted to ensure that public discussion on their key policies has been stifled and curtailed most recently through the Lobbying Bill, that attempts to silence and curtail their critics, through draconian curbs on those allowed to participate in public debate while ensuring that businesses, PR companies, and lobbyists can continue to ply their trade.
This situation is not simply happening in the UK but across the European Union austerity policies have been used to undermine the Welfare State, Public Services and collective bargaining rights of trade unions, most notably but not exclusively, in those countries where the „troika‟ of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have been given unprecedented powers to determine the social and economic policies of sovereign countries. These policies have been designed not simply as an imprudent and ill-advised economic policy response but are ideological.
Conference is angered that a government which introduced a tax cut for millionaires believes that increasing inequality and a further concentration of wealth in the hands of the few is the UK economy “turning a corner” and opposes the Coalition‟s introduction of legislation to lock future governments into right-wing plans to permanently shrink the size of the state by limiting public spending.
Conference notes that this is the last National Delegate Conference before the 2015 General Election. UNISON members have been the backbone of the resistance to austerity and our struggle must continue. In every town and city across the UK we must inspire more people to resist this assault on the principle of collectively delivered and properly funded public services and fight against an economic policy that is unbalanced and unfair. In addition as a union we must ensure that we make the fullest possible effort throughout the next twelve months to ensure that we highlight our alternative agenda both among our own members and the general public.
Page 75 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference believes that the whole union from branches and regions to the service groups and SOG‟s will have a positive role to play by actively engaging with the communities and allies that we already work with to promote a common understanding of our agenda and promoting joint initiatives. Conference also believes that in the run-up to the 2015 General Election, UNISON must build and develop on the lessons learned in fighting the far-right, to tackle the rise of a newly respectable, xenophobic right-wing populism in conjunction with groups such as Hope not Hate, our traditional ally, and highlight to all members the importance of voter registration with a targeted campaign aimed at UNISON‟s self-organised groups.
Conference calls on the National Executive Committee to do everything possible to promote an alternative to boost local economies, protect public services and increase economic confidence through:
1) A commitment to full employment;
2) An end to in work poverty, through an end to caps and limits on public service pay and an increase in the National Minimum Wage to the level of the Living Wage;
3) And the introduction of workable policies to restrict director and banker remuneration including bonuses;
4) An end to the wholesale privatisation of public services and an end to public sector job cuts and redundancies;
5) An end to the abuses of zero hours contracts and agency work and their replacement by secure jobs for all who need it;
6) An expansion of affordable housing delivered by local authorities and housing associations;
7) Investment in a sustainable manufacturing strategy and green, affordable and sustainable energy;
8) The implementation of a fair and progressive taxation system which adequately tackles tax evasion and avoidance;
9) A national investment plan to back long term strategic projects ignored by the private-sector.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to do this by: a) Campaigning across the UK for job security, quality public services and rising living standards; b) Working with the TUC, STUC, WTUC and ICTU on building a UK-wide national alternative economic strategy and working with the ETUC to campaign against European austerity, and participating in campaign initiatives called through those organisations including the TUC autumn mobilisation on Saturday 18th October 2014;
Page 76 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA c) Working with service groups to support and co-ordinate their pay campaigns including through lawful industrial action; d) Maximizing resources to Branches negotiating with employers over changes to pay and conditions, job cuts and outsourcing, including resources such as procurement, organising and bargaining advice, and using the Fighting Fund; e) Working with Labour-Link to influence the process leading up to the Labour manifesto; f) Working with the political funds to lobby all political parties contesting the next general election for fairly funded public services, investment, job security and raising living standards.
National Executive Council 59.1 Add new ninth paragraph:
"Conference also deplores the decision of the Labour Party shadow cabinet to commit to continuing with the Tory cuts agenda and their decision to join in with scapegoating the poorest in society by supporting the Tory welfare cap."
Bromley 59.2 In point c), insert after “service groups”:
"and other trade unions"
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 60. Budget Cuts and the Impact of Austerity on Black Workers and Communities Conference condemns the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition for the widespread and unprecedented destruction of public services that has resulted from the savage and unprecedented reductions in central government funding to local government, health, education, police, probation and the rest of the public sector. Public sector workers have borne the brunt of this in job losses, the pay freeze, and attacks on terms and conditions. But the Coalition Government have chosen to ignore race as a contributing factor to inequality. Black people continue to struggle in the workplace and society due to austerity measures and budget cuts which research has shown have had an adverse effect on Black communities.
With austerity planned until 2018 this will mean Black communities continuing to bear the brunt of these cuts to services, jobs and welfare provision across the UK.
Levels of inequality are rising and this is becoming more acute as many families plunge deeper into poverty made worse as disproportionate gaps in economic and social indicators continue to widen.
Page 77 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Working people and vulnerable groups should not be paying the cost of a crisis they did not create.
Unpublished government figures revealed that in 2012 half of the UK‟s young Black men were unemployed and that this rate has increased at twice the rate of young white men. If this situation continues to go unchallenged we will lose a whole generation of talented young Black people to unemployment, debt and underachievement, as we did in the recession of the 1980‟s and early 1990‟s.
UNISON‟s own research has shown how redundancies and job losses have had a disproportionate impact on Black public sector workers. Black communities are also suffering from the cuts in the public services that we rely on.
The public sector cuts and job losses are not just a response to the economic conditions facing the country. They are a sustained ideological attack on public services. These cuts are an attempt by the Tory right to reverse the years of improvements made to public services.
They continue to claim that there is no alternative, but we all know that there is an alternative. This alternative stands in sharp contrast to the vitriolic campaigns of UKIP and the right wing media, who seek to lay the blame for the current economic crisis on immigration and the most vulnerable in our society.
A report from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) concluded that the UK Government needed to develop a detailed action plan to tackle race equality in employment and expressed a number of concerns. The committee recommended that austerity measures should not exacerbate racial discrimination and inequality. At present these recommendations appear to have been ignored by this government.
We deplore the absence of a Government wide race equality strategy. Meanwhile having wasted no time in taking steps to review, amend and delete provisions of key equality legislation which make it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race or other protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010. Additionally, with the removal of the need to undertake Equality Impact Assessments this will affect the levels of monitoring statistics being published.
UNISON is committed to ensuring that Challenging racism in the workplace puts the emphasis on organising and negotiating around equality. This will become even more important than ever as the economic conditions worsen and lead to higher unemployment and insecurity within Black communities.
These situations must be challenged and an alternative to the austerity measures must be put in place to stop any discriminatory practices and these must be legally challenged by UNISON.
We must call on this Government to provide accurate figures on the effects of the recession and austerity measures on Black workers and to address racial inequality in the labour market, employment levels, access to higher education and decent housing.
Page 78 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Recession can hurt, but austerity kills. The largest network food bank The Trussell Trust estimated that the number of people turning to them for help has been raised by 100% in the past year, many from Black communities.
It is now up to us as trade unionist to start acting in a way that takes into account everyday working life. We should never be passive.
The voice of opposition to the Coalition is being held by UNISON. We are promoting the need for an alternative economic strategy, one that invests in the public sector, creates a climate for economic growth, reduces unemployment levels especially targeting youth unemployment, ensure a tax system that is fair for all and address the system that allows tax avoidance by multinational organisations.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to seek to work with the National Black members committee and service groups to promote an alternative economic strategy that:
1) Focuses on organising and recruiting Black members to build on our equality strategy, collective bargaining strength and campaign for an alternative to austerity;
2) Demonstrates its support for the campaign for a Robin Hood Tax and encourage all members to support this campaign;
3) Offers advice to UNISON regions on appropriate community organisations that they can work in partnership with in local campaigning against the cuts to jobs and services. These community organisations must share UNISON‟s values and are committed to campaigning, including political campaigning, in line with the policies and priorities of the union;
4) Considers how the recommendations from the UN CERD can be used to support UNISON campaigns and activities;
5) Highlights a strategy campaign that tackles youth unemployment by working in conjunction with UNISON‟s Young Members Forum and the NUS Black Students Association;
6) And continues to identify and challenge patterns of race discrimination in employment practices.
National Black Members' Committee 61. Beyond Austerity – For Public Services that Reflect our Values Conference welcomes UNISON‟s campaigns for an alternative to austerity, in defence of public services that reflect our values, and for jobs and growth. UNISON‟s campaigns have highlighted the disproportionate impact of the Westminster government‟s austerity measures on Black people, disabled people, women, young and older people. Till now, despite many anecdotal reports, there has been a lack of research evidence of the impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people as workers or service users. This risks a silence on the needs and rights of LGBT workers in our campaigning.
Page 79 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference therefore welcomes the support of UNISON‟s General Political Fund (GPF) in providing the funding for UNISON to commission qualitative research in this area.
Conference notes that this authoritative research by NatCen Social Research, published November 2013, found:
1) Significant evidence of a number of ways in which austerity cuts had affected LGBT people and the services they use;
2) LGBT people individually were facing greater financial hardship, problems finding safe accommodation and increased marginalisation and invisibility;
3) LGBT people were experiencing a reduction of specialised LGBT services, including housing support and homelessness services, anti-hate crime and youth services, support and help-line services, mental health and sexual health services, and gender identity services, at exactly the time these services were more needed than ever;
4) A fear that progress on challenging anti-LGBT discrimination was being reversed and that homophobia, biphobia and transphobia were on the rise again;
5) LGBT concerns and needs are treated as less important: a „nice thing to do‟ that could be dropped in harder times;
6) A particular reliance on public funding for LGBT services, as prejudice and discrimination in society at large means charitable funding of dedicated services is less likely;
7) Attempts to keep services going through restructuring and efficiencies was thought to be largely unsustainable in the longer term, because of negative effects on staff and the quality of service delivery;
8) A loss of valuable LGBT staff and staff with specialist knowledge through redundancies, that was difficult to replace.
Conference believes that these findings, while no surprise to us in UNISON, are an important campaigning tool to show the damage being wrought by the Tory‟s failing austerity policies. They also show the urgency of defending hard-won services that meet the needs of our diverse communities – services that save lives.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council, working with the national LGBT committee, to: a) Disseminate the research findings to as wide an audience as possible as part of our campaign against austerity and in defence of public services; b) Use the findings to inform our work through Labour Link to influence Labour Party policy and priorities; c) Use the research as a recruitment tool, highlighting the need to be in a union at a time of savage cuts to LGBT people‟s jobs.
Page 80 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee 62. Consolidating the UNISON Challenge to Austerity UNISON predictions on the impact of austerity programmes being pursued by Governments across the UK have fast become reality.
The most disturbing and damning fact is that life expectancy, particularly for working class people, is dropping and poverty levels are rising.
The most recent assessment by the Institute of Fiscal Studies is that 60% of the cuts are still to come in public services and the welfare system.
In the face of this massive attack, UNISON across the UK has sustained a remarkable counter-offensive which is challenging the race to the bottom and scoring victories in a range of areas including securing living wage agreements, ending the toxic culture of zero-hours contracts, securing agreements on decent work, and convincing some of the Governments and some of the employers of the economic and social value of protecting public services and moving to decent work.
In Northern Ireland, despite growing political instability and a threat to the peace process, a stop has been placed on welfare reform, the regulations on TUPE have not been amended and there is a halt on the anti-worker changes to employment rights and access to Employment Tribunals. In public services UNISON is leading the campaign to protect our integrated health and social care system and to protect our education system.
In Scotland public sector reform is now based upon the reduction of inequality and the centrality of public services to economic growth. In addition, the Scottish Government has negotiated the ability to issue bonds to raise infrastructure spending.
In Wales the proposal is to roll out the protections of Workforce Matters across the entire public service.
Throughout England UNISON is engaging in campaign after campaign with industrial action, public rallies and political lobbying in the face of some of the worst attacks ever witnessed in local government and the NHS.
In all these positive developments UNISON has played a pivotal role. In order to secure consistently good outcomes as a union we now need a whole union approach which the respective challenges of political devolution and fragmentation of public services.
To this end Conference calls on the National Executive Council to develop within UNISON a consistent and sustained “Council of the Isles” approach to become operational and mainstreamed by Autumn 2014, encompassing all regions and the Centre to share, develop and build on the successes to date and to prepare for the even bigger struggles to come.
Northern Ireland Region 63. Economic Policies for Prosperity Not Austerity
Page 81 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes that public services and wages are being worn down while profits and the financial markets have continued to rise. Economic growth isn't an end in itself, it should drive well-being, equity and sustainability, not more wealth for the already wealthy. Yet as current debates show, our powers for democratic control over key economic levers are continuously restricted at all levels; and mainstream economics offers us no hope for increasing them.
Therefore UNISON should work with partners to develop and promote publicly the economic alternatives, drawing on the best advice of academics and think tanks - to show ways of investing large sums to create jobs, increasing prosperity and cutting carbon emissions.
Conference calls on the Scottish government to use all its powers, in particular over the private sector in terms of regulation and procurement, to promote a more equal and sustainable society.
Conference calls on local authorities to explore all options for promoting local control of financial and productive sectors of the economy, for example through promotion of co-operatives and innovative local financial institutions like municipal banks.
City Of Edinburgh Council 64. The Impact of Austerity on Women Conference condemns the continued attack on public sector workers. In the last two years, over 631,000 jobs have been axed with a further 400,000 due to go before the 2015 general election. Women make up a large proportion of public sector workers and in some sectors twice as many women as men have lost their jobs. Recent statistics show a dramatic rise in the unemployment amongst women and from 2010 it has gone from 6.9% to 7.3%. The brunt of the government‟s austerity drive is clearly impacting on women.
The austerity measures have seen core services disappear; this has meant the vital roles that many of our women members provide have been lost. Unions have fought hard for equality, with UNISON at the forefront, but the rights women have gained and the positions they have strived hard for are at risk. Only 35% of senior jobs within the public sector are held by women, as opportunities for women to progress are greatly reduced. Additionally there is the issue of role models; who will young female workers look up to and aspire to if their female counterparts are no longer in senior positions? For those who do find alternative employment, this is often part- time, low paid work, which raises the important issue of the underemployed women forced into jobs that do not use, or recognise, the skills they have.
There is also a high level of public service use amongst women, and the services they access range greatly. Consequently, as these services have been cut back they have felt the adverse effect to a greater degree. This coupled with benefit changes has meant our women members are clearly feeling the full brunt of the government‟s austerity measures, with many households struggling to pay bills and have a decent standard of living.
Within the Northern Region there have been a high number of campaigns run, with women at the forefront of many of these. Under the umbrella of the Public Services
Page 82 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Alliance, an alliance of trade unions, community groups and the voluntary sector, much has been done to highlight the impact of the cuts and devastating effects they are having with the region.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to campaign to highlight the impact the cuts are having on women;
2) Produce organising material aimed at young women to encourage them to join and participate in the union;
3) Promote the work of the Public Services Alliance to campaign and highlight the issue affecting women.
Newcastle City 65. Austerity has No Place in our Society With austerity planned until 2018 this will mean a continuation of public sector cuts and job losses by this Coalition government if they are not defeated at the next general election.
This is not just a response to the economic conditions facing the United Kingdom, but a sustained attack on public services and public sector workers.
These cuts are an attempt by the Coalition government to reverse years of improvements made to public services, by deceitfully using the economy to implement these swinging cuts and continue to claim that there is no alternative, but we all know that there are alternatives.
Working people and vulnerable groups should not be paying the price for a crisis they did not create. The imposition of austerity measures are decimating services, cutting jobs and welfare provision and continue to have a devastating impact on communities across the UK.
Recession can hurt, but austerity kills – the bedroom tax that made a middle aged woman take her own life, the removal of carers from the national system that condemns the old to die in pain, reduction in employment by creating zero hour contracts and the increase in the use of food banks to feed families. The largest network food bank, The Trussell Trust, estimated that the number of people turning to them for help has been raised by 100% in the past year, many from Black and working class communities.
On this evidence conference, austerity measures should have been discontinued, it is now up to us as trade unionist to start acting in a way that takes into account everyday working life and the reason why we should never be passive.
Our priorities and alternative economic strategy is not just a message for the Coalition government but a message for all politicians, local, regional, national and european level.
The voice of opposition is being held by UNISON. We are promoting the creation of investment in the public sector, a climate for economic growth, a real living wage for
Page 83 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA all, a reduction in youth unemployment, ensure tax systems that are fair for all and address the system that allows tax avoidance by multinational organisations.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to continue to highlight UNISON‟s anti-cuts campaign by:
1) Ensuring the issue of zero hour contracts and the negative impact this is having on the economic growth is sustained;
2) Continuing to build on the living wage campaign through organising in the workplace and communities throughout the UK;
3) Focusing on organising and recruiting members to build on our collective bargaining strength, equality strategy and campaign for an alternative to austerity.
Hammersmith and Fulham 66. Poverty and Government Attacks One child in five in Scotland today lives in poverty, with 90,000 living in severe poverty.
The cuts in the welfare programme by the UK Coalition Government as well as their promotion of a low wage economy means that child poverty is becoming more and more prevalent.
25,000 children living in severe poverty often do so where an adult member of the household is working.
The policies of the UK Government will only exacerbate this problem in the years to come. In the words of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland “independent forecasts now suggest an explosion in child poverty” in Scotland.
80% of parents of children living in poverty have stated that they have borrowed money to “pay for essentials” and it is estimated by the end of the financial year 2013/14 that 55,000 Scots will have accessed food banks, an increase of 20% from the previous year.
Conference condemns the actions of the UK Government for its attacks on public services and the welfare system and believes it is using these policies as part of an economic and political attack on the most vulnerable in society.
This motion highlights the particular situation in Scotland but we recognise that the attacks on the poor and the vulnerable are being replicated across the United Kingdom.
Conference welcomes UNISON‟s good work in highlighting the scandal of low pay and child poverty and we call on the National Executive Council to:
1) Organise and build upon current campaigns to promote an alternative vision of welfare in the United Kingdom that values individual people rather than stigmatising them;
Page 84 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) To shift the focus to the failures and greed of big business and tax avoidance. Strongly campaign for fairer taxation as a way of ensuring that those who can afford the most pay the most;
3) To promote policies of full employment as the best method of removing people from poverty;
4) To continue our campaign for the implementation of a National Living Wage as the most immediate and fair solution in addressing in-work poverty;
5) To campaign with other trade unions, pressure groups and community groups in promoting our vision of a fair and decent society.
Renfrewshire Local Authority Employment Rights 67. A Manifesto for Collective Bargaining Conference notes evidence demonstrating that the share of the total wealth generated by the UK economy that is paid out in wages has been falling from 60% in the post war period to around 53% now: worse, the way in which the diminishing wage share is distributed is increasingly unfair, with the proceeds of economic growth since the early 2000s accruing to a small group at the top of the income scale, and declining real incomes for those on low to middle incomes.
Commitment to labour market flexibility and a corresponding disregard for collective bargaining by successive governments are equally responsible for the falling wage share and the increasingly unfair way in which pay is distributed across the economy.
For UNISON members the attack on collective bargaining can be seen in the imposition of pay restraint, attempts by government and employers to undermine national agreements with trade unions, outsourcing (leading to further fragmentation of terms and conditions) and highly damaging attacks on trade union rights and facility time.
Conference believes that these attacks are fundamentally connected to a so-called economic „recovery‟ built on low wages, zero hour contracts, underemployment and growing inequality, as demonstrated by the new TUPE regulations that came into force in early 2014. These weaken the pay and conditions of service for some of the most vulnerable workers in the UK and limit the service provision change rules to where a service remains „fundamentally‟ the same. These changes, along with ever worsening access to facility time, will limit the ability of unions to protect outsourced workers through national collective bargaining. It will also make the privatisation and outsourcing of public services easier.
Conference agrees that upholding and promoting the principle of collective bargaining for all our members has to be a priority for UNISON‟s political, organising and industrial strategies. Such an approach should be the foundation stone of the union in all workplaces in which we organise, our efforts to rebuild the income of our members and a pre-requisite of a sustainable and fair economic recovery.
Page 85 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference therefore welcomes the work being undertaken by the New Economics Foundation (commissioned by UNISON), the TUC, the Institute of Employment Rights and the Smith Institute to set out the path to the restoration of collective bargaining as a way of reducing inequality, enhancing worker and union voice and raising wages.
Among the measures being called for are the restoration of ACAS‟ statutory duty to promote collective bargaining; an overhaul of the statutory recognition procedure so that trade unions are entitled to be recognised by an employer demonstrating 10% of membership; provisions for participation in collective bargaining to be a pre-condition in the awarding of all public contracts; the creation of wages councils made up of unions and employers to negotiate terms and conditions for all workers in specified sectors; and a new Department for Labour which would bring worker voice to the heart of government and promote collective bargaining.
Conference welcomes this start but further work is required to ensure this agenda is developed in a way that works for UNISON members and potential members in public services. Some of these measures will be more applicable to the private sector, where the attack on collective bargaining has been at its fiercest since the 1980s. Other measures, such as wages councils and their collective agreements, need to be evaluated so that the union can see that they do not cut across existing agreements, are equality proofed and have no unforeseen circumstances
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with the TUC, STUC, WTUC and ICTU to campaign for a framework of measures to promote collective bargaining, union recognition, clear consultation rights and trade union organising;
2) Work with the political funds to influence all political parties in the lead up to the 2015 General Election so that collective bargaining is promoted and protected;
3) Work with branches, service groups, Self Organised Groups and regions to develop a „UNISON agenda for public service collective bargaining‟;
4) Carry out an evaluation of Wages Councils and sectoral agreements, and how this could work for different parts of the wider public services workforce;
5) Ensure that the positive message about the contribution made by trade union facility time is highlighted in any campaigning ahead of the 2015 general election.
National Executive Council 68. Zero Hours Contracts and Impact on Black Workers Since the coalition have taken power there has been mass redundancies, with many jobs being frozen and those who have survived are facing massive attacks on pay and conditions and threats of zero hours contracts. Black workers appear to be disproportionately affected by this.
Government figures suggest there are approximately 250,000 people on zero hours contracts. However the realistic figure suggested by The Chartered Institute of
Page 86 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Personnel and Development research shows approximately a million people working on zero hours contracts.
Those employed on Zero hours contracts in comparison to fixed contract employees receive lower gross weekly pay, can be called up for work at short notice which adds strain on family life and disrupts care arrangements, are more susceptible to unfair treatment through weaker employment rights and are made to work in unsafe conditions with constant fear of been sacked. This can also affect certain benefits entitlement, such as working tax credits.
Zero hours contracts disproportionately impact Black women workers, who are more likely to work in homecare and other vulnerable employment. They can also have caring responsibilities that restrict their ability to be flexible which can jeopardise the already unequal relationship with the employer. 41% of Black people who are employed in the Homecare Sector are believed to be affected by Zero hours contracts.
The prevalence of zero hours contracts is higher amongst young Black people than any other group 37% of those employed on such contracts are aged between 16 and 24. People are being forced to work on zero hours contracts because they have no choice due to the present economic climate.
Conference, therefore calls on the National Executive Council to seek to:
1) Develop a strategy to promote an effective campaign to end zero hours contracts working with the National Black members committee and other self-organised groups, service groups and other trade unions;
2) Work with Labour link and the General Political Fund to lobby MPs for safeguards to be introduced to improve the rights of workers on zero hours contracts;
3) Raise awareness of the disproportionate impact on Black women workers in particular of the increased use of zero hour contracts.
National Black Members' Committee 69. Zero Hours Contracts Conference notes that as part of the general attack on staff terms and conditions that has accompanied the intensification of privatisation and cuts to funding across the public services, employers have increasingly been turning to zero hour contracts.
Conference agrees that for staff, zero hour contracts present huge drawbacks in comparison to permanent employment rights that are otherwise usually clearly defined, for permanent staff. These drawbacks include:
1) Hours of work become variable and irregular hours;
2) There is no guaranteed level of regular earnings that provides any certainty over meeting bills or planning for the future;
Page 87 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 3) The need to respond to calls to attend work, frequently at short notice, disrupts life outside of work and places a particular strain on families and arranging care for dependants;
4) While weekly income can frequently be inadequate, the need to be available for work when required by the employer hinders the ability of staff to take up other employment;
5) The variability of earnings throws into doubt an individual‟s eligibility to claim various forms of benefit. For example, the working tax credit for a single person can only be claimed if an individual works 16 hours a week, but whether an individual exceeds these hours can vary from week to week under zero hours, creating even greater uncertainty over income;
6) Zero hour contracts have also shown themselves to be more open to abuse than regular permanent contracts. For example, scheduling of working hours in the homecare sector that allowed no time for travel time between home visits has led to staff working considerably beyond their paid hours in some cases.
Conference also acknowledges that a minority of staff find some advantages in these working arrangements, particularly if they can find a way of balancing a zero hours contract with a second job, so that the income represents a supplement to a more permanent source of earnings.
Conference also notes that the use of zero hour contracts have spread so rapidly official statistics have failed to keep track, with numbers likely to be easily over one million according to estimations by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and the 250,000 by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
What is clear is that a growing number of workers now have no regular hours and face uncertainty every week on paying bills and rent.
The areas that have seen the most widespread use of zero hour contracts highlight a marked tendency for women to be disproportionately affected and one in every three zero hours employees are under the age of 25.
Conference welcomes Labour Leader Ed Miliband‟s three point plan to tackle zero hour contracts announced at the TUC Congress in September 2013, that a Labour government would take on zero-hours contracts and commit to the following steps: a) Ban contracts which require workers to work exclusively for one business; b) Stop contracts which require workers to be on call all day without a guarantee of work; c) Stop contracts where workers are working regular hours but are denied a regular contract.
We welcome these initial steps but Conference agrees we need to ensure all public sector workers employed on zero hours contracts are members of a Union and that steps will need to be taken ensure that if necessary extra measures are taken to stop abuses.
Page 88 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to: i) Ensure that UNISON monitor the impact of zero hours contracts in the public sector and on the services provided; ii) Assess the effect on the employees subject to these contracts; iii) Consider what changes need to be made to improve such contracts both for the benefit of the employees and the services they deliver; iv) Take steps to campaign for any necessary changes that are identified through the above.
Yorkshire and Humberside Region 70. Opposing the Use of Zero Hours Contracts in Health and Social Care Conference notes with concern that zero hours contracts are widely used in the health and social care sectors.
A Resolution Foundation report "A Matter of Time: The rise of zero-hours contracts" uses data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to estimate that 20% of zero hours contract workers work in health and social work. This is a disproportionately high share and more than in any other sector.
Earlier research by the University of Manchester found nearly 70% of private home care providers offered only zero hours contracts to staff, while 90% of local authority providers did not use zero hours contracts at all.
LFS data also indicates an association between zero hours contracts and the private sector – where 85% of those employed on such a basis are to be found, and smaller workplaces. Conference notes with concern that a consequence of the privatisation and fragmentation of health services could be the increased use of zero hours contracts.
Conference believes that „zero hours contracts‟ are a contradiction in terms. A contract between an employer and employee implies that both have rights and obligations, but zero hours contracts put all the obligations on the employee. Zero hours contracts are not what we have come to understand as „jobs‟ – they provide no security of income and no opportunity for workers to plan their lives away from work.
Conference rejects the conclusion of the 2013 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) report which stated, on the basis of surveying the contentment with working hours of zero hours contract workers, that the contracts were „unfairly demonised‟. Zero hours contracts are objectively and demonstrably worse for staff than guaranteed hours contracts as they always involve the shifting of risk from the employer to the employee. It is wholly fair and appropriate to demonise zero hours contracts.
Conference believes that zero hours contracts have no place in the provision of health and social care services.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
Page 89 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 1) Promote the UNISON Ethical Care Charter, which includes a requirement that signatory employers ensure that “zero hour contracts will not be used in place of permanent contracts”;
2) Campaign to highlight the importance of social care employment standards in determining the quality of care services;
3) Campaign to ensure that the social care sector provides viable jobs such that the risks of variable demand for services and the cost pressures on commissioning organisations are not passed down on to the shoulders of care workers;
4) Monitor and campaign against the use of zero hours contracts in the provision of health services.
Stockport 71. Zero Hour Contracts Conference notes the insidious spread of zero-hour contracts and the impact this is having of the employment, terms and conditions of UNISON members employed in the public sector.
Conference notes that recent media focus has brought the issue of zero hour contracts to the public attention. Recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) research suggests that zero hour contracts are more commonly used in the public rather than in the private sector, with recent figures showing that more than one million British workers could currently be employed on zero hour contracts.
Whatever the hard numbers tell us, zero hour contracts have come to symbolise a wider concern that the labour market is moving towards less secure and more exploitative forms of employment at a time when in many areas jobs are scarce and people have little choice taking whatever work is available.
Conference also welcomes the report „Flexibility or Insecurity‟ produced by The Work Foundation, exploring the rise in zero hour contracts.
Zero hour contracts, give flexibility to a few, but the balance of power favours the employer and it makes it harder for workers to complain.
Zero hour contracts are where an individual is not guaranteed work and is paid only for the actual hours of work offered by the employer and carried out. There are three primary reasons why zero hour contracts may be used:
1) Demands of the job – where work is erratic and highly unpredictable, varying from day to day and week to week;
2) Evading employment rights – employers may designate individuals as workers rather than employees. Workers are not entitled to protection against unfair dismissal, maternity rights, redundancy rights and rights under TUPE;
3) Meeting individual flexibility – for some employees zero hour contracts may be attractive in that they choose when and where they work, or it is a supplement to
Page 90 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA a main job, or potential insecurity of income if not of major concern – e.g. a retired person who wants to do some occasional work.
Not knowing from one week to the next what money is coming in to buy food and pay the bills is extremely nerve-wracking. Having your hours varied at short notice is also stressful and makes planning childcare arrangements and budgeting hard.
In the transport sector we have seen a rise in the use of zero hour contacts, mainly with data collectors, but more recently with office staff based within the smart ticketing team, as employers are trying to find cost effective ways of meeting short term staffing needs.
Zero hour contracts may be good for the employer because they provide ultimate flexibility, allowing them to hire and let go of staff at will, but for workers they provide zero security – no guaranteed hours, no benefits and jobs which can be cancelled at the drop of a hat. Yes, for many zero hour contracts are a good means to employment that offer flexibility to the employee which can be particularly helpful to students, parents and even older people topping up their pension, but for many they provide no security at all. These people find it difficult to get mortgages, and or apply for credit as well as trying to make ends meet.
Conference welcomes the Labour leader Ed Miliband‟s call for the exploitation of zero hour contracts to be stopped. Conference further welcomes the announcement from Vince Cable that companies could face a code of conduct to prevent them from exploiting workers through zero hour contracts.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to: a) Monitor the impact of zero hours contracts in the public sector and service groups with a view to stopping the exploitation of zero hour contracts.
West Yorkshire Transport 72. Zero Hour Contracts Conference notes the continuing and increasing use of zero hour contracts within the private home care sector and welcomes the work undertaken to promote UNISON‟s Ethical Home Care Charter.
Conference recognises that the procurement policies used by councils and other public bodies which focus on costs effectively encourages a race to the bottom in the provision of care as even good employers are forced to adopt the worst labour policies, including zero hour contracts, in order to compete with poor employers.
Conference notes the campaign of UNISON Scotland to persuade the Scottish government to amend proposed legislation so as to allow councils to ensure that companies bidding for services can be forced to pay the Living wage and do not use zero hour contracts.
Conference calls on governments and councils to adopt such procurement policies and, specifically, UNISON‟s Ethical Home Care Charter.
Page 91 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA However conference recognises that workers in the private home care sector require effective trade union representation to enhance their pay and conditions and therefore calls on the National Executive Council to instigate a mass recruitment and organising campaign aiming to double our membership within this sector by conference 2015.
South Lanarkshire Pensions 73. Removal of Gender Discrimination in Pension Provision Conference notes that the median income of a woman pensioner is less than two thirds that of a man and that two thirds of pensioners living below the poverty line are women. This shocking injustice is the result of lifelong discrimination at work. In general compared to men women earn less so they save less and so in retirement they are therefore poorer.
Conference notes in particular that:
1) Three quarters of part-time workers are women and, while the gender pay gap based on the median earnings of full-time workers has narrowed, the gap between full-time men and part-time women has hardly moved;
2) Employers‟ failure to make jobs flexible enough to accommodate women‟s roles as unpaid carers affects women‟s employment rates and earnings. This especially affects older women workers so the gender pay gap widens as retirement approaches.
Conference also notes the government‟s attacks on pensioners and how these have particularly affected poorer pensioners who are mainly women. These include: a) Raising women‟s state pension age and the pension credit qualifying age; b) Raising the Pension Credit Guarantee by less than that of inflation; c) Cutting and now proposing to abolish Savings Credit; d) Cutting Winter Fuel Allowance; e) Proposing to increase the number of years' National Insurance Contributions needed for a full State Pension; f) Removing Pension Credit from couples where only one partner is over Pension Credit qualifying age; g) Ending over-60s‟ free swimming.
Conference believes that closing the gender pensions gap is crucial to ending pensioner poverty and therefore that ending sex discrimination must be put at the heart of further pension reform.
Conference considers that:
Page 92 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA i) Any national insurance contribution requirement for a full state pension ought to be set at a level that does not simply reproduce workplace sex discrimination or penalise women for their role as unpaid carers; ii) The best route out of poverty is work (providing work pays) so the Living Wage should be set at a level that takes account of the need to save for retirement; iii) Savings should pay too, so Savings Credit should be restored to at least its 2010 real value; iv) Campaigns for the Living Wage should concentrate, first, on areas of employment where the gender pay gap is most stubborn; v) There must be no repeat of Labour‟s 2007 Pensions Act which left existing pensioners high and dry; further reform must include retrospection so that all pensioners are treated alike never mind when they reached state pension age.
Therefore Conference calls on the National Executive Council to consider these points with a view to UNISON developing a strategy and a programme of work to put an end to women‟s poverty in old age.
National Retired Members' Committee 74. Retirement Age Conference calls on the Nation al Executive Council:
1) To campaign to reduce the State Pension Age for women and men to sixty years of age;
2) To organise the support of other trade unions for this policy;
3) To urge Labour Link to encourage the Labour Party to include the policy in their next manifesto.
Conference believes: a) A phased implantation period of five years would ensure a steady implementation of the policy; b) This policy would not only be beneficial for elderly people but provide employment opportunities for the young people of this country who are the future; c) This policy encourages a work life balance to the betterment of young and elderly.
City Of Edinburgh Council International 75. Solidarity with Trade Unionists, Women and Workers in Guatemala Conference notes that workers and their rights are increasingly coming under attack in all parts of the world. Conference further notes that in Guatemala these quasi-
Page 93 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA legal attacks are compounded by the violence being directed at trade unionists and others.
Fifty-eight trade union leaders have been murdered in Guatemala in recent years with women and public service trade unionists being singled out, especially those in the health workers‟ union, SNTSG (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Salud de Guatemala). Conference we fear for the lives of those who are being threatened including Melyn Lizbeth Camey Rojas of SNTSG health centre branch in Chiqumulilla. It is too late for Carlos Hernandez and Santa Alvarado of SNTSG and library worker Kyra Zulueta Enriquez Mena who were all murdered last year.
These deadly statistics have, according to the International Trade Union Confederation, the ITUC, made Guatemala the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist.
Public Services International, PSI, the global union to which UNISON is affiliated has made Guatemala its top priority and has called on affiliates around the world to adopt Guatemala as a priority to try to halt the targeting and intimidation of trade unionists. Conference resolves to stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Guatemala and to support them in their campaigns to halt the killings and targeting of their leaders.
Conference believes that the targeting of women trade unionists is linked to the culture of violence against women (VAW) in general. During the 36-year genocidal campaign against the indigenous population between 1960 and 1996 when over 200,000 people lost their lives, violence against women was embedded in the state‟s policy to „crush the surviving population into submission through fear and shame via the suffering of their mothers, sisters, and daughters.‟ Unfortunately the legacy continues. Since the beginning of this century gender-based violence has claimed the lives of over 5,000 women: 412 in the last year alone. Guatemala now has the third highest rate of femicide in the world despite the passing of a femicide law in 2008.
At the same time, in a perverse misapplication of the “femicide law”, health workers are being charged with „killing‟ patients even though it is likely that the deaths were due to the lack of medicines and other deplorable healthcare and working conditions. Thirty healthcare union leaders may have been imprisoned on charges related to the law.
The president of the country has admitted his shame that the country had overtaken Colombia as the most dangerous country to be a trade unionist. Unfortunately, despite the existence of some progressive laws and millions of dollars of technical assistance, the ITUC has said that the legal system is „corrupt and broken‟. Therefore, there is no effective remedy for the victims of abuse, intimidation and impunity.
Conference further notes that in a further worrying development, the genocide conviction of former dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt, was overturned last year by the High Court of Guatemala, giving rise to concerns that the victims of the genocide during the 36-year war will never receive justice. The Guatemala Solidarity Network
Page 94 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA is campaigning to ensure that the planned retrial in January 2015 is not shelved, and that those involved in the genocide are brought to justice.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with the TUC, PSI, Amnesty International and others to highlight the atrocities that are being committed against workers and activists in Guatemala;
2) Make links with our sister unions in Guatemala who are under threat, especially in SNTSG, to support them in calling for justice for the victims of human rights abuses, and a stop to the violation of their rights at work;
3) Liaise with the national women‟s committee on campaigns or projects to support women‟s groups challenging gender-based violence;
4) Support the work of the Guatemala Solidarity Network including affiliating at national level and encouraging regions and branches to affiliate;
5) Consider joining trade union delegations to Guatemala to stand in solidarity with the workers who are being targeted and to assist them in calling for the government and authorities to investigate attacks against them;
6) Work with Labour Link and others to ensure that any trade deals with Guatemala are subject to compliance with human and workers‟ rights standards and international law.
National Executive Council 76. Bhopal - Supporting the Campaign for Justice UNISON recognises that 2014 marks the 30th anniversary of the industrial disaster at the pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) in Bhopal, India. The disaster involved a catastrophic leak of highly toxic gases on the night of 2nd/3rd December 1984. None of the six safety systems designed to contain such a leak were active and in the first 72 hours 8,000 -10,000 are estimated to have died. In the years since a further 15,000 are estimated to have died as a result of gas related injuries and diseases.
UNISON notes that the lack of qualified operators and ineffective management, coupled with less effective health and safety systems are acknowledged as being a major factor in causing the disaster.
UNISON recognises that since the 1984 disaster a second disaster has unfolded in Bhopal – one that would have unfolded with or without the initial disaster. It has become clear that money saving measures in the design of the plant had led to inadequate, poorly designed waste disposal systems. Highly toxic waste was dumped in unlined pits on the factory premises and solar evaporation ponds filled with liquid waste in the surrounding area. These ponds leaked and Union Carbide‟s own consultants determined that the local water was contaminated. The contamination has still not been cleared up and remains a major hazard to local people.
Page 95 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA UNISON is appalled that 30 years since the disaster more than 120,000 people still continue to battle chronic illnesses and suffer from ailments caused by the disaster and the subsequent pollution. Those responsible have still not been held accountable.
UNISON notes that Union Carbide Corporation, the US-owned multinational which always retained a controlling interest in UCIL, has never answered a criminal case of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder”, and the site‟s current owners, the Dow Chemical Company, is yet to answer a summons from the Indian Courts.
UNISON notes that key aims of the campaign is to achieve justice and a life of dignity for the survivors of the disaster by ensuring adequate healthcare, a safe environment, proper rehabilitation for the survivors and their children and that those responsible are punished. Conference believes that the survivors of the Bhopal disaster deserve justice and firmly expresses support for their campaign.
Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Council to:
1) Publicise and raise awareness of the Bhopal disaster amongst Regions, Branches and Members;
2) Support the survivors‟ campaign for justice and encourage Regions, Branches and Members to support, participate and affiliate to organisations and campaigns such as the Bhopal Medical Appeal who support survivors of the disaster and the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal;
3) Work with UNISON Labour Link to raise the matter politically;
4) Commit UNISON to continue campaigning for strong health and safety in the workplace.
North West Region 76.1 Insert new paragraph before "Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Council to:":
"Conference welcomes that the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) launched a year-long United Nations campaign in February 2014 asking: a) Why the United Nations has been silent on the ongoing plight of the victims of the Bhopal gas disaster, and; b) Why the United Nations has chosen to partner with the Dow Chemical Company, which in purchasing the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), has inherited the legal liabilities of the Bhopal gas disaster."
Add at end new point 5):
"5) Call on United Nations agencies to be involved in easing the plight of survivors, and specifically for technical assistance from United Nations Environment
Page 96 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Programme (UNEP) for the scientific assessment of the contamination of soil and groundwater in and around Union Carbide‟s abandoned factory in Bhopal, India."
Lanarkshire Health
77. Palestine Conference recalls the resolutions of the 2012 and 2013 National Delegate Conferences which confirmed longstanding policy in favour of peace with justice for the Palestinian people. In particular, both conferences:
1) Noted the conclusion of the Russell Tribunal that Israel‟s treatment of the Palestinians amounts to Apartheid as defined under International Law;
2) Noted the Tribunal‟s recommendation that global civil society replicate the spirit of solidarity that contributed to the end of Apartheid in South Africa including by supporting the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions; and,
3) Welcomed the findings of the final session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine – that the International Criminal Court should recognise Palestinian jurisdiction and that a special session of the United Nations General Assembly should be convened on Israeli apartheid. The National Executive Council is instructed to circulate to branches and regions the final report from the Russell Tribunal and actively campaign for support of its recommendation;
4) Instructed the National Executive Council to give effect to these recommendations in particular ways.
Conference welcomes the proposals adopted by the National Executive Council 's International Committee in September 2013 to: a) Make the Russell Tribunal findings available through the UNISON website; b) Work with Communications to set up a „mini-campaign‟ website on the main UNISON website aimed at promoting UNISON policy on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions; c) Work with the Pensions Unit to look at how the governance structures for the Local Government Pension Fund can be used to implement UNISON policy on divestment; d) Work with the Services to Members Committee to issue guidance to UNISON‟s affinity partners.
Conference regrets to note the apparent absence of practical steps to implement any of this and instructs the National Executive Council to give renewed and urgent attention to deploying resources so that decisions we took two years ago can be carried out.
Page 97 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference also regrets that the National Executive Council appears to have overlooked another instruction included in the 2012 and 2013 resolutions, to develop guidance for branches on campaigns to stop public service contracts being let to companies which are complicit in Israeli violations of international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention, for instance by contracts which service the illegal settlements, construct the Apartheid Wall or provide security in prisons holding Palestinians illegally transferred from the Occupied Territories
Conference repeats and confirms this instruction.
Conference further instructs the National Executive Council that if, in its opinion, UNISON lacks the resources to pursue these objectives by itself, it seek appropriate ways to pursue them in collaboration with others including but not necessarily limited to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Trades Union Congress.
Wolverhampton General 77.1 Add at end:
"Since 2013 we have seen an ever more aggressive policy of supporting illegal settlements being built in the occupied territories. This action is in flagrant disregard of International Law. The action is a deliberate act of provocation by the Israeli government and will destabilise any peace process.
It is important that Conference condemns these actions of the Israeli Government and calls on the National Executive Council to: i) Review motion on Palestine passed at Conference in 2013 and assess the progress of implementation of the agreed actions; ii) Give priority to any actions yet to be implemented and ensure they are completed by National Delegate Conference in 2015.
Conference notes the increasing support for the campaign of Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS).
We welcome the actions of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Oxfam, War on Want and many trade unions in calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and services from the occupied territories.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
A) Bring to the attention of members and branches the aims and objectives of the BDS campaign;
B) Write to the leading supermarkets urging them not to stock Israeli goods produced in the occupied territories."
Manchester 77.2
Page 98 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Add new first paragraph:
"Since 2013 we have seen an ever more aggressive policy of supporting illegal settlements being built in the occupied Palestinian territories. This action is in flagrant disregard of International Law. The action is a deliberate act of provocation by the Israeli government and will destabilise any peace process."
Add new final paragraph:
"Conference notes the increasing support for the campaign of Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS). We welcome the actions of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Oxfam, War on Want and many trade unions in calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and services from the occupied territories.
Conference further calls on the National Executive Council to: i) Bring to the attention of members and branches the aims and objectives of the BDS campaign; ii) Write to the leading supermarkets urging them not to stock Israeli goods produced in the occupied territories."
North West Region 77.3 Add a new paragraph at the end:
“Conference further notes and welcomes the support UNISON gives to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) including sponsorship of the recent PSC Trade Union conference, enabling PSC to bring over Palestinian speakers to the UK and joining the last two PSC trade union delegations to Palestine. Conference also notes the excellent work being done by the following on-going UNISON International Development Fund projects, firstly with WAC/Ma‟an (the Workers Advice Centre) in providing employment rights and support for organising amongst Palestinian workers in Area C (those parts of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem directly administered by Israel) and secondly, with Kav laOved (Workers Hotline) working with Thai migrant workers in the agricultural sector both in Israel and the occupied West Bank.“
National Executive Council 78. Solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian Workers Conference notes UNISON has a long and proud tradition of international solidarity, supporting workers rights, political freedom, human rights and peace throughout the world.
Conferences further notes UNISON remains a strong supporter of the Palestinians in their quest for a just resolution to the conflict and their desire to live in dignity and peace in a Palestinian state free of occupation and Israeli control.
Conference hopes the on-going peace talks will be a success and lead to a better future based on mutual respect and co-existence.
Page 99 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes that Israel and Palestine both have thriving, free trade unions.
Conference calls on UNISON to lend our support for engagment with the Israeli Histadrut and Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), and encourage both unions to maintain their strong bilateral relationship as an important aspect of bridge building for the peace process.
Conference further commits our union to continue its solidarity work with Israeli and Palestinian workers and worker's organisations, helping to play a positive role in building a better future for both people.
Redbridge Local Government 79. Palestine and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign (BDS) In its Action Plan for Implementing UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (September 2013) the UK Government states “ To give effect to the UN Guiding principles, we have sought and are committed to ensuring that in UK Government procurement human rights related matters are reflected appropriately when purchasing goods, works and services.”
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to further our role in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in support of the rights of the Palestinian People by developing, through the bargaining agenda and with lead negotiators across the public service, a strategy on public procurement to give effect to this policy.
Royal Hospital Trust 79.1 In the second paragraph delete “this policy.” at end of sentence and replace with “our existing policy on settlement goods and companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law.”
National Executive Council 80. Solidarity with Egyptian Workers Conference stands with Egyptian activists who have been shot at, assaulted, arrested and imprisoned for defying the new „anti-protest‟ laws and the military‟s brutal clampdown.
Conference supports Egyptian workers occupying their factories to demand the right to work, like the steel workers of Helwan. We stand with all Egyptians who have organised strikes and protests to demand decent pay and dignity at work.
Conference supports Egypt‟s healthworkers, teachers, civil servants and transport workers who are resisting privatisation and austerity to defend public services for all.
Conference calls on the Egyptian government to respect Egyptians‟ rights to organise, strike and protest, for the immediate release of all political prisoners and an end to repression. We condemn the pervasive use of sexual violence by the security forces and military against protesters.
Page 100 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference calls on the UK government to cease all forms of practical, financial or diplomatic co-operation with the Egyptian government which could aid the repression of Egyptian citizens, including imports of arms, tear gas or other material and assistance with police or military training.
Conference resolves:
1) To request the National Executive Council to write to the UK government expressing the views in paragraph 5 above;
2) To affiliate to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Solidarity network and circulate information about MENA Solidarity‟s campaigns to regions and branches.
Housing Associations London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 80.1 Delete point 2) and replace with:
"2) To actively support progressive campaigns in support of peace, democracy, human rights and social justice, trade union rights for the people of countries of Middle East and North Africa and to consider affiliation to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Solidarity network."
National Executive Council 81. Turkey Conference notes that:
1) The continuing attacks on the rights of trade unions in Turkey and that International Labour Organisation‟s conventions are not being observed;
2) Amnesty International has initiated campaigns in partnership with Turkish trade unions to protest against restrictions on the rights to assembly and freedom of speech;
3) The Turkish state continues to equate support for Kurdish and other minority rights as terrorism and uses terror laws to clamp down on legitimate trade union activities;
4) Turkey has one of the highest numbers of political prisoners in the world.
Conference recognises that Turkey is a major economic and military power in the region and therefore a key country in the search for peace and justice in the Middle East. It also aspires to become a member of the European Union.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to make direct contact with the appropriate sister unions in Turkey to offer solidarity and exchange information on trade union and peace movements in Turkey and the wider region.
Page 101 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Further, conference calls on the UK Government and the EU to ensure that the discussions on Turkey‟s possible entry to the EU focus on the country‟s human rights record, the rights of trade unions to organise and the rights of minorities to political and cultural expression.
South Lanarkshire 82. Justice for Kazakh Oil Workers Conference declares its support for Kazakh oil workers and their struggle to form independent trades unions. We protest at the UK backing for the Kazakh authorities, who have used killings, torture and jailings against oil workers.
Conference notes that in the massacre of oil workers at Zhanaozenon 16 December 2011, officially 16 people were killed and 60 wounded; that the real numbers are probably higher; and that unarmed demonstrators were shot at close range.
Conference notes that in 2012, strike activists were jailed for up to seven years, that defendants and witnesses were tortured before the trials, and that political groups and journalists who had supported the strikers faced repression.
Conference notes the close connections between the UK and Kazakh governments and business elites; that prime minister David Cameron went to open the Kashagan oil field together with president Nursultan Nazarbayev in July 2013; and that former prime minister Tony Blair has earned millions from advising the Kazakh government.
Conference notes that neither Cameron nor Blair nor any other UK official has publicly challenged the killings, torture and jailing of oil workers.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to campaign for:
1) The release the jailed oil workers and end the repression of independent unions in Kazakhstan;
2) An independent inquiry into the Zhanaozen massacre, to establish how many were killed and injured, and who was responsible.
Islington 83. Campaigning in Support of Cuba The Secretary-General of United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, visited the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana in January 2014 and praised Cuba for what he called “genius for world health contributions, and being at the forefront of South-South cooperation.” He added: “I could see in various communities, many forgotten, one common factor: Cuban doctors or doctors trained in Cuba are there helping to save lives”.
Despite its scarce resources, Cuba has one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates, just slightly lower than that of the US. Life expectancy is 77.5 years, one of the world‟s highest. And until not so long ago, there was one doctor for every 170 citizens, the highest patient-per-doctor ratio in the world.
And the benefits of this healthcare have not only been felt by Cubans.
Page 102 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Under Fidel Castro, the former Cuban president, hundreds of child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, left without proper medical attention after the collapse of the Soviet Union, were invited to Cuba. A hospital was constructed to treat them while they and their families set up temporary residence in Tarara, a beautiful seaside neighbourhood near Havana. Many remain there today.
Cuba and its medical teams have played a major role in treating earthquake victims in Haiti too. Public health experts say the Cubans were the first to set up medical facilities among the debris and to revamp hospitals immediately after the earthquake struck. However, their pivotal work in the health sector has received scant media coverage.
Despite these clear examples of international solidarity, Cuba still suffers under the oppressive trade embargo imposed by the USA, set up in 1960, and now in its 54th year.
UNISON has campaigned in support of Cuba‟s right to self-determination over a number of years and this must continue as an important plank of our international work.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to encourage regions and branches to:
1) Affiliate to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign;
2) Promote the benefit of solidarity visits to Cuba in support of branches international commitments;
3) Explore the option of twinning arrangements between regions and branches and Cuban trade unions.
Newcastle City 84. Colombia Conference condemns the persecution of Colombian unionists and political activists. 15% more trade unionists were killed in 2013 than in 2012. Congress deplores that 26 members of union backed Patriotic March, Colombia‟s largest opposition movement, were killed in 2013 and many imprisoned, including two of its leaders. National Organiser Huber Ballesteros, who is also an elected Colombian TUC leader, was detained in August 2013, followed by the January 2014 arrest of Francisco Toloza, Patriotic March International Officer. Conference condemns the smear tactics used by government representatives.
UNISON congratulates the Colombian movement on the mass strikes in July and August 2013, and condemns the brutal state response, killing 16 activists and detaining hundreds. Health workers participated in the strikes.
Conference supports the courageous work of the Patriotic March to promote peace and social justice in Colombia. We support the peace process taking place between the Colombian Government and the FARC and supports civil society‟s demands for inclusion, a bilateral ceasefire and security guarantees.
Page 103 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference congratulates the excellent work of Justice for Colombia (JFC) in its campaigning on union and human rights and for its groundbreaking Peace Campaign. Congress congratulates the role played by JFC in the decision of 60 MPs to vote against the Free Trade Agreement.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to lobby at party political, parliamentary and government levels;
2) Continue to support JFC politically and economically, particularly its Peace Campaign and Political Prisoner Campaign;
3) Write to all regions and branches encouraging them to affiliate to JFC.
Mater Hospital Trust 84.1 Add new last paragraph:
"Conference also reaffirms its continued support to the work of organisations such as War on Want and the Colombian Solidarity Campaign in speaking out against human rights abuses in the country, and campaigning to raise awareness of trade union and social movement leaders who received regular death threats."
Add additional points:
"4) Encourage regions and branches to link with organisations such as the Colombian Solidarity Campaign and War on Want in order to continue to help develop relationships with trade union organisations in Colombia;
5) Develop these links with a view to providing practical support and solidarity through delegations; and
6) Continue to work with War on Want to support campaigns."
Newcastle City 85. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the European Union Conference notes that the European Union (EU) and the United States have started negotiations on a new trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which could serve as a model for all future trade agreements.
Conference further notes that the TTIP will not just remove trade tariffs but will also: harmonise regulatory standards; open markets in the service sector which could include public services such as health, social services and higher education; open up public procurement markets; and introduce the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism allowing multinational investors to challenge state actions which they perceive as threatening their investments.
Conference believes that the harmonisation of regulatory standards puts at risk existing European regulations in the fields of public health, social and employment
Page 104 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA rights, health and safety and the environment. Conference also believes, based on the experience of other trade agreements, that multinationals will use the Investor- State Dispute Settlement mechanism to further erode the ability of national governments to act in the public interest.
Conference also believes that the inclusion of public services in the agreement could have a major impact on the National Health Service following the large-scale privatisation ushered in by the Health and Social Act in England. Private healthcare multinationals could use the ISDS mechanism to try to prevent governments bringing the health service back into public control in the future.
Conference further believes that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is not necessary and will only serve the interests of multinational enterprises and those who seek to push back regulation and liberalise public services. Conference therefore agrees to campaign for the rejection of the TTIP. Conference calls, in particular, for public services to be excluded from the agreement and for the removal of the Investor State Dispute Mechanism.
With the UK governments ongoing attempts to „open up‟ public services Conference believes that markets rather than citizens are wrongly being placed at the heart of our public services. Conference asserts that this market centred approach to public services is being further encouraged by the new EU Public Procurement Directive and its weakening of public service procurement rules and encouragement of mutualisation. Conference notes that the UK has a long and noble tradition of mutual organisations and co-operatives, many of whom are against the government attempts to promote weak mutual models in public services.
Conference, therefore, calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with the TUC, EPSU and PSI to campaign against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership;
2) Use the campaign against TTIP to strengthen our links with sister unions in the United States and get them more involved in PSI;
3) Raise our TTIP concerns with all political parties and in particular, through Labour Link, with Labour MPs and MEPs;
4) Continue to promote the benefits of in – house delivery and against any attempts by public bodies to avoid public procurement rules whilst outsourcing;
5) Push for greater use of social, environmental, full cost recovery and labour clauses in tendering not cut price contracting;
6) Work with service groups to build branch and regional capacity amongst UNISON members, and local communities, in responding to privatisation, procurement and „mutualisation‟ threats;
7) Raise awareness of TTIP with UNISON members as part of our political education programme.
National Executive Council
Page 105 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 85.1 Insert new seventh paragraph:
"Conference notes with concern the publication of REFIT (Regulatory Fitness and Performance: Results and Next Steps) by the European Commission in October 2013. According to the Commission, the purpose of REFIT is to "detect regulatory burdens and to identify opportunities for simplification". Under REFIT, the Commission has withdrawn health and safety proposals on the protection of workers against work-related cancers and musculoskeletal disorders, and is envisaging a consolidation of the three directives on Information and Consultation, Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings – which could potentially weaken all three. Conference believes that the ETUC is correct in identifying that "the Commission is engaged in a process aimed at the deregulation of Europe, the dismantling of legislation protecting workers‟ rights and the weakening of social dialogue". Conference notes that the ETUC regards this agenda as being partly driven by national governments, including the UK Government."
Insert new point 8):
"8) Campaign against REFIT and seek to build opposition to deregulation amongst our members and the wider public. In addition, work through the Labour Link to gain commitments that a Labour-led Government would not continue the present Coalition Government‟s attacks on existing workplace and environmental protections."
Stockport 85.2 In fourth paragraph, first sentence, delete "could " and replace with “will”.
In fifth paragraph, first sentence, delete "is not necessary" and after a comma delete "and "
Add after "push back regulation and liberalise public services ":
" and permanently remove them from democratic control in order to extract maximum private profit".
In fifth paragraph at end of second sentence add:
"Conference therefore agrees to campaign for the rejection of the TTIP drawing particular attention to the serious danger it poses to public services and their democratic control and the threat posed by the Investor State Dispute Mechanism to the public interest."
Somerset County 86. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Conference notes that the European Union and the United States have started negotiations on a new trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which could serve as a model for all future trade agreements.
Page 106 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference further notes that the TTIP will not just remove trade tariffs but will also: harmonise regulatory standards; open markets in the service sector which will include public services such as health, social services and higher education; open up public procurement markets; and introduce the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism allowing multinational investors to challenge state actions which they perceive as threatening their investments.
Conference believes, based on the experience of other trade agreements, that multinationals will use the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism to further erode the ability of national governments to act in the public interest. Canadian national and provincial governments have spent millions of dollars fighting claims by US firms filed under the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). Australia has vowed never to include ISDS in future trade agreements after its attempts to regulate tobacco packaging was challenged by multinational Phillip Morris under using a trade agreement with Hong Kong.
Conference also believes that the inclusion of public services in the agreement could have a major impact on the National Health Service following the large-scale privatisation ushered in by the Health and Social Act. Private healthcare multinationals could use the ISDS mechanism to prevent governments bringing the health service back into public control in the future as they did in Slovakia.
Conference is further concerned that the European Union‟s high environmental protection standards could also be undermined by the TTIP. Multinational pharmaceutical companies hope to reverse the ban on genetically modified crops for example whilst chemical companies are seeking to weaken the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) directive.
Conference further believes that the TTIP is not necessary and will only serve the interests of multinational enterprises and those who seek to push back regulation and liberalise public services. Conference therefore agrees to campaign for the rejection of the TTIP. Conference calls, in particular, for public services to be excluded from the agreement and for the removal of the Investor State Dispute Mechanism.
Conference instructs, therefore, the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with the TUC, EPSU and PSI to campaign against the TTIP;
2) Use the campaign against TTIP to strengthen our bilateral links with sister unions in the United States;
3) Raise our concerns, through Labour Link, with Labour MPs and MEPs and the Labour Party.
East Midlands Region 86.1 Insert new sixth paragraph:
Page 107 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "Conference notes with concern the publication of REFIT (Regulatory Fitness and Performance: Results and Next Steps) by the European Commission in October 2013. According to the Commission, the purpose of REFIT is to "detect regulatory burdens and to identify opportunities for simplification". Under REFIT, the Commission has withdrawn health and safety proposals on the protection of workers against work-related cancers and musculoskeletal disorders, and is envisaging a consolidation of the three directives on Information and Consultation, Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings – which could potentially weaken all three. Conference believes that the ETUC is correct in identifying that "the Commission is engaged in a process aimed at the deregulation of Europe, the dismantling of legislation protecting workers‟ rights and the weakening of social dialogue". Conference notes that the ETUC regards this agenda as being partly driven by national governments, including the UK Government."
Insert new point 4):
"4) Campaign against REFIT and seek to build opposition to deregulation amongst our members and the wider public. In addition, work through the Labour Link to gain commitments that a Labour-led Government would not continue the present Coalition Government‟s attacks on existing workplace and environmental protections."
Stockport 86.2 Delete point 3) and replace with:
"3) Raise our concerns with all political parties and in particular through Labour Link, with MPs and MEPs and the Labour Party."
National Executive Council Europe 87. Austerity Europe Conference notes with concern the continued dominance of austerity policies across the European Union.
In response to the financial crisis of 2007/8, European Union policy-makers have promoted cuts to public spending, privatisation of public assets and the weakening of social protections.
These policies have not been limited to those countries which were forced to meet the conditions of bail-outs. A similar direction has been followed in economic policy across the continent such that it is now difficult to identify what was previously sometimes called the European Social Model of Capitalism.
The austerity policies have not worked, as Europe has been slow to emerge from the crisis. At current growth rates, it will take the Eurozone until 2021 to return to 2008 GDP levels.
Page 108 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Moreover, the social cost of austerity is enormous. An Oxfam report in September 2013 compares the impact of austerity in Europe to that of International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment programmes in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s/90s.
A Red Cross report in October 2013 identified greater inequality, massive youth unemployment and growing poverty in Europe, and predicted that the social consequences of austerity will last for decades. Even in Germany, low unemployment has only been achieved at the cost of reducing the quality of jobs and widening inequality.
Such is the social upheaval that many European countries are seeing the emergence and growth of far-right racist political parties – such as in Greece, Hungary and France.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with International and European-level organisations, including PSI and the ETUC, to challenge the neo-liberal orthodoxy and develop alternative economic strategies for national, European and International economic revival;
2) Continue to work with and develop links with trade unions representing public sector workers elsewhere in Europe, including ver.di and the CGT.
Halton Local Government 87.1 At the end of the first paragraph add:
" and that the social gains won since the Second World War are being wiped out across the continent as highlighted in a recent UN Trade and Development report the EU's policy of unconditional austerity is suffocating the return to sustainable economic growth."
In point 1) add "pro big business" between " the" and "neo-liberal orthodoxy" and add " of the EU" and after "revival " add " based on growth and public ownership rather than public austerity and private profit".
After point 2) add '"to defend and extend trade union and human rights and the economic, political and social well-being of working people and their families."
Somerset County Equalities 88. Women and Austerity All across the UK women have seen their standard of living fall since this government came to power. Their jobs and pay cut and the services they rely on severely affected by the Coalition government‟s austerity measures. It is now more
Page 109 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA important than ever that UNISON as an organisation of women workers stands up for their rights and challenges these increasing inequalities.
Women are bearing the brunt of the government‟s austerity programme through reduced pay, privatisation, job losses and cutbacks in the services they run and use. In the public sector twice as many women as men have lost jobs in local government since 2010. Over a million public sector jobs are set to go by 2018, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Women make up nearly two-thirds of the public sector workforce and will therefore be disproportionately hit by job losses.
This government‟s policies have had a disproportionately detrimental impact on women in all aspects of their lives.
Employers are resorting to measures which create a more flexible labour market but diminish job security and reduce terms and conditions – including the increased use of zero hours contracts, cuts to pay, maternity, holiday and sickness provisions - which impact disproportionately on women and store up future problems in terms of pensions benefits and poverty in old age.
Meanwhile, the national minimum wage fails to keep pace with the cost of living, leaving the mainly women recipients struggling with increasing debt and poverty. Raising the minimum wage would stimulate the economy through increased spending and save taxpayers money by cutting benefits, whilst closing the gender pay gap.
And it‟s not just pay and jobs that are affected. Other aspects of Government policy have been detrimental to women:
1) Less maternity pay: from April 2014, statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance will be cut in real terms over the next three years. The "Health in Pregnancy" grant and the baby element of tax credits have also been abolished;
2) Cuts to services supporting victims of domestic violence: Local authority funding to services for domestic and sexual violence was cut by nearly a third in 2012. On a typical day, 230 women are turned away by Women's Aid refuges due to lack of space or funding cuts;
3) Cuts to the NHS and social care – a service in which women work and on which they are more likely to rely and who take the greater responsibility for children‟s health and elder care.
The government‟s economic policy has failed women and it is vital that this message is heard loud and clear by women workers across the country.
Conference calls for the National Executive Council to work with the National Women‟s Committee to: a) Promote the importance of trade union membership to women; b) Highlight the historic role of women in achieving change through trades union activity;
Page 110 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA c) Challenge inequalities and the detrimental impact of government economic policy; d) Highlight the multiple impact on women of strands of government policy through welfare changes, lack of support for childcare and changes to pension entitlement; e) Provide appropriate training and education materials to branches and regions on these issues.
Yorkshire and Humberside Region 88.1 Insert new action points:
"f) Develop a campaign pack that could be used by members in partnership with local services to fight the cuts to specialist violence against women services; g) Circulate UNISON‟s guidance on domestic violence to all branches."
Havering Lambeth 88.2 In second paragraph at the end of the first sentence after " they run and use" add: " and young women, older women and Black women have been especially vulnerable".
In the final paragraph at the beginning of point c) add " publicise and ".
In point d) after " Highlight " add " and challenge".
Delete " multiple " and replace with "cumulative" and after "of" add "national and local" and after " though" add "for example".
At the end of point e) add " and ways of tackling them."
Somerset County Racism 89. Fighting Racism and the Far Right Conference notes with deep concern the rising tide of racism in Britain and across Europe. Far right parties such the fascist Front National in France and the Freedom Party in Holland have built significant electoral support through blaming migrants and ethnic minorities for the economic crisis and the austerity policies pursued by governments across Europe. Openly Nazi-inspired movements such as Golden Dawn in Greece and Jobbick in Hungary have won votes and built paramilitary street movements that have launched murderous attacks on ethnic minorities, migrants and political opponents.
Page 111 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference believes that mainstream political parties have helped to create the environment in which the far right can grow by attacking working class living standards and social provision and, in particular, by seeking to scapegoat ethnic minorities and migrants. Under pressure from UKIP, the Tories are pushing through yet more legislation directed against migrants. Home Secretary Teresa May has ordered vans with racist billboards telling migrants to "go home" to tour the streets of Britain. Ken Clarke has attacked women who chose to wear the burqa and David Blunkett has made an outrageous attack on the Roma population of Sheffield reminiscent of Enoch Powell's notorious rivers of blood speech. This follows the seizure of Roma children from their parents by the Gardai in Ireland on grounds of their blond hair.
Conference further notes that in France the government of Francois Hollande has pandered to Front National voters by attacking migrants and Muslims. However there were mass walkouts by school students late last year in protest at the deportation of their school friends. The murder of an anti fascist activist has also led to major protests. In Greece Golden Dawn has overreached itself by murdering a black anti- racist campaigner and beating up trade unionists. Following huge protests and a general strike against fascism, the Government was forced to arrest the Golden Dawn leadership.
Conference also notes that in Britain the far right has suffered major set backs. The BNP has lost most of its council seats and the English Defence League's leader Tommy Robinson has left the organisation, throwing it into disarray. Regional Council congratulates Unite Against Fascism for its role in building locally based counter protests against the EDL wherever it has tried to mobilise and believes that this work will need to continue. BNP leader Nick Griffin still holds a seat in the European Parliament. Conference believes that supporting the campaign to remove this Nazi at the European elections in June should be a priority for UNISON.
Conference welcomes the call for a European wide day of action against racism on 22nd March by the Movement Against the Racist and Fascist Threat (KEERFA), the leading Greek anti racist organisation.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with Unite Against Fascism, Hope Not Hate and appropriate local campaigns to oppose the far right in the European elections in June;
2) Send a message of protest to the Greek government over its prosecution of KEERFA leader Petros Constantinou for speaking out against the murder of two Albanian migrants by the police.
Housing Associations 89.1 In the fourth paragraph, third sentence replace “Regional Council” with “Conference”.
In fourth paragraph, final sentence, replace “June” with “May”.
In point 1) replace “June” with “May”.
Page 112 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Add new point 3):
“3) Send a message of solidarity and initiate contact with a broad base of trade unions and migrant worker groups fighting racism and fascism in Greece.”
National Executive Council 90. Fighting Racism and the Far Right National Delegate Conference notes with deep concern the rising tide of racism in Britain and across Europe. Far right parties such the fascist Front National in France and the Freedom Party in Holland have built significant electoral support through blaming migrants and ethnic minorities for the economic crisis and the austerity policies pursued by governments across Europe. Openly Nazi-inspired movements such as Golden Dawn in Greece and Jobbik in Hungary have won votes and built paramilitary street movements that have launched murderous attacks on ethnic minorities, migrants and political opponents.
Conference believes that mainstream political parties have helped to create the environment in which the far right can grow by attacking working class living standards and social provision and, in particular, by seeking to scapegoat ethnic minorities and migrants. Under pressure from UKIP, the Tories are pushing through yet more legislation directed against migrants. Home Secretary Teresa May has ordered vans with racist billboards telling migrants to "go home" to tour the streets of Britain. Ken Clarke has attacked women who chose to wear the burqa and David Blunkett has made an outrageous attack on the Roma population of Sheffield reminiscent of Enoch Powell's notorious rivers of blood speech. This follows the seizure of Roma children from their parents by the Gardai in Ireland on grounds of their blond hair.
Conference further notes that in France the government of Francois Hollande has pandered to Front National voters by attacking migrants and Muslims. However there were mass walkouts by school students late last year in protest at the deportation of their school friends. The murder of an anti fascist activist has also led to major protests. In Greece Golden Dawn has overreached itself by murdering a black anti- racist campaigner and beating up trade unionists. Following huge protests and a general strike against fascism, the Government was forced to arrest the Golden Dawn leadership.
Conference also notes that in Britain the far right has suffered major set backs. The BNP has lost most of its council seats and the English Defence League's leader Tommy Robinson has left the organisation, throwing it into disarray. Conference congratulates Unite Against Fascism for its role in building locally based counter protests against the EDL wherever it has tried to mobilise and believes that this work will need to continue.
Conference welcomes the demonstrations held across Europe on the European wide day of action against racism on 22nd March and the support that the day received from the trade union movement in Britain, including UNISON. Conference believes that this type of initiative should be repeated.
Page 113 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference resolves to continue to work with Unite Against Fascism, Hope Not Hate and appropriate local campaigns to oppose the far right.
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 90.1 Insert new fifth paragraph:
“Conference also congratulates UNISON activists and regions who, working closely with Hope Not Hate and other local anti-racist and anti-fascist groups, have driven back the far-right wherever they have stood for election. They have shown that the far-right can be marginalised in the most difficult economic conditions and in the areas most affected by austerity and unemployment.”
National Executive Council 91. Resisting the Far Right Conference welcomes the success of anti-fascist campaigners in Britain. In recent years we have marginalised far right organisations such as the British National Party (BNP), reversing most of their electoral gains. We have also successfully halted the growth of the English Defence League. We have inflicted major defeats on the English Defence League (EDL), for example in Tower Hamlets for the third time in September 2013, by mobilising broadly supported counter mobilisations to frustrate their attempts to bring fear and division to our communities by targeting Muslims, leading to internal splits and dissension within the EDL.
Conference notes with deep concern however the continuing growth of the far right across Europe. Far right parties such the fascist Front National in France and the Freedom Party in Holland have built significant electoral support through blaming migrants and ethnic minorities for the economic crisis and the austerity policies pursued by governments across Europe. Openly Nazi-inspired movements such as Golden Dawn in Greece and Jobbick in Hungary have won votes and built paramilitary street movements that have launched murderous attacks on ethnic minorities, migrants and political opponents.
Conference believes that mainstream political parties have helped to create the environment in which the far right and racism can grow by attacking working class living standards and social provision and, in particular, by seeking to scapegoat ethnic minorities and migrants. Under pressure from UKIP, the Tories are pushing through yet more legislation directed against migrants such as the introduction of charges for using the NHS, attempting to blame them for the crisis in the health service. Home Secretary Teresa May has ordered vans with racist billboards telling migrants to "go home" to tour the streets of Britain. Ken Clarke has attacked women who chose to wear the burqa or niqab and David Blunkett has made an outrageous attack on the Roma population of Sheffield reminiscent of Enoch Powell's notorious rivers of blood speech. This follows the seizure of Roma children from their parents by the Gardaí in Ireland on grounds of their blond hair.
Page 114 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference welcomes the support given by UNISON and other Trade Unions to the European wide day of action against racism and fascism on 22nd March.
Conference resolves to call on the National Executive Council to:
1) Continue to work with Unite Against Fascism, Hope Not Hate and appropriate local campaigns to oppose the far right wherever they try to organise;
2) Ensure that UNISON integrates arguments against the scapegoating of migrants and ethnic minorities at the heart of all our campaigns against austerity measures.
Tower Hamlets Civil Rights 92. Defend the Right to Protest Conference notes that:
1) Protest has played a significant role in bringing about social and political change, from votes for women to the establishment of the welfare state and trade union rights;
2) There have been increased attacks on our right to protest by governments seeking to undermine effective protest at a time of unprecedented cuts and austerity measures, including the routine use of kettling, indiscriminate batoning by police, excessive charging of protesters and sentencing in courts;
3) At the G20 in 2009 protest these tactics resulted in the death of Ian Tomlinson. During the student protests of 2010 Alfie Meadows was almost killed with a blow to the head by a police baton. More recently Trenton Oldfield was sentenced to six months imprisonment for disrupting the boat race, and then threatened with deportation. Many recent protests against fracking have been very heavily policed, with intimidatory tactics used;
4) The recent revelations about the treatment of striking miners at Orgreave during the 1984-1985 strike show how these tactics could be used against the trade union movement. There have already been threats to further tighten up anti-trade union laws following public sector strikes, attacks on union facility time and victimisation of trade union activists;
5) The Metropolitan Police are now asking to be allowed to use water cannon against crowds in London, despite the widespread evidence of serious injuries caused by the use of such weapons;
6) The Lobbying Bill is part and parcel of this general policy of restriction of dissent, in seeking to limit the crucial work done by many community, vountary and no- for-profit organisations and Trade Unions in lobbying and campaigning to defend civil liberties and living standards.
Conference believes that:
Page 115 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA a) There is no place for crowd control and intimidation tactics by the police that threaten the right to protest or measures which restrict our right to strike; b) Campaigns to publicise the injustice of the arrests, sentencing and police tactics, must be developed to support those protestors facing serious charges, and to defend our right to protest; c) Supporting others already campaigning for justice against police violence and racism will strengthen this initiative; d) Defend the Right to Protest (DtRtP), a broad-based campaign originally set up to defend those arrested in the student protests of 2010, has played an important role in bringing together campaigners to defend basic rights, and in particular has been successful in highlighting these issues for trades unionists. UCU, PCS and the NUT are among those national unions supporting DtRtP.
Conferences resolves: i) To publicise and support meetings, protests, petitions and other forms of solidarity organised to show support for victimised protesters; ii) To affiliate to DtRtP at a cost of £500 and to publicise its work among branches, regions and self-organised groups; iii) To request that Labour Link highlights the regressive and anti-democratic aspects of the Lobbying Bill to try and ensure that removing those aspects becomes a priority for any future Labour government.
Community and Voluntary Organisations Constitutional Reform 93. Scotland's Future Conference notes the Scottish Government has published its White Paper on Independence, their proposal to promote a „Yes‟ vote in the Referendum to take place on 18 September 2014.
The document covers matters arising from Scotland becoming an independent country like currency and international relations, in addition, it sets out a policy prospectus if the SNP Government are the first government of an independent Scotland.
At this stage, the Unionist/Enhanced Devolution campaigns of the cross-party Better Together and United with Labour, have produced no specific proposals other than the status quo.
UNISON rules devolve to regions policy making responsibility in relation to devolved administrations, while maintaining the integrity and unity of the trade union in accordance with the Protocol issued under Rule D.2.9.5.
UNISON would wish to compare and contrast the positions of the various campaigns and parties with regard to a range of issues affecting our members, at work and in
Page 116 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA the community. In common with the STUC and the large majority of the trade union movement in Scotland, our approach has been determined less by what power and where it lies, and more in whose interest and for what purpose power is exercised.
UNISON‟s approach to constitutional questions is driven by the interests of our members, by the sort of Scotland we want and deserve to live in. This means that for us, precise constitutional arrangements are the end point and not the starting point of the debate. We must first define the sort of Scotland we wish to see and then examine the likelihood of differing constitutional arrangements on offer to deliver on that vision. In that regard we welcome the UNISON Scotland publications, A Fairer Scotland and A Fairer Scotland and Devolution, as valuable contributions to the debate.
UNISON has been a long standing supporter of the campaign for devolution, for the establishment of a Scottish Parliament and for the "Yes-Yes” referendum campaign which followed the 1997 General Election. However, this debate is quite different. In the late 1990s there was a very powerful and broadly supported argument in favour of devolution from the UK Government's "Scottish Office” to a democratic government elected by the people of Scotland.
In the debate which surrounds the 2014 referendum, the Scottish People and Scottish public service workers will be asking questions on which option will be best for working people and their families in Scotland. The answers to these questions are likely to be less clearly defined and subject to significant differences of view across the spectrum of opinion in the country and the UNISON membership.
It may be difficult to come to a clear view as to the effects of the referendum options on the Scottish economy, Scotland's public services and on Scotland as a whole. As such, UNISON Scotland will continue to press the various parties and organisations in the debate on the issues of importance to our members at work, to the services they provide and the communities they live in, encouraging the fullest engagement of our members in the debates, while respecting the diversity of views of the members which they will register in the Referendum.
Regardless of the outcome of the referendum UNISON members in Scotland will continue to have common interests with UNISON members throughout the UK. UNISON will continue to seek to build the strongest possible union for the benefits of all UNISON members in these four nations.
Scotland Region 94. Scottish Independence Referendum Conference notes UNISON Scotland‟s position in relation to the independence referendum where we have challenged both the Yes and No camps to demonstrate how their constitutional proposals will help to create the fairer Scotland that UNISON members want.
Conference notes that both camps have often failed to respond to this challenge.
Page 117 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference urges UNISON members in Scotland to engage in the debate and to press for commitments from all parties along the lines of UNISON‟s Fairer Scotland proposals.
Conference is committed, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, to continue to work with members in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England to build a stronger UNISON based on the solidarity of working people throughout these islands and beyond.
South Lanarkshire 95. Scottish Referendum Conference notes that Scotland will be undertaking a referendum this coming September on whether or not to secede from the United Kingdom.
A majority “yes” vote would have wide ranging impacts on the future of the peoples of the remaining devolved nations in the United Kingdom. Secession could result in significant damage to their economies, trade and balance of payments, their standing in the EU and world affairs.
Conference believes any decision on the future of the United Kingdom should rest with its people as a whole, not just those of Scotland.
Conference therefore resolves to campaign for a United Kingdom-wide referendum on this matter.
Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 96. Voter Registration and Political Education Conference notes a General Election must take place before 6 May 2015.
Conference welcomes the British Youth Council‟s decision to prioritise "Votes@16" as its main campaign this year, and that 16 and 17 year olds have been enfranchised for the Scottish independence referendum (18 September 2014).
Conference reaffirms its policy that the franchise in all national and local elections should be extended to 16 and 17 year olds. Conference notes the case is now so well established, that of the mainstream political parties only the Conservatives are actively opposed to it.
Conference is concerned that too many young people are not registered to vote, especially young black people, and welcomes the work of Operation Black Vote to encourage black voter registration.
Conference also believes that appropriate political education should be used as part of our work to encourage registration and voting.
Conference agrees to:
1) Encourage support for the Votes@16 campaign;
Page 118 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Call for all mainstream political parties to include in their manifestos an explicit commitment to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds;
3) Promote a young voter registration drive, and consider joint work with Operation Black Vote to encourage young Black people to register and vote;
4) Seek and/or develop appropriate political education to support this work.
National Young Members' Forum 97. State Funding of Political Parties Conference affirms the importance of a political voice for trade unionists, because our members have interests as citizens beyond those which we can protect and advance through workplace organisation, and because legislation can constrain, or assist our ability to organise.
Conference believes that it is legitimate and appropriate for trade unions, on behalf of our members, to engage in political campaigns.
Furthermore, we believe that trade unionists should have the right to relate to a political party in such ways (including collective affiliation) as we ourselves determine.
Conference notes with alarm that politicians of all parties are increasingly promoting the idea of greater state funding of political parties.
Conference believes that "who pays the piper calls the tune" and that greater reliance on state funding would institutionalise the clustering of mainstream parties around a "centre ground" which, at present, accepts the austerity agenda.
Furthermore, by removing from politicians the pressure to secure membership subscriptions, affiliation fees and voluntary donations, greater state funding would further insulate an out-of-touch "political class" of career politicians from civil society in general and the working class in particular.
Conference believes that declining voter participation, the shrinking membership of political parties, and the alienation of millions from the political process reflects the lack of a clear political choice as career politicians compete for the "centre ground". State funding represents an accommodation to these trends rather than an attempt to engage the wider population.
Conference further believes that the interests of trade unionists lie in the eventual transformation of the existing social and economic order away from a focus on private profit toward a society organised around meeting human need. We do not believe that any political party primarily funded by the state would ever be likely to lead such a transformation.
Conference therefore resolves to instruct the National Executive Council to campaign against any increase in state funding of political parties, including by raising this issue within the TUC, and explaining this policy to our membership.
Page 119 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference also calls upon UNISON Labour Link to raise these arguments within the Labour Party.
Lambeth Northern Ireland 98. Northern Ireland Peace Process Conference is alarmed at the growing levels of sectarianism and division and continued and escalating violence and intimidation which is destabilising the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Conference applauds the public stance taken by the Irish trade union movement currently led in Northern Ireland by UNISON. On the 31st January trade unionists led a public protest at the failure of the Northern Ireland Government and political parties to agree a way forward on the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement, with particular emphasis on equality and human rights, a Bill of Rights, and a process for dealing with the past.
While not a panacea for all the post conflict problems facing the People, the long overdue Bill of Rights will have a powerful and positive effect. This element of the Peace Agreement is the responsibility of the UK Government to enact at Westminster. It has consistently refused to do so, despite the fact that the only agreed recommendation of its own Commission was that there should be a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
Conference commits to using UNISON‟s influence to press for this unfinished business to become once again a political priority, including seeking its inclusion in the Labour Party manifesto and policy programme.
Northern Ireland Region 98.1 Add new second paragraph:
"The roll-back on equality and human rights continues apace. Current decisions on resource allocation are not being taken on the basis of objective need, but are actively reinforcing historic patterns of discrimination for the most disadvantaged people in society. The lack of political will to use Equality Impact Assessments is one example where the Northern Ireland government and public bodies are failing to use the statutory tools at their disposal to promote equality and tackle discrimination. This failure is mirrored throughout Great Britain where cuts in jobs and services are also escalating without adherence to proper equality processes and relevant statutory duties."
Scotland Region Social Policy 99. Campaigning for a Fair and Just Social Security System The Coalition government‟s unprecedented cuts from welfare budgets will continue to have a devastating impact on low income households across the UK. This
Page 120 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA includes cumulative cuts totalling £22 billion a year by 2014-15, with additional cuts of £25 billion already announced to come after the 2015 General Election and the placing of a cap on overall welfare spending in 2015.
Conference notes:
1) This government is determined to create a divided society in which Victorian themes of the deserving and undeserving poor are being used to justify cuts. Very little of the total benefits budget is spent on out of work benefits. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is leading to increasing poverty amongst low paid working families, children in poverty, disabled persons, young people, the homeless and people in debt;
2) The governments‟ incompetence in introducing Universal Credit, with little evidence that it helps people into work or makes it easier for claimants to navigate their way through a claim;
3) The increasing court challenges being won on the grounds of equality and human rights breaches and „illegality‟ of some welfare reforms: The Independent Living Fund illegally abolished; Work Capability Assessments for people with mental health illegally conducted and challenges to the Bedroom Tax forcing more and more concessions from the government so that young armed forces personnel, foster carers and severely disabled siblings can be exempt from the „under occupancy penalty‟;
4) The introduction of new rules to stop new migrant jobseekers from the European Economic Area (EEA) claiming housing benefit and place restrictions on Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) will increase social prejudice, stigmatisation of migrants and vulnerable minorities and the poor;
5) The bedroom tax has disproportionately affected 400,000 disabled people 60% of the total affected and including 60,000 carers both of which are likely to become worse off due to further cuts and rationing of social care
6) Housing Benefit cuts and changes - the bedroom tax, benefits cap and cuts to housing benefit for under 25s - are leading to vulnerable people being put at risk through the need to share accommodation, increasing the number of households in rent arrears – an estimated 80,000 in social housing alone due to welfare cuts. There is now increased pressure on both private and social landlords to more readily use eviction as a way of managing arrears, particularly where the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) has run out
7) The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) run by ATOS is unfit for purpose with a recent 50% rise in appeals. The unnecessary distress and insecurity placed on disabled people needs to be stopped with the removal of ATOS and replacing the current WCA with a supportive system based on a social model of disability;
8) The impact of welfare on members‟ jobs in local authorities and the voluntary and community sector is now becoming evident. In a survey last year over 3,000 voluntary and community UNISON members said that welfare reform had negatively impacted on their work load whilst a report by Newcastle City Council
Page 121 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA revealed the damming hidden costs of the impact of welfare reform with 7 out of 10 local charities and community organisations losing funding. This has led to a reduction in advice services to help with complex forms and regulations with the result that many people are not receiving the social security they are entitled to.
Many UNISON members will have experienced the effects of these and other changes, including: a) The impact of cuts to welfare will fall heavily on many working families – for example, 60% of the real term cuts made by the impact of the Welfare Uprating Act have fallen on working families, leaving households £165 a year worse off - rising to £215 per year for those households with no one in work; b) The poorest families in society and those most vulnerable to food and fuel price rises will suffer even further as witnessed by the rising number of people turning to local food banks. The Trussell Trust has seen a 76% increase in the number of food banks launched since April 2012 and a 170% increase in numbers of people given emergency food; c) There are 3.5 million children living in poverty and 1.3 million families in poverty in the UK today. That‟s 27% of children, or more than one in four. Under current government policies 4.7 million are projected to be living in poverty by 2020. Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) families have been disproportionally hit by these cuts; d) Work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Two-thirds (66%) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works.
Conference believes that in the UK in the 21st century we collectively have the means to ensure that everyone lives in a decent home, has the opportunity to work and earn enough to live on, and where people unable to work are able to live with dignity.
Conference recognises that the fairest and most effective way for any Government to reduce spending on benefits is to ensure that there is a decent job available for all who have the capacity to take one up.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to: i) Campaign in alliance with other unions, disability, older people, children and families organisations to build an alternative vision of social security provision for the 21st century providing genuine support and solutions; ii) Include in any welfare cuts campaigns the need for jobs and growth, affordable housing, decent wages to end in-work poverty, provision of affordable universal childcare, child poverty relief measures, the review and reform of disability benefits and work capability assessments and an equality and human rights based welfare system; iii) Continue to campaign against welfare cuts and detrimental welfare reform changes and for the immediate abolition of the Bedroom Tax;
Page 122 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA iv) Work with UNISON regions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about the ability of devolved governments to mitigate welfare cuts from Westminster; v) Work with political funds, SOGs, regions and branches on political education on the reality of welfare cuts and the alternatives; vi) Continue to promote the UNISON welfare support services, including our credit union partnership work, and UNISONs welfare charity “There for You”; vii) Provide branch guidance, working with service groups, on the impact of welfare cuts and changes on public service jobs; viii)To lobby governments to resource local authorities, the NHS and the community and voluntary sector appropriately so that they can increase not cut staff in areas where they are experiencing increased demand due to welfare cuts and promote an integrated and 'people based' local delivery service for social security.
National Executive Council 99.1 Add new point 9):
"9) The Coalition‟s 2014 Budget introduced a cap on welfare spending (annually managed expenditure) in 2015/16 of £119.5bn which will tie a future government‟s hands on eliminating poverty. It is regrettable that this measure was supported by most Labour MPs in the House of Commons vote on 26 March 2014."
Add new point ix) at end:
“ix) Vigorously oppose the cap on welfare spending, in particular work with Labour Link to influence the Labour Party to withdraw its support for the cap."
Stockport 99.2 Add point 9):
"9) The success of local campaigns against benefit cuts, leading most notably to the effective abolition of the bedroom tax in Scotland, and of Anti Bedroom Tax and Benefit Cuts Federation in coordinating opposition to attacks on benefits".
Add point ix):
"ix) Work with the Anti Bedroom Tax and Benefit Cuts Federation to encourage united campaigns at local and national levels bringing together trade unions, tenants, disability campaigners, and other community organisations to campaign for Benefits Justice."
Tower Hamlets 99.3 After the paragraph ending “dignity” insert new paragraph:
Page 123 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "Conference condemns the efforts of the Tories and their supporters in the media to scapegoat claimants as part of their attempt to divide the opposition their attacks on the Welfare State."
Insert new point iv):
"iv) Work with the Anti-Bedroom Tax and Benefits Justice Federation locally and nationally."
Re-number remaining points.
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority 100.Defending Universal Benefits Last year the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Works and Pensioners Secretary Ian Duncan–Smith joined the debate to argue that pensioners' benefits should be means-tested.
The Business Secretary Vince Cable also suggested that Universal Benefits should become taxable income. This is evidence enough to show that the Coalition government is preparing to change the entitlement to pensioners' benefits.
The Labour Leader Ed Milliband has also said that he will review pensioner benefits if he wins the next General Election.
Universal benefits such as winter fuel allowance, TV licence and the bus pass enable pensioners to stay independent and active and for many lift them above the poverty line. Studies have shown that the cost of the bus pass is more than recouped by the unpaid contributions to the economy made by pensioners.
Buses, for many pensioners are the only means available for them to travel away from their homes. Without the bus pass, bus travel would be unaffordable for many of our pensioners. This would leave many pensioners isolated, particularly in rural communities. It also gives them an opportunity to visit friends and family and help out in their communities through volunteering and unpaid caring.
Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with other unions, the National Pensioners‟ Convention and other relevant bodies to lobby MPs of all parties to seek their pledges to maintain universal benefits for all pensioners;
2) Work to obtain a commitment from the Labour Party to continue to support the universal benefits which they introduced;
3) Encourage members to write to their MPs voicing their concerns at the threat to universal benefits;
4) Launch a public campaign with an on line and/or paper based petition using whatever media campaign groups are available in order to keep universal benefits for all pensioners.
Page 124 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA National Retired Members' Committee 101.A Call to Abandon Workfare Schemes Conference notes:
That there are currently several schemes which place benefit claimants on compulsory unpaid work placements. These include:
1) “Mandatory Work Activity”;
2) “Sector Based Work Academies” and “Community Action Programme”;
3) As part of what is mandated by the private companies who run the “Work Programme”;
4) The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) “Work Experience”, which is enforced with the threat of MWA if people do not participate.
Each of these schemes mandates a jobseeker to work without pay on threat of loss of benefits (“sanction”). Since October 2012, the government can stop benefits for up to three years.
The reform is being rolled out at a time when education and training schemes, housing benefit and other public services are being cut. Unpaid work inevitably replaces paid jobs and pushes wages down.
Under workfare, „volunteering‟ loses its voluntary aspect and becomes compulsion, watched over by charities and companies. Placement providers are expected to monitor the attendance of people on workfare, report on their behavior, and provide other information to the DWP that can result in severe penalties for recipients.
Compulsory unpaid work placements are being offered to the voluntary, public and private sectors. If unions and workplaces refuse to participate, this makes the programme much less viable.
Conference believes: a) That everyone is entitled to decent work, training and income. Benefits are also a right, not a privilege and need to be protected; b) That is why we need to act in solidarity with the most vulnerable in society to protect benefits as part of defending society against a wider attack on the welfare state as a whole; c) That many claimants wish to contribute to their communities and learn new skills through freely choosing to do voluntary work. But compulsory placements cause resentment, are against the ideal of volunteering and take advantage of the most vulnerable.
Conference resolves:
Page 125 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA i) To map how widespread the problem of Workfare is in the public sector and report to the National Executive Council, Regions and Branches the findings; ii) To work with and help publicise the campaign with members and to encourage employers to Abandon Workfare; iii) Promote the details of different claimant support groups, amongst union networks and amongst members; iv) To lobby councillors, board members, trustee‟s and MP‟s for an out right ban for the use of the Workfare Programme in public services.
Northumberland County 102.Nationalisation of all Energy Companies Conference notes in the last three years energy companies have increased their profits by 74%. Last year Npower alone announced a profit of £766 million, yet in the further pursuit of profit Npower announced 1,400 staff would be sacked.
Conference further notes:
1) That at the same time a TUC report last year showed that over the last 10 years fuel bills have risen by 152% and that according to the World Health Organisation, between 30% and 50% of excess winter deaths can be attributable to cold indoor temperatures;
2) In the UK, over the last five years, at least 7800 people have died due to living in cold homes with 65 people dying each day during the winter period, which is four times more than the number of people who died on British roads in 2011. This equates to more and more people living in fuel poverty.
Conference believes: a) The answer lies not in reducing 'green taxes' which are intended to encourage expansion of low-carbon power, subsidise home insulation and tackle fuel poverty; b) We should support a price freeze followed by a deep audit of the energy market as called for by the TUC, while maintaining our support for full re-nationalisation.
Conference agrees: i) There is no place for the pursuit of profit in the provision of energy and that the interests of consumers and the planet is best served by the re-nationalisation of all energy companies which would be placed under democratic control. Therefore the National Executive Council is instructed to actively campaign for the re- nationalisation of the energy market.
West Midlands Region 102.1 Add at the end:
Page 126 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "UNISON rejects the idea that re-nationalisation would be too costly. The union recognises the need to address and consider the impact of nationalisation on workers pension funds and small share holders by ensuring compensation on the basis of proven need. However there should be no compensation given to the millionaires, major corporations and hedge funds."
Bromley Hackney Local Government 103.Energy Companies Conference notes in the last 3 years energy companies have increased their profits by 74%. Last year Npower alone announced a profit of £766 million yet paid no corporation tax yet in the further pursuit of profit NPower announced 1,400 staff would be sacked.
Conference further notes that at the same time a TUC report last year showed that over the last 10 years fuel bills have risen by 152% and that according to the World Health Organisation, between 30% and 50% of excess winter deaths can be attributable to cold indoor temperatures. This means on average at least 65 people a day die in the UK in winter as a result of illnesses due to cold homes.
This means on average over the last five years at least 7,800 people have died every year due to living in cold homes – four times more than the number of people who died on British roads in 2011.
At the same time more and more people drop into fuel poverty, Conference believes:
1) The answer lies not in reducing 'green taxes' which are intended to encourage expansion of low-carbon power, subsidise home insulation and tackle fuel poverty;
2) Nor is the answer to freeze prices, which energy companies are already circumventing;
3) There is no place for the pursuit of profit in the provision of energy and that the interests of consumers and the planet are best served by the renationalisation under democratic control of all energy companies.
Kensington and Chelsea 104.Reverse the Changes to Term Time Holiday Ban Conference notes that on September 1st 2013 the Department of Education on the behest of education secretary Michael Gove introduced a total ban on children being able to take holiday leave in term time.
Prior to this, legislation was in place for head teachers to make the decision on whether to allow such absence and this was backed up by the imposition of a financial penalty if such permission was not given, which in turn could lead to imprisonment.
Page 127 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes this policy change has a detrimental effect on some of our members who work within certain industries, police and justice, health and public transport to name but a few. In most cases members in these industries have their holiday is allocated on a rotational basis, and unless they have understanding work colleagues, who are not in a similar situation, and are prepared to swap with them, may find it impossible to take time off outside of the school term. In business terms this policy makes no sense as companies may find it difficult to allocate holidays fairly, and could lead to resentment of staff by others if they are given permission and others are rejected.
Conference also notes members who are on low incomes the majority being women, are also adversely effected by this, as to ensure that they are able to afford such holidays, they may have to book outside of peak periods, due to the premiums added by the holiday companies, in some cases these premiums are three times the cost.
Conference feels the policy is short sighted and does not appreciate the value that children can gain spending time away from home with their family. It also fails to take into account the opportunity gained in immersing themselves in different cultural and historical situations, both here and abroad.
Charities which provide assistance to people, such as our own Bucket and Spade Appeal; to have a break may find in future they will have to reject applications as the cost may become prohibitive.
Conference further notes the penalty its self is also unfair as this will have little effect on those who can afford it, as they will save more by booking outside of term time, but again will penalise those lower down the pay scales.
Logic also dictates that the law of supply and demand will in all likelihood push costs up even further.
Participation in family events is also under attack, such as attendance at - weddings, due to lack of understanding on what constitutes an exceptional circumstance, according to the guidelines issued.
This proves that Michael Gove has yet again come up with another ill-thought out policy amongst many he has introduced in education, free schools and changes to examinations, being just two all based around ideological drive to privatise education. This along with other policies places burdens on our hard pressed members and their families both financially and mentally.
Conference acknowledges the importance education plays, but asks for a return to the decision being made by the person who is likely to know the situation of the child, the head teacher of the school they attend, and the abolition of the penalty, which in its self is likely to be costly to administer.
Conference asks the National Executive Council to:
1) Work with the TUC and other organisations to urge the government to investigate the holiday industry and its pricing policy in this matter;
Page 128 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Urge UNISON members and their families to support the 38 degrees petition regarding this matter.
West Yorkshire Transport 105.Stop 24hr Rotating Shift Workers being Fined for taking their Children on Holiday in Term Time Conference notes that many Local Education Authorities, Academies and Free Schools have a policy of fining parents who withdraw their children from school to go on a family holiday during term time.
Conference also notes that a significant number of the union‟s members work under a 24hr rotating shift system. These people work many long days on 12hr shifts, earlies/lates/nights and then have several fixed days off as their rest period. This system dictates the dates when they have their “rest time” - which means that they can only take their family on holiday between dates that are defined by the systems of the organisation that they work for. The dates when these “rest time” periods fall will vary from year to year as the shift pattern does not align with the calendar year. Sometimes in any given year a “rest period” will align with the summer or Easter school vacation, enabling the member to take their family on holiday without conflict. Often, however, there will be only a partial alignment between “rest time” periods and school vacations, or none at all. Affected members are therefore left with a choice between not having a family holiday or taking their children out of school during term time.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Build a campaign for a better deal for shift workers and their families;
2) Ensure that a key objective of that campaign is to get fairness for those who are currently penalised for withdrawing their children from school to go on a family holiday during term time;
3) Support regional offices to engage in affected localities with local Members of Parliament, local councillors, teaching unions and other concerned parties on this matter;
4) Help ensure that all the local education authorities, and the boards of governors and trustees of academies and free schools are made aware that an inflexible policy of fining parents who withdraw their children from school can have an unfair effect on shift workers and their families;
5) Support lobbying through identified effective channels with the aim of persuading the local education authorities, boards of governors and trustees of academies and free schools to review and amend their policy of fines so that shift workers are not unfairly penalised.
Southern Water
Page 129 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Environment 106.For Union Affiliation to Campaign Against Climate Change Conference notes with concern the increasing evidence that human-induced climate change caused by global warming is already affecting the world‟s weather patterns, which in turn is pushing up the price of food and increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events.
We are especially concerned at statements by climate scientists and organisations like the International Energy Agency that without urgent remedial action by governments the world is on course for a rise in global temperatures of around six degrees centigrade before the end of the century. Such an increase would have a devastating effect on the stability of the planet for future generations.
Conference is further concerned by extreme energy extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” and the extraction of unconventional gas, such as coal bed methane and shale gas.
It believes that tackling climate change, especially through the creation of climate jobs, is of immediate relevance for trade union members and their families.
It therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to:
1) Affiliate to the Campaign against Climate Change and encourage branches to send delegates to meetings of its Trade Union Group;
2) Campaign against climate change and highlight the devastation that climate change causes;
3) Campaign against fracking and the extraction of unconventional gas, such as coal bed methane and shale gas;
4) Give the Union‟s endorsement to the campaign for One Million Climate Jobs.
Kent Local Government Salford City Surrey County 106.1 Delete points 1) and 2) and replace with:
" 1) Campaign against climate change and highlight the devastation that climate change causes and encourage branches to affiliate and campaign locally with all relevant climate change campaigning groups, including the Campaign Against Climate Change;"
Delete point 3) and replace with new point 2):
"2) Campaign to oppose shale gas fracking and the extraction of unconventional gas, such as coal bed methane and shale gas on safety grounds that the precautionary principle should apply and that a viable alternative to decarbonise our energy supply
Page 130 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA without further investment in unabated fossil fuels and shale gas fracking should be first implemented;"
Renumber point 4) as point 3).
Add new points 4) and 5):
"4) Continue to represent members and work jointly and collaboratively with all trade unions through the TUC TUSDAC (Trade Union Sustainable Development Action Committee), on campaign against climate change, Trade Union environment campaigns, green workplace issues, promoting green jobs and growth and representing members issues direct to relevant politicians and UK and devolved government departments;
5) Continue to work with the broad and effective „Climate Coalition‟ campaign group (formerly known as Stop Climate Chaos) and Scotland Stop Climate Chaos and other broad based climate change campaign alliances such as the Energy Bill Revolution and the Campaign Against Climate Change."
National Executive Council 107.UNISON Affiliation to Campaign Against Climate Change, and the One Million Climate Jobs Campaign Conference notes with concern the increasing evidence that man-made climate change caused by global warming is already affecting the world‟s weather patterns, which in turn is pushing up the price of food and increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events.
We are especially concerned at statements by climate scientists and organisations like the International Energy Agency that without urgent remedial action by governments the world is on course for a rise in global temperatures of around six degrees centigrade before the end of the century. Such an increase would have a devastating effect on the stability of the planet for future generations.
Conference therefore believes that tackling climate change, and the creation of climate jobs and employment is of immediate relevance for trade union members and their families.
It therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to:
1) Affiliate to the Campaign against Climate Change and encourage branches to affiliate;
2) Campaign against climate change and highlight the devastation that climate change causes;
3) Support and encourage the election of UNISON delegates to the Campaign against Climate Change trade union group;
4) Support the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group with its One Million Climate Jobs campaign.
Page 131 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Stockport 107.1 Delete points 1) and 2) and replace with:
"1) Campaign against climate change and highlight the devastation that climate change causes and encourage branches to affiliate and campaign locally with all relevant climate change campaigning groups, including the Campaign Against Climate Change;"
Renumber point 3) as point 2).
Renumber 4) as point 3).
Add new points 4) and 5):
"4) Continue to represent members and work jointly and collaboratively with all trade unions through the TUC TUSDAC (Trade Union Sustainable Development Action Committee), on campaign against climate change, trade union environment campaigns, green workplace issues, promoting green jobs and growth and representing members issues direct to relevant politicians and UK and devolved government departments;
5) Continue to work with the broad and effective „Climate Coalition‟ campaign group (formerly known as Stop Climate Chaos) and Scotland Stop Climate Chaos and other broad based climate change campaign alliances such as the Energy Bill Revolution and the Campaign Against Climate Change."
National Executive Council 108.The Impact of Cuts at the Environment Agency The Environment Agency has a single job – to look after the environment and make it a better place to live. The Environment Agency protects homes from impending floods and warns householders, keeps river water clean for recreation and wildlife and influences or prosecutes polluters. It regulates the amount of water taken out of rivers and ensures there is enough for both human consumption and wildlife. It also regulates the waste management and nuclear energy industries. The Environment Agency is also a „category one responder‟ and delivers services around the clock during a wide range of environmental incidents.
Conference is alarmed at the scale of job losses that are scheduled within the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is a relatively small public sector employer, which has already felt the impact of budget cuts and job losses – any moves to extend this further now will only reduce the amount of resources available. The latest round of budget cuts was announced by email to the workforce in October 2013.
These cuts are a disaster not only for our members, but for the communities that they serve and for the wider environment in England. Such cuts represent a false economy; investment in the prevention of environmental harm and flooding is a far
Page 132 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA better use of public money than having to subsequently meet the inflated costs of responding to and dealing with the aftermath of environmental incidents.
Conference calls for:
1) Continued UNISON support for the campaign built around Early Day Motion 947 („Environment Agency Budget‟), calling for a moratorium on any funding cuts and for a full risk analysis of the likely damage that will be caused as result;
2) UNISON to raise awareness of the full range of activities undertaken by Environment Agency employees and recognise the dedication and commitment shown during the winter crisis from December 2013, despite attempts to discredit our members by conservative politicians;
3) UNISON to lobby the current government and opposition to invest more resources in the Environment Agency to take account of the increasing risks present, owing to climate change.
Environment Agency North West 109.Food Wholesomeness and the Role of UNISON Conference notes that the Food Standards Agency is too close to the food industry without being sufficiently robust in protecting independent meat inspection, despite the recent and ongoing horsemeat scandal.
Conference recognises that de-regulation and privatisation is the preferred direction of travel of our government and the European Union (EU). This was clearly shown in the recent intense lobbying by British civil servants in the EU alongside the meat industry to end the physical inspection of pigs post-mortem.
Conference believes that within a decade, there will be very few independent, state employed meat inspectors in employment and this poses a risk to public health and food wholesomeness.
Conference calls upon UNISON to campaign and fight against these changes to the delivery of meat inspection, along with the enhancement of animal welfare and consumer protection by:
1) Supporting an organising and recruitment approach to sustain our workplace density and build on our negotiating strength;
2) Engaging and educating the public on the meat industry and the valuable work of meat inspectors and Official Veterinarians (OV) through our media and communications departments;
3) Campaigning to improve the working lives of migrant workers - many of whom are our members - currently employed by private contractors as OVs on poor terms and conditions and told at a moment‟s notice to work hundreds of miles away from home;
Page 133 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 4) Supporting animal welfare initiatives such as CCTV In all slaughterhouses and engaging with animal welfare organisations in improving the conditions of farm animals sent to slaughter;
5) Enhancing our work in the EU and European Commission (EC) through partnerships with European consumer groups and advocates such as the European Working Community for Food Inspection and Consumer Protection (EWFC);
6) Being more involved in political lobbying and at the negotiating table in the EU and EC.
South and East Meat Hygiene Service TUC 110.Support for Trade Union Councils Conference notes the excellent work carried out by the rank and file trade union councils across the country, in terms of coordination of local industrial disputes, organisation of campaigns against cuts in local authority and cuts in government funding of essential services. This work also includes the organisation of demonstrations and marches and where ever possible the coordination of local trade union branches in the cause of the organised workers.
Conference further notes that the 2013 TUC Congress agreed Motion 75, moved by RMT and seconded by UCU, which had a number of central and essential demands including, demand number 3, which states "that a trade union council delegate attends TUC Congress and moves the Trade Union Council Conference motion as a delegate".
Conference fully supports the motion as written and calls upon the National Executive Council and the General Secretary to support the right of trade union councils to send a delegate to TUC Congress.
Salford City Political Fund 111.Trade Unions and Political Influence Political decisions have an enormous impact on the lives of our members. In seeking to promote and defend the interests of our members it is legitimate that we attempt to influence who is in a position to take such decisions and what decisions they take. It would be a disservice to our members if we were not positively engaged in public debate.
UNISON is amongst the biggest membership organisations in the UK. We are part of civil society and we have a distinctive voice in public debate. We are a large organisation, a democratic organisation, and an organisation with an interest and expertise across a range of public policy issues.
The political system is more open to some interests than to others. There is a need for greater transparency and to clean up politics. Incidents where private interests
Page 134 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA are seen to buy influence – including allegations of MPs accepting money to ask questions in Parliament – have led Prime Minister David Cameron to suggest that lobbying will be the 'next big scandal' to consume Parliament. But the predominance of corporate interests can be more insidious – for example through the close relationships and sometimes porous boundaries between the top levels of government and corporations. The prevalence of corporate interests is the principle distortion of the political system.
It is this dominance of corporate interests that leads to governments of various political complexions pursuing unpopular privatisation policies – that damage services and jobs but provide low-risk profits for the powerful.
Conference notes with concern the failure of all three main parties to address corporate power in political decision-making.
Conference condemns the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill. The Bill does nothing to address the prevalence of corporate interests. Instead, it is charities, campaign groups and especially trade unions which are subject to an increased burden of regulation of normal political activities.
It is not a surprise that the Conservative Party would pursue such a negative change as it is funded primarily by rich individuals with links to corporate interests. Hedge fund founders are amongst the largest individual donors to the Conservatives, and have donated millions of pounds since the last election.
Conference believes that the Labour Party‟s focus on internal constitutional arrangements in 2013/14, culminating in the Special Conference in March 2014, was irrelevant to the main concerns of the wider general public that is reeling under the government‟s austerity policies. It also failed to counter the central problem in the political system – that of the dominance of corporate interests.
Conference recognises the importance of the statutory political fund review ballot taking place in late-2014, and the need to secure a fresh mandate from UNISON members for the union‟s vital political work.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Campaign for a „Yes‟ vote in the political fund review ballot;
2) Oppose any increase in state funding of political parties;
3) Campaign for a future Labour government to repeal anti-union legislation on lobbying introduced by the Con-Dems.
North West Region 111.1 After the ninth paragraph add additional paragraph:
"Furthermore, Conference recognises the importance of engaging members, particularly young members, in political activity. In the Northern Region, the Public
Page 135 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Services Alliance has reached out to new activists and communities to encourage them to participate in campaigning activities in new ways. These spaces are vital in generating meaningful political discussions and demonstrate that there are a variety of ways of exerting political influence."
At the end add additional point 4):
"4) Establish effective systems of political campaigning using social media to engage members in lobbying councillors, MPs and other political decision makers."
Northern Region 111.2 In point 3) insert "all" after "repeal".
Delete "on" after "legislation" and insert "including legislation restricting".
Islington Efficient and Effective Union Branch Funding 112.Continuing the Work of the Branch Resources Review By carrying motion 116 at National Delegate Conference in 2011 delegates agreed to a review of branch funding that was long overdue. Soon after the review started its remit was extended to include all branch resources recognising that money was not the only issue. The review body has gathered and analysed considerable amounts of data, including mapping what resources branches have, how much money they each hold in their reserves, and how the application of the funding formula has enabled them to accumulate reserves. The data gathered has also been used to build a picture of UNISON spending, establishing categories for tracking expenditure on member support, democratic structures, maintaining the union, and donations.
A main plank of the review has been an extensive engagement exercise, involving consultative meetings with branches, services groups, self organised groups, and newsletters, reports, fact sheets, the publication of help and support literature such as the branch finances handbook, and financial training for branch treasurers and other activists.
The work of the review has also produced 3 rule changes (online branch accounting, budgeting and Unity Trust bank) passed at the annual conference in 2013. The ongoing impact of these changes will continue to be monitored by the review body.
Conference notes that the following seven guiding principles will continue to inform any future resourcing scheme for UNISON branches. Any new scheme must;
1) Be flexible and adaptable enough to meet the future challenges facing UNISON;
2) Guarantee the long term stability of the union;
3) Link branch expenditure and resources to the wider objectives of the union;
Page 136 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 4) Be overseen by a lay governance group;
5) Enable all branches to campaign, organise, represent and negotiate on behalf of their members;
6) Give all members equal access to the union‟s services and facilities;
7) Help UNISON manage and minimise financial and operational risks.
Conference acknowledges that more work and consultation with stakeholders is required before UNISON can bring forward a comprehensive range of proposals for the future resourcing of branches.
Whilst the work continues the existing branch funding formula will continue to apply, any branches facing financial difficulties will be entitled to seek temporary extra funds in accordance with the existing arrangements for doing so.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to continue with the review of branch resources and report back to conference in 2015.
National Executive Council 112.1 Add new fifth paragraph:
"The Branch Resources Review has drawn attention to the importance of ensuring the resources of the union are used to the benefit of members and those sections of our organisation that are struggling most. Conference agrees that more work must be done to identify mechanisms whereby resources can be effectively used to support the day to day business of the union."
City Of Glasgow Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 112.2 Add at end:
"Conference calls on the National Executive Council to recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time."
Lambeth 112.3 Add at the end:
", and in so doing to recognise that significant devolution of the union resources to its branches is required.
Page 137 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA In particular Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time under a future branch funding regime."
Bromley
113.Safeguarding the Union's Future: NEC Interim Report on Branch Resource Conference approves the transitional proposals set out in the report: Safeguarding the union‟s future: National Executive Council interim report on branch resources and calls on the National Executive Council to implement their proposed arrangements.
Conference also calls on the National Executive Council to review the operation of regional pool to ensure that all branches are fully aware that the pool exists to support branch development and to make sure that branches find it easy to apply for financial support.
These proposals are part of the ongoing review of branch funding set up following a motion to national delegate conference in 2011 where the National Executive Council continues to engage with all levels of the union to ensure support for their on-going work and proposals.
Conference acknowledges that the National Executive Council has and will continue to actively consult with regions, branches, service groups and self organised groups to address areas of concern as we all work towards ensuring the resourcing of branches is future-proofed.
The review takes place against the backdrop of ever-increasing challenges for our union. Activists are under intense pressure and it is more important than ever that our union makes best use of its resources at every level. Branches need to know that they will have the resources they need to support members and recruit and organise.
While all branches continue to prudently and responsibly manage their finances consultation highlighted the uneven change in branch reserves since 2002. Therefore these proposals aim to ensure that all our branches have adequate reserves to meet the challenges ahead.
The proposals reflect extensive consultation with branches, and have been modelled to ensure that they are affordable and fair.
A sliding scale will be used to redistribute a proportion of the money branches hold in their reserves. These carefully costed proposals should ensure the financial stability of branches in the short term by ensuring each branch holds sufficient reserves to meet its organisational needs.
It is recognised that these transitional proposals represent a departure from our current arrangements so they will need to be closely monitored and evaluated by the national executive council, regions and branches.
Page 138 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA The proposed arrangements are set out below:
Section A
Date of implementation
1.) The earliest date the new arrangements for the redistribution of money held in branch general fund reserves using the sliding scale will be 1 January 2016 subject to the following conditions. a) The National Executive Council will continue to consult with regions, branches, service groups and self organised groups to ensure that branches have sufficient reserves to campaign, organise, represent and negotiate on behalf of all their members. b) Consultation will also include a full review of branch reserves, their level and any floor and ceiling.
Branch funds subject to redistribution.
2) The sliding scale would be applied to the sum of money held by the branch in its general fund cash reserves at 31 December each year (as declared in the branch‟s annual return).
Branch funds excluded from redistribution.
3) The following funds would not be included in the figure used to determine the money held in general branch funds available for redistribution.
a) Previously agreed Fighting Fund reserves;
b) Industrial action /hardship fund reserves;
c) Premises fund reserves;
d) Redundancy fund reserves;
e) Branch money held in fixed assets such as land, building, fixtures, fittings and computer equipment.
Section B
Principles governing the redistribution of branch general fund cash reserves.
4) A floor and ceiling would be introduced setting the minimum (floor) and maximum (ceiling) amounts a branch can hold in its branch general fund cash reserves.
5) A branch would not receive or contribute any more than £25,000 in any one year under these proposals.
Page 139 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 6) A branch will only receive a top up from the sliding scale if their expenditure in any year after 2013 has been approved through the joint branch assessment process.
7) A branch setting a deficit budget in any year after 2013 must have this approved through the joint branch assessment process.
8) If the application of the sliding scale generates any surplus money this would be redistributed in the normal way through the regional pool.
The sliding scale criteria
9) The floor and ceiling calculation would take the amount of money in a branch‟s general fund cash reserves (as declared in their annual return) and divide this by their membership. The figure will be rounded to the nearest pound.
10) For branches with more than 500 members a floor of £15 per member and a ceiling of £130 per member will be applied to general fund cash reserves.
11) For branches with fewer than 501 members a floor of £7,500 (£15 x 500 members) and a ceiling of £10,500 (£21 x 500 members) would be applied to general fund cash reserves. If those branches are holding reserves amounting to more than £21 per member in their general fund cash reserves the sliding scale will apply.
12) If a branch sets a deficit budget and their reserves are greater than the floor of £15 per member, they would be expected to use their reserves.
13) At the end of each financial year, in accordance with proposal 5 above, a branch would not receive or contribute any more than £25,000 from its general fund cash reserves.
How the sliding scale would operate
14) Branches with more than 500 members a) Branch reserves that are at or below the floor of £15 per member would receive a top up from the regional pool to bring their general fund reserves up to £15; b) Branch reserves above £15 or at or below £21 per member would not receive a top up or make a contribution; c) Branch reserves above £21 or at or below £50 per member would contribute 5% of their reserves to the regional pool; d) Branch reserves above £ 50 or at or below £75 per member would contribute 10% of their reserves to the regional pool;
Page 140 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA e) Branch reserves above £75 or at or below £130 per member would contribute 15% of their reserves to the regional pool; f) Branch reserves above £130 per member would contribute 100% of all reserves above £130 per member to the regional pool.
15) Branches with fewer than 501 members. a) Branch reserves that are at or below the floor of £7500 would receive a top up from the regional pool to bring their reserves up to £7,500; b) Branch reserves above £7,500 or at or below £10,500 would not receive a top up or make a contribution; c) Branch reserves above £21 or at or below £50 per member would contribute 5% of their reserves to the regional pool; d) Branch reserves above £ 50 or at or below £75 per member would contribute 10% of their reserves to the regional pool; e) Branch reserves above £75 or at or below £130 per member would contribute 15% of their reserves to the regional pool; f) Branch reserves above £130 per member would contribute 100% of all reserves above £130 per member to the regional pool.
National Executive Council 113.1 In Section A, Date of implementation add two additional points:
“c) Satisfactory mechanisms are in place in regions to enable the new arrangements to be implemented effectively; d) Guidelines governing the application of the Regional Pool are reviewed and updated appropriately.”
City Of Glasgow 113.2 Add new fifth paragraph:
"Conference calls on the National Executive Council to recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time."
Lambeth 114.Branch Resources Our union faces ever increasing pressures because of the actions of the current Government. Their austerity agenda, with its drive to cut public spending and
Page 141 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA privatise public services places huge challenges on our organisation as we engage in national and regional campaigns and respond to local attacks on jobs, terms and conditions, and fragmentation of services.
The demands on our resources increase daily as the austerity agenda attacks the very heart of our organisation – fewer public service workers to recruit, potential reductions in subscription income, reductions in facility time and threats to withdraw DOCAS. The need to use our precious resources wisely has never been so great.
Conference applauds the successful recruitment campaigns of 2013 and UNISONs determination to maintain our strength and income through growth in new members: this drive must continue.
Conference congratulates the union on ensuring that our number one priority continues to be supporting our members – protecting jobs, terms and conditions and the public services they deliver to the very best of our ability. This has been and must continue to be our number one priority.
All of our members are equal in value but historically some have had more equal access to support, advice and information than others. All UNISON branches are different to reflect local circumstances but conference believes that the experience of our members in those branches should be the same regardless of their region or service group.
Conference recognises that dealing with historical difference and inequality is not easy and in the current financial and political climate it is even harder. UNISON must manage its finances wisely, balance the budget and use all available resources in the areas that matter most – recruitment, organisation and membership support. We have a limited number of activists and staff to provide that support. Our activists have less and less time to give with more demands for assistance and support from members under pressure.
It is imperative that UNISON acts in a measured way, prioritising financial stability and planning, assessing and evaluating options, giving serious consideration to new ways of working and making best use of limited resources. We have a responsibility to get it right for current and future members.
Branches have already made an important contribution in support of the National Executive Council, with over £2m contributed to the General Fighting Fund in the last two years. This, in addition to the funds allocated by the National Executive Council, has seen the appointment of many Fighting Fund Organisers across the union providing recruitment and organising support to branches and service groups which helped to produce in 2013 the highest growth in new members for several years. Conference congratulates the National Executive Conference on having the courage to invest, and to continue to invest in such resources at such a financially challenging time and looks forward to equally positive recruitment levels during 2014.
Conference recognises that a number of branches are working in new partnerships and/or merging to provide their members with quality access to advice and information by sharing resources, employing staff for administrative tasks to free up activists to be the organisers, negotiators and representatives that the union needs.
Page 142 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA There is much to be learnt from these new developments and much more that could be achieved to ensure that our local organisation is fit for purpose for the future. However, more detailed work is required to assess the potential benefits and to scope the possibilities in the context of the future direction of the union.
The Branch Resources Review has drawn attention to the importance of ensuring that the resources of the union are used to the benefit of members and those sections of our organisation that are struggling most. Conference agrees that more work must be done to identify mechanisms whereby resources can be effectively used to support the day to day business of the union.
Regions and branches need to be assured that branches will be encouraged and not penalised for adopting good housekeeping practice; that minimum levels of funding and reserves required for good practice management will be defined.
Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to:
1) Set up an Implementation Group to consult and make recommendations to the National Executive Council on effective branch structures, organisation and resources that builds on the real examples happening across our regions and the work of the Branch Resources Review. The Implementation Group should be drawn from the National Executive Council, regions and branches representing the diverse range of branches in the union;
2) Devise proposals based on the findings of the Implementation Group with a view to these being put to Conference by the 2016 National Delegate Conference at the latest.
Eastern Region 114.1 Add new point 3):
"3) Recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time."
Lambeth 115.Branch Resources Review Conference welcomes the latest Branch Resources Review.
Our union faces ever increasing challenges provoked by the policies of this Coalition Government. The austerity agenda, with its drive to cut public spending and privatise public services, places major challenges on our organisation to mobilise major national and regional campaigns, as well as support our members in responding to local attacks to jobs, terms and conditions, and fragmentation of the services they provide. Yet whilst demands on the union to expend resources increases, the austerity agenda potentially attacks the very heart of our organisation – fewer public service workers to recruit, potential reductions in subscription income, threats to
Page 143 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA withdraw DOCAS. The need to spend our precious and potentially dwindling resources wisely has never been so great.
Conference applauds the successful recruitment campaigns last year, and the determination of the union‟s leadership to counter the threats to our income base through recruitment. This drive should continue.
Conference also applauds the union on ensuring that our number one priority has been our members – protecting their jobs, terms and conditions, and the public services they deliver to the very best of our ability. This has been, and must continue to be our number one priority.
Conference recognises that in the current financial and political climate it is essential that the union manages its finances wisely, balancing its budget, and diverting all available resources into the areas that matter most – recruitment, organisation and membership support. In doing so it is imperative that UNISON acts in a measured way, prioritising financial stability and planning, assessing and evaluating options, engaging all levels of the union before embarking upon radical change. We have a responsibility to get it right.
Branches have already made an important contribution in support of the National Executive Committee, with over £2m given over to the General Fighting Fund in the last two years. The Branch Resources Review rightly draws attention to this success, and to the importance of ensuring that the remaining reserves held in branches – which are still significant – should be used where possible to the benefit of members and of those sections of our organisation that are struggling most. Conference agrees that work must be done to identify mechanisms whereby these resources can be freed up to support the day to day business of the union. However, more detailed work is required before such mechanisms can be agreed. Regions and branches need to be assured that: any scheme that is introduced takes into account the significant disparities that exist between branches; branches will not be penalised for adopting good housekeeping practice; minimum levels of reserves required for good branch management are defined and protected; clear processes are in place governing reallocation; consensus is achieved on how reallocated monies can be spent; etc.
Conference recognises the important work undertaken by the Branch Resources Review Project in recent years to provide much needed support to branches in managing their finances: National Executive Committee guidance on an expenses framework, support and advice on HMRC matters, introduction of OLBA, etc. Management of branch finance reserves must build upon this. In particular, regions and branches should be consulted upon the core principles and procedural guidelines as to how branch reserves can be released as well as the strategic objectives to be achieved.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Set up an Implementation Group to consult and make recommendations to the National Executive Council on the practical application of the Project‟s recent findings. The Implementation Group should be drawn from the National Executive
Page 144 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Committee, regions, and branches reflecting the diverse range of branches in the union;
2) Devise a draft scheme based on the findings of the Implementation Group with a view to this being put to National Delegate Conference by 2016.
Greater London Region 115.1 Add after seventh paragraph:
"Conference further recognises the fundamental role of branches in sustaining the work of the union. Some branches are now struggling to make ends meet. These must be given maximum support in managing their finances and regions should be required to put plans in place to provide this. Conference recognises there will be occasions when branches should be afforded additional temporary funds, but does not accept that additional funding should be awarded to branches as a matter of course at this difficult time when the union‟s income is declining."
In point 1) delete “Set up an Implementation Group” and replace with “Ask the Branch Resources Review”, and delete “. The Implementation Group should be drawn” and replace with “, ensuring active input”.
In point 2) delete “Implementation Group” and replace with “Branch Resources Review”.
Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust Newham 115.2 Add new point 3):
"3) Recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time."
Lambeth 116.Branch Resources Review Conference welcomes the latest Branch Resources Review.
UNISON faces ever increasing challenges provoked by the policies of this Coalition Government. The austerity agenda, with its drive to cut public spending and privatise public services, places major challenges on our organisation to mobilise major national and regional campaigns, as well as support our members in responding to local attacks to jobs, terms and conditions, and fragmentation of the services they provide. While demands upon the union to expend resources increases, the austerity agenda potentially attacks the very heart of our organisation – fewer public service workers to recruit, potential reductions in subscription income, threats to withdraw DOCAS. The need to manage wisely resources has never been so great.
Page 145 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference applauds the successful recruitment campaigns last year, and the determination of the union‟s leadership to counter the threats to our income base through recruitment. This drive should continue.
Conference applauds also the union on ensuring that our number one priority has been our members – protecting their jobs, terms and conditions, and the public services they deliver to the very best of our ability.
Conference recognises that in the current financial and political climate it is essential that the union manages its finances wisely, balancing its budget, and diverting all available resources into the areas that matter most – recruitment, organisation and membership support. In doing so it is imperative that UNISON acts in a measured way, prioritising financial stability and planning, assessing and evaluating options, engaging all levels of the union before embarking upon radical change.
Branches have already made an important contribution in support of the National Executive Council with over £2m given over to the General Fighting Fund in the last two years.The Branch Resources Review rightly draws attention to this success, and to the importance of ensuring that the remaining reserves held in branches, which are still significant, should be used where possible to the benefit of members and of those sections of our organisation that are struggling most. Conference agrees that work must be done to identify mechanisms whereby these resources can be directed to support the day to day business of the union. However, more detailed work is required before such mechanisms can be agreed. Regions and branches need to be assured that:
1) Any scheme that is introduced takes into account the significant disparities that exist between branches;
2) Branches will not be penalised for adopting good housekeeping practice;
3) Minimum levels of reserves required for good branch management, and full participation in the democratic processes of the union, are defined and protected;
4) Clear processes are in place governing reallocation; consensus is achieved on how reallocated monies can be spent.
Conference notes that the proposals from the Branch Resources Review do not reduce the proportion of union resources being directed to branches.
Conference recognises the important work undertaken by the Branch Resources Review Project in recent years to provide much needed support to branches in managing their finances: National Executive Council guidance on an expenses framework, support and advice on HMRC matters, introduction of OLBA, etc. Management of branch finance reserves must build upon this. In particular, regions and branches should be consulted upon the core principles and procedural guidelines as to how branch reserves can be released as well as the strategic objectives to be achieved.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
Page 146 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA a) Set up an Implementation Group to consult and make recommendations to the National Executive Council on the practical application of the project‟s recent findings. The Implementation Group should be drawn from the National Executive Committee, regions, and branches reflecting the diverse range of branches in the union; b) Devise a draft scheme based on the findings of the Implementation Group with a view to this being put to the National Delegate Conference by 2016.
Scotland Region
116.1 Add new point c):
"c) Recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time."
Lambeth 117.Branch Resources Review Conference welcomes the Branch Resources Review and the move to target resources towards the objectives of the union and the aim of making sure resources are allocated on the basis of need. Conference further notes that for most branches, the greatest difficulty they face is in meeting the demands of the ever increasing numbers of employers covered by a branch, especially where there are no representatives in the workplace.
Conference notes that many branches have found ways of addressing this, through merger into larger, community branches, sharing resources, including branch employed caseworkers, use of General Fighting Fund resources but believes, however that there is a need for a union wide pro-active strategy which ensures all branches, large or small and across service groups have access to more localised support. Any changes or new ways of working should not dilute our commitment to organising, but should also seek to build strong branch organisation, increase recruitment and retention of members and be able to represent and bargain on behalf of all members.
Conference believes that the Branch Resources Review, having successfully addressed the need for good financial governance should now shift its focus to improving branch organisation and ensuring all members receive support.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Develop a union wide strategy which will set out a range of options for branches to share resources, access additional resources or use existing resources creatively to allow them to:-
a) Represent and negotiate on behalf of all members across all employer within their branch or a group of branches;
Page 147 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA b) Build strong local organisation in smaller employers, especially within community, voluntary and private sector workplaces;
c) Recruit and retain members, particularly in areas of low density or where large scale redundancies have seen membership losses;
d) Consider employment of branch staff, whether in shared resource centres, branch offices or through agreements with other employers to second staff or act as payroll provider, in order to meet these objectives.
2) Recognise this is a priority area and ensure that no further changes are made to the branch funding formula (unless required to meet legislative or regulatory changes) until these options are available.
South West Region 117.1 Delete point 1) d)
Delete point 2) and replace with a new paragraph:
“In considering these options the National Executive Council must have regard to: a) Branch funding; b) Branch budgeting; c) Regional pool reserves; d) Fighting fund; e) Procurement; f) Infrastructure.”
National Executive Council 117.2 Delete point 2) and replace with;
"2) Recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time."
Lambeth 118.Branch Funding Conference notes that a review of branch funding in UNISON has been ongoing since 2011 and that a report which the National Executive Council had intended to
Page 148 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA put before Conference 2013 was not available in sufficient time for consideration last year.
Conference accepts that branch funding is a complex and controversial topic. However we believe that it is self-evident that, in the years since the current branch funding regime was adopted at National Delegate Conference 2001 there have been substantial changes in the environment in which UNISON operates, and that these have generally increased demands at branch level.
The key changes include;
1) Reduced significance of national collective bargaining with an increase in local bargaining;
2) The fragmentation of public services leading to almost all branches becoming multi-employer branches;
3) Devolution of administrative processes within the union to branches (e.g. the RMS).
In the opinion of Conference it is clear that there is a general need to devolve UNISON resources to the level at which they can best assist the union to meet the interests of our members.
Conference notes that the National Executive Council has adopted the following seven guiding principles to continue to inform any future resourcing scheme for UNISON branches. Any new scheme must, according to the National Executive Committee: a) Be flexible and adaptable enough to meet the future challenges facing UNISON; b) Guarantee the long term stability of the union; c) Link branch expenditure and resources to the wider objectives of the union; d) Be overseen by a lay governance group; e) Enable all branches to campaign, organise, represent and negotiate on behalf of their members; f) Give all members equal access to the union‟s services and facilities; g) Help UNISON manage and minimise financial and operational risks.
Conference endorses these guiding principles and acknowledges that more work and consultation with stakeholders is required before UNISON can bring forward a comprehensive range of proposals for the future resourcing of branches.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to continue with the review of branch resources and report back to conference in 2015 and in so doing to recognise that significant devolution of the union‟s resources to its branches is required. In particular, Conference anticipates that the overall proportion of the
Page 149 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA union‟s resources allocated to branches will increase significantly over time under a future branch funding regime.
Lambeth 119.Honoraria Conference views with alarm the limits now placed on honoraria for branch officers and activists. These changes appear to have been introduced with little or no consultation and have the potential to wreak havoc within branches that depend on a small number of activists to maintain healthy branch activity. We are now witnessing the ludicrous spectacle of branches having to employ private caseworkers or external accountants to plug the gaps caused by the rules around honoraria.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to look again at these rules with a view to allowing greater flexibility for payment - particularly where an activists fills more than one role.
Sussex Partnership Health Services to Members 120.Tax Refund Company Conference notes the promotional letters which are regularly included in mailings sent to UNISON members by the union which encourage members to apply for a tax refund using the service provided by the Tax Refund Company (TRC) whilst indicating in the small print that members receive 61p for every £1 claimed back through this service.
Conference believes that it is not in the best interests of members to apply for a tax refund through the Tax Refund Company and keep only 61% of any refund obtained, when they can apply for a tax refund directly from the HMRC and keep the full value of any refund obtained.
Conference notes that UNISON members are encouraged to sign up with the TRC by the promise that 50p will be donated to the UNISON charity There For You for every completed form.
Based on figures used in a promotional letter sent to members in Autumn 2013, Conference notes that the TRC has claimed tax refunds worth £24 million in total for members, and that 695,358 members have filled in the form. On this basis with a 39% cut, the TRC has made £9.36 million (39% of £24 million) and with 50p donated for each completed form it has donated £347,679 to There for You (50p x 695,358). So its donations amount to 3.71% of the money it has made from members.
Taking the above points into consideration, Conference calls on UNISON‟s National Executive Council to:
1) Review the current arrangement with the TRC and investigate alternatives (which may include detailed guidance to members on how to apply for a tax refund themselves from the HMRC), with a view to withdrawing from the arrangement with the TRC if necessary. its support for and promotion of the Tax Refund Company services to members;
Page 150 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 2) Work with employers and branches to issue guidance to members on how to apply for tax refunds;
3) Review all products and services endorsed by UNISON – and confirm that they are ethical and in the interests of members.
City and Islington College 121.Branch Support for Members in Severe Hardship Conference believes that the local UNISON branch is sometimes in a better position than UNISON‟s national welfare charity "There for You" to provide prompt welfare assistance to members in severe hardship.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to develop a limited branch-based scheme with appropriate criteria and guidance which allows branches to provide urgent assistance to members when necessary given the current economic climate.
City and Islington College Legal Services 122.Contempt of Court Attacks on Social Workers Conference is deeply concerned about recent events in Edinburgh and elsewhere in Scotland where contempt of court proceedings have been brought against social work staff as individuals whilst acting in their social work role to fulfil their statutory duties consistent with their codes of practice.
Social work members have an overriding legal duty to ensure the child's welfare is paramount in all that they do. However, it seems the paramountcy of the welfare of the children is not considered relevant during contempt proceedings. UNISON believes this constitutes a conflict of laws which places those working on the front line in a very difficult and vulnerable position.
The fact that individuals, rather than the organisation they work for, have been put in this position has wide-ranging implications for the employer/employee relationship and could have a ripple effect on all front line workers. Conference is concerned that this may also compromise the welfare of the children for whom our social work members are responsible.
Accordingly, Conference:
1) Congratulates UNISON for providing legal support and standing by the members concerned. Without UNISON membership, some of these workers could have faced individual legal costs running into tens of thousands of pounds;
2) Welcomes the advice issued to members by UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch which has since been issued to all branches in Scotland;
3) Welcomes UNISON Scotland's action in writing to the Scottish minister concerned to call for an urgent legislative review;
Page 151 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA 4) Resolves to continue to campaign for legal changes through UNISON Scotland's Social Work Issues Group;
5) Agrees to mount an awareness and recruitment campaign among all social work and social care staff.
City Of Edinburgh Council 123.Accident Benefit, Monitoring Health and Safety Incidents and the new Arrangements for Personal Injury Claims Conference notes that the new system whereby members call UNISON Direct in order to start a personal injury claim means that many members are not being given information about claiming Accident Benefit, and that branches are not hearing promptly about incidents that could raise Health and Safety concerns.
As members go individually through UNISON Direct there can be a delay before branches find out that a member has suffered a work related personal injury. This can mean members miss out on the early support they may need such as advice regarding sick pay, securing evidence, the need to report the incident to the Police for Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) claims, etc., and general support. It also means that where there is a particular hazard in the workplace our Health and Safety reps may not be aware of the situation and are not raising concerns with management. This could lead to further accidents.
The new system is also a barrier to members being informed about their entitlement to Accident Benefit. Previously most members would contact their steward or Branch Office to ask for a PI form and would also have been given an Accident Benefit claim form. Calls being routed through UNISON Direct and straight on to Thompsons means many members risk missing out on this benefit. Accident Benefit is payable at a rate of £4.05 per day, £20.25 per week maximum during the whole period in which the member is unable to work because of the accident up to a maximum of 30 days. Many low paid members, some of whom may only get Statuary Sick Pay (SSP) when off work, would find up to £121.50 very helpful.
Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to look at how UNISON Direct can communicate with branches immediately they are contacted by the member, giving branches enough information about the incident to enabling them to fully investigate and support the member as needed. This will also enable branches to send the member an accident benefit claim form if applicable.
South West Yorkshire Partnership Health 124.The Four Week Rule and UNISONDirect Conference notes that many branches experience people joining online and contacting UNISON Direct immediately afterwards. Referrals that are then passed on to branches do not include the date of joining.
Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to ensure that UNISONDirect referrals to branches include the date of joining and that the four week rule is prominently displayed to online joiners.
Page 152 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA South West Yorkshire Partnership Health Resources 125.UNISON website Conference notes that:
1) In a time when many people rely on and expect electronic communications it is important that Unison has a clear and consistent presence on the world wide web;
2) The UNISON website has undergone significant change in recent times;
3) It is not obvious to new members of some service groups how to access web content specific to their employment areas.
Conference believes that: a) The UNISON website should be redesigned to make access to information relevant to members via their service group easy to access; b) Conference calls upon the National Executive Committee to investigate the design of the UNISON website to ensure that members can easily access content that is relevant to their individual service groups.
University Of Brighton 125.1 In point 3) after “obvious to” insert “experienced activists or”. Delete “of some service groups”.
In point 3) after “how to” insert “navigate the site or”.
In point a) delete all after “to make” and replace with “navigating the site more straightforward so that anyone visiting the site can quickly and easily navigate to whatever content their membership status gives them access to.”
In point b) after “ensure that” insert “visitors to the site can easily access whatever content their membership status entitles them to, and our”
Eastern Region 126.Extend the UNISON Case Management System to Branches Conference notes that UNISON has a Case Management System that is available to Regional Offices, Thompsons and UNISON Centre.
Conference also notes that Branches do not currently have access to the UNISON Case Management System and therefore have to rely on their own self-devised and unsupported systems. These are often purely paper-based, involving filing cabinets, physical case log books and the sending of documents by surface mail.
Page 153 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference further notes that the organisations that Branch Members work for usually have modern IT systems to support their business processes.
Additionally Conference notes that UNISON has successfully developed the WARMS and OLBA systems to support the Membership and Treasurer functions within Branches. However, such support has not yet been extended to Casework within Branches.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Ensure that funds are made available in the union‟s budget to undertake the feasibility, requirements gathering, design, implementation and testing of an extension of the UNISON Case Management System to Branches;
2) Commission a feasibility study to look in more detail at the business case for and potential cost of implementing and maintaining an extension of the UNISON Case Management System to Branches;
3) Approve a project, if shown to be feasible, that will design and implement an extension of the UNISON Case Management System to Branches;
4) Work with Branches to ensure that their Case Management requirements are understood, and identify Branches where the need is greatest to act as pilot sites;
5) Provide ongoing funding for the maintenance of any implemented extension of the UNISON Case Management System to Branches.
Southern Water Staffing 127.Training For Branches Who Employ Their Own Staff Conference notes that more and more branches are likely to consider employing staff such as caseworkers, administrators and organisers to assist with the growing levels of work and the fragmentation of the public sector
Conference believes that UNISON branches should be exemplary employers, follow ACAS best practice guidelines and provide good levels of support and development for their employees.
Conference therefore agrees that a robust training programme should be developed by UNISON for branch secretaries and other leading branch officers on the key elements of being a good employer – including recruiting and appointing new staff; carrying out supervision and appraisal; dealing with disciplinary and grievance issues; writing contracts, doing payroll, pensions, terms and conditions, staff consultations etc.
South East Region Conference Administration 128.Cost of UNISON Conferences
Page 154 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference notes the current financial situation. The current economic climate means that in UNISON, as with many other organisations, every penny counts.
Conference notes that UNISON rules provide for 14 national conferences each year. Together these cost the national union over £3m per annum, not taking into account branch costs incurred and staff time.
There are a variety of ways that conference expenditure could be reduced, e.g. reducing their length, alternating some conferences biennially, reducing the size of delegations.
Conference recognises that some of these changes would require the consent of National Delegate Conference through a rule change, but that it is high time this matter was given proper consideration.
Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Council to set up a working party to undertake a review of conference arrangements, including conducting a widespread consultation of services groups, self organised groups, regions and branches, with a review to making recommendations to the National Executive Council on how to make national conferences more cost effective.
Bromley NHS Trust Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 128.1 Add at end of first paragraph:
"It is therefore important that we secure value for our members from the expenditure of UNISON resources."
Add at end of third paragraph:
"We could also seek to economise on the costs of hotels, subsistence and other expenses and staff attendance."
Add at end of fourth paragraph:
"Conference also believes that consideration should be given to how we might make better use of our Conferences to mobilise, motivate, educate and organise the activists who attend."
Add at end:
"Conference recognises that an assessment of cost effectiveness has two elements, and affirms that this review must consider both cost and effectiveness."
Lambeth 128.2 Delete third paragraph.
In the fourth paragraph delete "of these".
Page 155 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Lambeth Rules Rule C Membership 1. Rule C Unemployed Members Delete current Rule C 2.4.1 and replace with:
"Members dismissed, made redundant, having accepted a compromise agreement or having resigned as an alternative to dismissal from employment within the meaning of C.1 who notify the branch secretary in writing within six months of their loss of employment may achieve unemployed membership for two years from the date of dismissal, redundancy, agreement or resignation. This entitles them to retain benefits from the union for up to two years after they leave, provided they remain unemployed."
Kirklees Local Government 2. Rule C Retired Members Rule C 2.6.3
Delete "in the Retired Members' Organisation" and insert "that have no connection, influence or involvement in pay and terms and conditions of members in employment".
Bridgend County 3. Rule C Becoming a Member Rule C 5.1
Delete second sentence “Any person……UNISON membership.”
National Executive Council Rule D Structure of the Union at National Level 4. Rule D National Delegate Conference Delete Rule D 1.1 and replace with:
"The supreme government of the Union shall be vested in the National Delegate Conference, which shall meet biennially for at least four days at such time and place as the National Executive Council shall determine."
Derbyshire County 5. Rule D Composition Rule D 1.3
Delete D 1.3 Composition first paragraph and replace with:
"1.3 Composition
Page 156 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA The basis of representation by branches at the Conference shall be in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the National Executive Council which shall make provision for any branch delegate having to withdraw from participation at Conference by reason of illness, incapacity, family crisis or requirement to return to work under threat of dismissal shall be capable of being substituted by a duly appointed and registered visitor from the branch so affected. This provision is to ensure no branch suffers financial detriment by virtue of the implementation of the National Executive Council Guideline for delegation attendance at Conference falling below 50%."
Insert new D 1.3.1:
"D 1.3.1 The branch substitution shall be overseen and approved by the two Regional Delegates and the Regional Secretary (or nominated deputy) of the Region affected, to ensure reasonableness and fair representation."
Insert new D 1.3.2:
"D 1.3.2 The National Executive Council Scheme of Composition of branches delegates to Conference shall be implemented by the Regional Committee providing as follows:"
Renumber from D1.3.1 accordingly.
Centro Transport 6. Rule D The Right to Attend and Speak Rule D 1.7.2 delete “ Deputy General Secretaries”
National Executive Council 7. Rule D Service Group Conference Rule D 3.4.1
Delete "annually" and replace with "biennially".
Derbyshire County 8. Rule D Service Group Conference Rule D 3.4.5
Delete „annually‟ and replace with „biennially‟.
Derbyshire County 9. Rule D Service Group Conference Rule D 3.4.6.2 delete “ Deputy General Secretaries”
National Executive Council 10. Rule D Service Group Executive Delete current Rule D 3.5.10 and replace with:
Page 157 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "No member shall be a candidate unless she/he has been nominated by at least two branches within her/his Regional Service Group or one branch and one Regional Self Organised Group. Only members working within the Service Group of the candidate may agree a nomination by a Regional Self Organised Group. No member is entitled to be a candidate for election in a Service Group other than that of which she/he is member."
Lancashire Police Authority North Yorkshire
11. Rule D Retired Members' Organisation Rule D 6.2
Delete existing Rule D 6.2 and replace with:
“The retired members in a Branch may form a retired members‟ section within the Branch and elect annually a retired members‟ secretary and such other retired members‟ officers as may be determined by them and also elect representatives to other levels of the retired members‟ organisation.”
National Executive Council 12. Rule D Retired Members' Organisation Insert new Rule D 6.3:
“D 6.3 Such Retired Members‟ Sections may formulate motions and proposals to the Branch Committee and the Regional Retired Members‟ Committee.”
Renumber subsequent paragraphs.
National Executive Council 13. Rule D Retired Members' Organisation Insert new Rule D 6.4:
“D 6.4 Such Retired Members‟ Sections shall have adequate and agreed funding for retired member activity and access to other resources subject to union guidelines.”
Renumber subsequent paragraphs
National Executive Council 14. Rule D Retired Members' Organisation Rule D 6.6 add at end:
“The National Retired Members‟ Organisation may send two representatives of relevant retired members to each National Self-Organised Group Conference, with the right to speak but not to vote”.
National Executive Council
Page 158 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Rule E Principal Officers 15. Rule E Principal Officers Rule E 4
Delete E4, E 4.1, E 4.2 and E 4.3
National Executive Council Rule F Regions 16. Rule F Regional Council Rule F 4.4.2
After “annually” insert “or “biennially”.
Rhondda Cynon Taff 17. Rule F Regional Council Rule F 4.4.4
After “annually” insert “or biennially”.
Rhondda Cynon Taff 18. Rule F Regional Council Rule F 4.4.6
Delete “its” and replace with “an”
After “Committee.” add “The period of office shall be as agreed by Regional Council.”
Rhondda Cynon Taff 19. Rule F Regional Committee Rule F 5.1.5
Delete “its” and replace with “an”
After “Orders” insert “The period of office shall be as agreed by Regional Council.”
Rhondda Cynon Taff Rule G Branches 20. Rule G Branch Committee Rule G 2.1.1
After "elected annually" insert "or biennially, dependent on branch rules"
Neath and Port Talbot County 21. Rule G The Branch Committee
Page 159 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Insert new Rule G 2.1.3:
“G 2.1.3 Such representatives of the retired members‟ section within the branch as the branch may determine;”
Renumber subsequent paragraphs.
National Executive Council 22. Rule G The Branch Committee Rule G 2.1.3
Insert "Disability Officer," after "Equality Officer(s)"
Rule G 4.1.1
Insert "Disability Officer," after "Equality Co-ordinators,"
National Disabled Members Committee 23. Rule G Branch Meetings Rule G 3.4.2
After "the coming year" insert "or two years, dependent on branch rules".
Neath and Port Talbot County 24. Rule G Branch Officers Rule G 4.1.1
Insert “Retired Members‟ Secretary,” after "Young Members‟ Officer," and before "Welfare Officer"
National Executive Council 25. Rule G Branch Officers Rule G 4.1.2
After "annually" insert "or biennially, dependent on branch rules".
Neath and Port Talbot County 26. Rule G Stewards Rule G 5.1
After "annually", insert "or biennially, dependent on branch rules".
Neath and Port Talbot County 27. Rule G Health and Safety Representatives Rule G 7.1
Page 160 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA After "annually" insert "or biennially, dependent on branch rules".
Neath and Port Talbot County 28. Rule G Equality Representatives Rule G 8.1
After "annually" insert "or biennially, dependent on branch rules".
Neath and Port Talbot County Rule P Standing Orders for Conferences 29. Rule P Conduct of Conferences Rule P
Insert new Rule P 7:
"P 7 If, after three speeches for a motion, amendment or rule change (excluding the moving of the motion, amendment or rule change) there have been no speakers against, the president will ask the conference if it wants the question to be put. The president may advise conference to vote against if they feel that there has not been sufficient discussion. If conference votes by a majority that the question be put then it shall take effect at once, subject only to any right of reply under these Standing Orders."
Renumber accordingly.
Islington Schedules Schedule E Political Fund Ballot 30. Schedule E Political Fund Ballot Schedule E 2
Delete “Brandon House, 180 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LW and replace with:
“22nd floor, Euston Tower, 286 Euston Road, London, NW1 3JJ.”
National Executive Council 31. Schedule E Political Fund Ballot Schedule E
In 7. (d) delete "under these rules;" and replace with:
"as specified in Section 78 of the Act; "
In 7 (i.) delete “;” replace with “.” Delete “and”
Page 161 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Delete 7. (j)
In 18 (a) insert after "be sent a voting paper by post":
"to his/her home address or another address that the member has requested that the union treat as his or her postal address"
Insert new clause 34:
“34. If he/she is not satisfied as to any of the matters set out in rule 33 f) the report shall give particulars of his/her reasons for not being satisfied as to that matter.”
Renumber remaining clauses and references accordingly.
National Executive Council
Reinstated onto the Agenda 32. Rule D Structure of the Union at National Level/New Rule D.2.9 ACCESSIBILITY Add new Rule D.2.9 and renumber as appropriate:
"D.2.9 Meetings of the National Executive Council shall take place, so far as is reasonably practicable, in venues which are accessible to all members eligible to attend."
Lambeth
Motions Ruled Out of Order Could place the union in legal jeopardy Motion 1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach In the final paragraph add after "fighting job losses": "Conference recognises that it will not be an adequate strategy to simply believe that these attacks can be defeated on a branch by branch basis." Add new point 3): "3) Bring together branches that are fighting cuts and attacks on terms and conditions, and where possible to seek to coordinate any industrial action being taken by branches." Renumber the remaining points.
Hackney Local Government Motion 27 Public Service Pay In second paragraph delete second sentence. In point 1) add after “campaign“:
Page 162 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "including national strike action"
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
Motion 1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach In the final paragraph insert after „fighting job losses”: "Conference recognises that it will not be an adequate strategy to simply believe that theses attacks can be defeated on a branch by branch basis." Add new point 3) and renumber the remaining: "3) To proactively seek to bring together branches that are fighting cuts and attacks on terms and conditions and where possible to seek to co ordinate any industrial action being taken by branches." Bromley
Motion 29 Resisting Privatisation and Defending Employment Rights At the end add new point E): "E) Proactively bring together branches that are fighting privatisation, in particular those faced with transfer to the same company, and where possible to seek to co ordinate any industrial action being taken by branches involved in line with industrial action procedures." Bromley
Motion 1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach Add new point 3) and renumber the remaining: "3) Proactively seek to bring together branches that are fighting cuts and attacks on terms and conditions and where possible to seek to co ordinate any industrial action being taken by branches."
South Derbyshire Healthcare Motion 119 Honoraria Not printed on the advice of the legal officer
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Motion 1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach In sixth paragraph after " ..fighting job losses" add: “This critically includes our ability to organise industrial action to defend jobs and services in a climate of increasing cuts where government and employers are shortening consultation periods.” Add new point 6):
Page 163 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "6) Continue to evaluate the operation of our industrial action procedures to ensure that members are able to take industrial action where appropriate in line with UNISON‟s rules and procedures without undue delay." Tower Hamlets In breach of Rule D.2.10 Employment of Staff Motion 4 Education as an Organising Tool Add new point 2) and renumber accordingly:
"2) Ensure that all organising staff are made aware of and trained in how to organise around learning offers;"
Stockport In breach of the agreement on the political fund Motion 99 Campaigning for a Fair and Just Social Security System Add new point ix):
"Write to all UNISON sponsored MPs who failed to vote against the benefit cap expressing UNISON's concern."
Kirklees Local Government Motion 59 Campaigning Against Austerity up to the General Election Delete e) and replace with new e):
"e) Call on Labour Link to ensure funding goes only to those Labour candidates who support UNISON‟s economic alternative agenda;"
Bolton Metro Motion 111 Trade Unions and Political Influence Add tenth paragraph:
"Conference also recognises that UNISON has a two-tier political fund which divides members into separate groups (General Political Fund). It is also noted that the political fund ballot has never given the whole membership the option to influence the direction of UNISON's political funds. However, the forthcoming political fund ballot gives the opportunity for UNISON's membership to express a viewpoint for the first time since our formation."
Add new point 4):
"4) To coincide with the political fund review ballot, an indicative ballot to be held with the whole membership as to whether they wish to continue with the current two- tier political fund."
Dorset County Introduces substantial new subject matter
Page 164 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Motion 1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach Add after the sixth paragraph:
"Conference therefore welcomes the decision by National Delegate Conference 2013, in passing motion 8, to encourage women‟s activism in our trade union. We recognise that this particular effort is necessary because, in a sexist society, women face particular obstacles to participation in all areas of life, including trade unionism.
Conference notes that National Women's Conference 2014 adopted the motion "Male Violence Against Women" which affirms opposition to all violence, whatever the gender or age of the perpetrator or victim, but also recognised that, in a sexist society, male violence against women plays a particular role in limiting the participation of women in all areas of social life, including trade union activity.
It further notes that the motion called on the National Executive Council to work with the National Women's Committee on various steps to address this issue"
Add new action point 3):
"3) Work with the National Women's Committee on the issues raised in the Male Violence Against Women motion passed by National Women's Conference;"
Renumber accordingly.
Havering Motion 1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach Add after the sixth paragraph:
"Conference therefore welcomes the decision by National Delegate Conference 2013, in passing motion 8, to encourage women‟s activism in our trade union. We recognise that this particular effort is necessary because, in a sexist society, women face particular obstacles to participation in all areas of life, including trade unionism.
Conference notes that National Women's Conference 2014 adopted the motion "Male Violence Against Women" which affirms opposition to all violence, whatever the gender or age of the perpetrator or victim, but also recognised that, in a sexist society, male violence against women plays a particular role in limiting the participation of women in all areas of social life, including trade union activity.
It further notes that the motion called on the National Executive Council to work with the National Women's Committee on various steps to address this issue."
Add new point 3):
"3) Work with the National Women's Committee on the issues raised in the Male Violence Against Women motion passed by National Women's Conference".
Renumber accordingly.
Lambeth
Page 165 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Motion 111 Trade Unions and Political Influence After eighth paragraph add:
"In light of this conference instructs the National Executive Council to carry out a review of the current political fund arrangements to ensure that the union is only using its funds in support of our aims and objectives as defined under the rules of the union and report back to the 2015 conference."
Bromley Motion 113 Safeguarding the Union's Future: NEC Interim Report on Branch Resource Insert a new paragraph six after the words “recruit and organise” and before the words “While all branches”:
“Conference believes that branches need to be adequately resourced through increased branch retention to meet the challenges ahead, particularly where these challenges are intensified for branches supporting a multi-employer, sector and service group structure.”
Bolton Metro Motion 87 Austerity Europe Insert new fourth paragraph:
"Conference notes with concern the publication of REFIT (Regulatory Fitness and Performance: Results and Next Steps) by the European Commission in October 2013. According to the Commission, the purpose of REFIT is to "detect regulatory burdens and to identify opportunities for simplification". Under REFIT, the Commission has withdrawn health and safety proposals on the protection of workers against work-related cancers and musculoskeletal disorders, and is envisaging a consolidation of the three directives on Information and Consultation, Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings – which could potentially weaken all three. Conference believes that the ETUC is correct in identifying that "the Commission is engaged in a process aimed at the deregulation of Europe, the dismantling of legislation protecting workers‟ rights and the weakening of social dialogue". Conference notes that the ETUC regards this agenda as being partly driven by national governments, including the UK Government."
Add new action point 3):
"3) Campaign against REFIT and seek to build opposition to deregulation amongst our members and the wider public. In addition, work through the Labour Link to gain commitments that a Labour-led Government would not continue the present Coalition Government‟s attacks on existing workplace and environmental protections."
Stockport Motion 81 Turkey Add a new point 4) and re number accordingly:
Page 166 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA "4) After 40 years and in contravention of the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions 3212, 550 ,649, 716,750 Turkey's occupation of the northern part of Cyprus , a sovereign territory and a member of the EU is continued"
In the final paragraph after the words " the country's human rights record" add:
"An end to the illegal occupation of the northern part of Cyprus as specified in the UN resolutions 3212,750, grant full support to the efforts to verify the fate of all missing persons, both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots;".
Somerset County
Motion 54 Motion on the 30th Anniversary of the Miners Strike (1984-1985) After “30th anniversary of the miners‟ strike,” delete "and its legacy will be bitterly contested" and add “and the 28th anniversary of the Wapping Dispute, the legacies of both these disputes will be bitterly contested.”
In the second sentence delete and replace “the strike” to read “these disputes”.
Delete "Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:" and add new paragraph after second paragraph:
“We recognise also the important role that the 2011 exhibition commemorating the Wapping print dispute had in drawing out important parallels in discussing the role of the Murdoch empire in our newspaper industry among the general public in respect of the phone hacking scandal. Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:”
Croydon Motion 32 The Democratic Deficit and Public Service Fragmentation Add at end:
"National Delegate Conference notes that „Public Service Reform‟ is being pursued through various Central Government initiatives including Community budgets, Whole place and City deals.
Conference acknowledges that „Public Service Reform‟ is plagued by jargon and can be difficult to comprehend, but believes that some key aims and trends can be identified in the direction of public policy: a) Breaking down functional boundaries between services – for twenty years Westminster Governments have regarded it as beneficial to avoid „silos‟ and wished to encourage closer working between public bodies; b) Breaking down geographical boundaries between councils – some local governance is being conducted across the boundaries of local authorities, especially by city-regions;
Page 167 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA c) „Freeing up‟ local decision-makers – removing some Central Government monitoring and regulation, giving local bodies more financial autonomy and a growing use of rhetoric around public sector leadership, innovation and entrepreneurialism.
Conference believes that it is necessary for the union to engage effectively with these initiatives. Conference recognises that such engagement will be difficult as it will require the union to work outside our normal branch and service group frameworks.
Conference resolves that our approach to the Public Service Reform agenda should be based on the following: i) We can see some merit in improving services through closer working across functional boundaries. We would wish to ensure that jobs are properly evaluated and that this process is not used opportunistically for levelling down terms and conditions. We can engage positively with efforts to draw on the expertise and skills of public sector workforces to improve services; ii) We can see potential merit in working across geographical boundaries but we are concerned by the potential diminution of democratic accountability. We should be alert to opportunities to transmit good practice in employment across a wider geographical area; iii) We are uneasy with the trend toward local financing of public services. We know that Central Government is engaged in a redistribution of resources from North to South, from mainly urban to shire, from deprived to affluent – and we support our councils in seeking a fairer deal. Though we can see why greater local financial autonomy is attractive to some councils at present, we are concerned that this could cement inequality rather than challenge it. At its worst, localism can be about wealthy areas turning their backs on their neighbours. In a society where inequality is wide and widening, we are concerned about moves to financial localism that would preclude geographical redistribution of resources. We are also nervous of the talk of local government taking on risk; iv) Where the aim of Public Service Reform is to create opportunities for private and voluntary sector provision of services, we will oppose it. We do not share the view that a plurality of provision is an inherent good – as promoted in the Open Public Services agenda.
Public bodies should not be solely commissioners of services. Where commissioning takes place it needs to be done transparently – the scope of „commercial confidentiality‟ must be reduced and we should insist on open-book accounting. Non- financial goals must be pursued in service commissioning and design and public bodies should pursue social, environmental and equality outcomes.
v) We can work with employer organisations on Public Service Reform initiatives where they are a pragmatic response to the current reality of very tight limits to public expenditure. We do not however accept that these spending constraints are necessary, justified or permanent and we will continue to campaign for fair funding for public services.
Page 168 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
A) Ensure branches that are involved in Public Service Reform initiatives are given the necessary support to engage effectively;
B) Ensure that branches in this situation are able to share experiences so as to learn from each other and spread best practice;
C) Build on the lessons learned in pilot initiatives by publishing useful and accessible guides for branches;
D) Develop a consistent and principled approach to Public Service Reform initiatives that is based on our continued opposition to austerity and privatisation, and our support for quality jobs and services and democratic accountability."
Manchester Negative Amendment Motion 95 Scottish Referendum Delete all after first sentence and replace with:
“Conference notes Scotland‟s inalienable right to self-determination, and will respect the decision made by the people of Scotland on September 18th 2014.”
City Of Glasgow Motion 113 Safeguarding the Union's Future: NEC Interim Report on Branch Resource In Section B:
In fifth paragraph delete complete paragraph and renumber accordingly.
In thirteenth paragraph delete complete paragraph and renumber accordingly.
West Sussex Not competent Motion 112 Continuing the Work of the Branch Resources Review Delete the penultimate paragraph and replace with:
“Whilst the work continues branches with multi employer, sector and service groups to receive an additional 1% funding.”
Bolton Metro Motion 117 Branch Resources Review In point 2), remove the words “that no further changes are made to the branch funding formula (unless required to meet legislative or regulatory changes)", and replace with “that additional funds are made available quickly, in the form of a 1% increase in retention to Branches supporting multi-employer, Sector and Service Group structures until these options are available.”
Page 169 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Bolton Metro Not in line with SOC procedures Motion 30 Stop Probation Privatisation In paragraph five after "programme in England and Wales" add:
"Conference notes that the formation of a unified police service in Scotland has had devastating consequences for UNISON's Police membership. This has seen a reduction in approximately 20% of the workforce in the last two years alone."
Police Staff Scotland Motion 31 Rebuilding Local Democracy After second paragraph after "further cuts to services" add:
"Conference notes that the creation of the single Scottish Police service has been heralded as the 'new' model for the rationalisation of public services. This has ultimately eroded local democratic accountability in favour of a centralised control approach."
Police Staff Scotland Not submitted in line with the Rules Motion 31 Rebuilding Local Democracy In second paragraph after "to make further cuts to services" add:
"Conference notes that Police Reform in Scotland has been heralded as the model for future rationalisation of public services, however this has seen the destruction of local accountability with an emphasis on centralisation of control."
Police Staff Scotland Not sufficiently clear Motion 25 Campaigning on Pay and Living Standards Insert new tenth paragraph:
"Conference recognises that lawful national strike action within UNISON policy across service groups and seeking to involve members working for employers not part of national bargaining structures will play a central role in defeating the pay freeze and the attacks on our members‟ living standards."
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Motion 31 Rebuilding Local Democracy After the third paragraph add:
"Conference notes with grave concern that Labour led councils are simply acting as agents of austerity and are carrying out the Tory cuts.
Page 170 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Conference also deplores the announcement by Labour Party front bench that a future Labour government will not only not return the money stolen from Local government by the Tories but will continue with the planned cuts in public sector spending."
Bromley Motion 31 Rebuilding Local Democracy After third paragraph add:
"Conference notes with grave concern that Labour led councils are simply acting as agents of austerity and are carrying out the Tory cuts. Conference also deplores the announcement by the Labour Party front bench that a future Labour government will not only not return the money stolen from local government by the Tories but will continue with the planned cuts in public sector spending."
Hackney Local Government Requiring a rule change Motion 69 Zero Hours Contracts Insert after iii), new point iv) as follows:
"iv) Explore and bring forward proposals around subscription rates that would encourage members on zero hour contracts to play a full and active role within UNISON;"
Renumber remaining points.
Derbyshire County Motion 119 Honoraria Add new second paragraph:
"Conference believes that it is a particular breach of natural justice to attempt to apply this bogus 'rule' retrospectively:
1) Branches had already decided democratically to budget for these honoraria;
2) Activists have already carried out their responsibilities with a level of commitment informed by the agreed honoraria plans."
At end delete full stop and add:
"and further instructs the National Executive Council immediately to lift restrictions on the payment of honoraria to activists whose branches: a) Have provision for the payment of honoraria in their Branch Rules; b) Have discussed honoraria within their Branch Assessment, and; c) Whose honoraria proposals are approved by a quorate Annual Meeting.
Page 171 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA and to refrain from introducing, or allowing regions to implement, such restrictions until and unless they are authorised to do so by a UNISON rule agreed by Conference."
Norfolk and Norwich Acute Hospitals Rule Amendments Ruled Out of Order Not in line with SOC procedures Rule Amendment 5 Rule D Composition Rule D 1.3 Composition - Delete the first paragraph and replace with:
The basis of representation by branches at the Conference shall be in accordance with the scheme drawn up and ratified by the National Executive Council and implemented by the Regional Committee which shall make provision for any branch representing delegates who can be substituted by shared and /or visitor delegates in the event of them having to withdraw from participation, once Conference has commenced, by reason of illness, incapacity, a family or home emergency or a requirement to return to work under threat of dismissal, so that Unison‟s Rules D 1.6 and F 6.1 on „proportionality and fair representation‟ can be best achieved. Such delegates shall be capable of being substituted by a duly appointed and registered delegate from the branch so affected. This provision is to ensure that delegates can vote on behalf of their Branch Members in accordance with that commitment to proportionality, fair representation and equal opportunities at all sessions to best achieve the Union‟s constitution. It will also ensure that no branch suffers any unnecessary financial detriment by virtue of the implementation of the National Executive Council Guideline for delegation at Conference falling below 50% and providing as follows :
Insert new „D 1.3.1
Rule D 1.3.1
A Branch substitution shall be overseen and approved by the two Regional Delegates and the Regional Secretary (or nominated deputy) of the Region affected to ensure reasonableness to be able to vote on behalf of the Branch Members in accordance with our Union‟s constitution.
Insert new „D 1.3.2
Rule D 1.3.2
The National Executive Council Scheme of Composition of branches‟ delegates to Conference shall be implemented by the Regional Committee to ensure reasonableness to be able to vote on behalf of the Branch Members in accordance with our Union‟s constitution.
Renumber from D 1.3.1 accordingly.
Insert new „D 1.6
Page 172 of 173 2014 National Delegate Conference UNISON FINAL AGENDA Rule D 1.6
Where a branch or grouped branches have the right to be represented by only one delegate the branch or grouped branches may, in order to promote proportionality, fair representation and equal opportunities elect two members to share the delegation between them. Where a branch or grouped branches have the right to be representatives by more than one delegate, the branch or grouped branches may, in order to further promote proportionality, fair representation and equal opportunities, elect two members to share one delegate seat allocated to the branch or grouped branches. For branches with more than two representing delegates, branch delegates can be substituted by „shared‟ and /or „visitor‟ delegates in the event of a family or home emergency occurring as outlined in Rule D 1.3 above once Conference has commenced Any substitutions can only be overseen and approved as outlined in Rule D 1.3.1 above.
Insert new „F 6.1
Rule F 6.1
The principles of proportionality, fair representation and equal opportunities as defined in the Rules shall apply to all the above elections, all the Service Group Conferences and at National Delegate Conference.
Caerphilly County
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