2020 National Delegate Conference UNISON PRELIMINARY AGENDA Brighton Centre 16 Jun 2020 19 Jun 2020 Organising and Recruitment Organisation and Development 1. Growing Activism in the Union Conference congratulates all activists who have worked hard to ensure that once again ended the previous calendar year in net growth. This is a remarkable achievement given the continuing environment of attacks against workers who deliver public services by increasingly hostile employers as well as large parts of the media who disparage attempts by working people to combine together in trade unions. Conference fully recognises, however, that recruitment is but one side of the union coin. Organising is also key to the growth of the union. Without strong organisation and visibility of the union these membership gains will be vulnerable to short and medium-term attacks by employers and the Government. Building strong organisation or, in other words, building more power for our members in the workplace means encouraging more new and existing members to take an active role within the union. Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to: 1) Carry out a full review of all activities across the union designed to identify and develop more activity from members; 2) Report back to 2021 National Delegate Conference setting out a three year plan to increase the number of members taking an active role within the union. The plan should include appropriate educational support for existing and future activists as well as agreed regional and service group targets; 3) Develop an immediate national campaign to encourage more members to become more active within the union; 4) More closely align and monitor organising activities as part of the very successful marketing campaign and recruitment months. National Executive Council 2. Supporting Activists Wellbeing Conference understands the large scale harm to members caused by work related stress, and recognises that mental health issues are reported to affect one in three of us throughout our lifetime. Conference notes that facility time for UNISON representatives has been under attack for over a decade. As the amount of facility time is reduced so the pressure on Page 1 of 160 2020 National Delegate Conference UNISON PRELIMINARY AGENDA existing activists and branches increases, particularly within continued austerity agenda funding levels and the post 2019 general election climate. There are greater pressures on activists across all workplaces through restructuring, redundancy, outsourcing and other efficiency and budget reduction activities. UNISON recognises the impact of all these stresses and more, on all members and provides a branch framework that supports them through the development of workplace contacts, stewards, officers, self-organised groups, education and There for You. Activists are also subject to the same pressures and stresses as other members but may be at risk of vicarious trauma and associated impacts on wellbeing through the support and representation they provide to their comrades. Although there is an activist mentor system in many branches, a number still face a growing burden on their personal time to complete support and representation. This has often been a pressing issue for UNISON activists but is of increasing concern within the contemporary socioeconomic and political climate. Conference will also recognise that many activists, performing vital officer roles, do not have any access to facilities time for these functions. Whilst this motion recognises this is as per current legislation we also ask Conference to note that the pressures on such roles has dramatically increased via the "conscious cruelty" of our current societal landscape. Bournemouth Christchurch Poole Branch recognises the importance of effective, professional and focused support and has, therefore, funded restorative supervision for key activists to mitigate some of the risks to wellbeing - but it cannot find the funds to broaden this out or provide it in the long term. Other branches may find themselves already unable to meet their current expenses and also pay for this vital service – a need which is created by the hostile environment in which UNISON activists organise. Conference, therefore, calls on the National Executive Council to: 1) Hold an effectively evaluated and published root and branch review, of the current need, provision and quality of appropriate and regular support that seeks to safeguard the wellbeing of all activists; 2) Develop, prioritise and publish a plan, that contains actions beyond facilitated debate and training on this topic, to ensure the provision of appropriate and regular support that seeks to safeguard the wellbeing of all activists; 3) Consult regional convenors, self-organised groups and service groups in the development of points 1) and 2) above; 4) Develop, prioritise and publish a delivery model, that contains actions beyond facilitated debate and training on this topic, for the provision of high quality, appropriate and regular support that seeks to safeguard the mental wellbeing of all activists; Page 2 of 160 2020 National Delegate Conference UNISON PRELIMINARY AGENDA 5) Report to National Delegate Conference 2021 on the published review, plan and model and to clearly identify the work undertaken and the outcomes secured as a result. Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole 3. Strategic Organising Conference notes that Strategic Organising Units nationally and regionally have helped branches grow their members power to win fights in the workplace. Branches who have benefited from training on Strategic Organising and have seen positive results for their members, for example at George Elliot Hospital. Conference hopes that where required all branches can benefit from sustainable training around Strategic Organising. Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with all regions and service groups in the development of a national strategy for Strategic Organising Training. Conference recognises that our activists need to be able access relevant training and also have the tools needed to provide that training to their members. This national strategy should identify training to be applied across all areas of our union (branches, service groups, regional committees/forums and self-organised groups), including: 1) Develop a package of training that can be run across the union in Strategic Organising; 2) Ensure that the training includes producing training materials for activists to help them build the knowledge and skills needed to use Strategic Organising techniques; 3) Additionally, provide training to branches, service groups, regional committees/forums and self-organised groups so that they have the tools needed to train their members in Strategic Organising techniques. Staffordshire University Education and Training 4. Combatting the Rise of Discrimination Through Activist Training Conference notes with alarm the rise in discrimination in the workplace and in society. The number of reported hate crimes has more than doubled between 2013 and 2019 according to Home Office figures, and a Citizens UK survey suggests that these may represent as little as thirty percent of the true figure. Meanwhile, nearly half of Black employees and two thirds of LGBT+ employees in the UK consider their employer not to be committed to diversity. Conference notes that our own surveys and evidence from service groups, self- organised groups, branches, and regions, also report a rise in racism and other forms of discrimination in the workplace. Often this discrimination is institutional but more and more it is blatant abuse, coming from service users, colleagues, or members of the public. In these challenging times our members need to be confident that their union will be able to protect and support them, particularly those members Page 3 of 160 2020 National Delegate Conference UNISON PRELIMINARY AGENDA that work in privatised and fragmented services such as social care, catering and cleaning who tend to be a more vulnerable workforce. Challenging discrimination and winning equality is at the heart of everything UNISON does. UNISON aspires to work towards a fairer society, beginning with the workplace. Therefore, UNISON has a duty to ensure that our activists are trained and equipped with the knowledge and skills to recognise workplace discrimination and the confidence to challenge it. That duty also extends to ensuring that our member learning programmes do not only offer development opportunities to members but also educate and inform members to engage and participate in UNISON so they too take up the fight against bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination in all its forms. Many UNISON members find their way into union activism through involvement in one of the self-organised groups or the young members’ forum. Conference commends initiatives, such as the North West’s Moving On: Life After Young Members, which seek to ensure that these members are equipped and encouraged to become involved in the union beyond those groups. Conference also believes that UNISON needs to continue to work to ensure that learning and organising is embedded in every workplace. Conference welcomes UNISON’s decision to identify schools, early years, and social care as its national organising priorities, recognising that staff in these sectors are more likely to be women, Black, a migrant worker, or on low pay and are often employed under precarious contracts. These are among the groups that