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2014 National Delegate Conference

Decisions

2014 National Delegate ConferenceDecisions

2014 National Delegate Conference

Decisions

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M1 Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach

M8 Support to Stewards in UNISONM11 Promoting Political Education and Developing ActivistsM14 Attendance ManagementM18 Mental Health Awareness Provision in the WorkplaceM21 Oppose the Commercialisation and Privatisation of the

Health and Safety Executive (HSE)M26 Worth It Campaign and Living WageM30 Stop Probation PrivatisationM31 Rebuilding Local DemocracyM37 Women and the Housing CrisisM45 Barnett FormulaM46 An NHS for the FutureM49 Bringing in the LGBT Vote for Public Services, Jobs and

GrowthM53 Defending Trade Union ActivistsM56 Save our Co-op!M60 Budget Cuts and the Impact of Austerity on Black Workers

and CommunitiesM62 Consolidating the UNISON Challenge to AusterityM64 The Impact of Austerity on WomenM84 ColombiaM88 Women and AusterityM93 Scotland's FutureM96 Voter Registration and Political EducationM98 Northern Ireland Peace ProcessM102 Nationalisation of all Energy CompaniesM111 Trade Unions and Political InfluenceM113 Safeguarding the Union's Future: NEC Interim Report on

Branch ResourceM116 Branch Resources ReviewM125 UNISON websiteM127 Training For Branches Who Employ Their Own StaffCA ORGANISING IN FRAGMENTED WORKFORCESCC PAYCD ETHICAL CARECE IMMIGRATION, UKIP AND THE POLITICS OF HATECF ZERO HOURS CONTRACTSCG TRANSATLANTIC TRADE & INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP &

EU

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CH Branch ResourcesR1 Rule C Unemployed MembersR3 Rule C Becoming a MemberR4 Rule D National Delegate ConferenceR7 Rule D Service Group ConferenceR8 Rule D Service Group ConferenceR11 Rule D Retired Members' OrganisationR12 Rule D Retired Members' OrganisationR13 Rule D Retired Members' OrganisationR14 Rule D Retired Members' OrganisationR22 Rule G The Branch CommitteeR29 Rule P Conduct of ConferencesR30 Schedule E Political Fund BallotR31 Schedule E Political Fund BallotEMEM1 Soma Mining Tragedy

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Motions1. Campaigning and Organising: Developing An Integrated Approach

Carried as Amended: 1.1, 1.2Conference 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 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.

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 and co-ordinating action, where possible, as a more effective way to defeat job losses than leaving branches to fight alone. 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.

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Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:

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.

6) Survey the young members recruited in the period of the recruitment campaign to establish why they joined the union at that time.

8. Support to Stewards in UNISONCarried as Amended: 8.1

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.

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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) 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.

4) Continue to campaign for employers to develop effective mental health in the workplace policies and produce advice for branches in negotiating these.

11. Promoting Political Education and Developing ActivistsCarried as Amended: 11.1, 11.2, 11.3

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 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 that there is no alternative to cuts and that we are all in this together. So many of our members have personal experience of government policies which are disproportionately impacting on women and disadvantaged groups we must encourage and motivate from that experience so that our members have a loud and organised voice.

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.

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;

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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 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.

Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with relevant parts of the union including Labour Link to:

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.

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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.

14. Attendance ManagementCarried

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.

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.

18. Mental Health Awareness Provision in the WorkplaceCarried as Amended: 18.1

Currently no employer has a specific procedure for supporting workers mental health conditions and/or disabilities.

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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.

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.

21. Oppose the Commercialisation and Privatisation of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

CarriedConference 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:

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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. 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.


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.

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26. Worth It Campaign and Living WageCarried as Amended: 26.1

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 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.

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;

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.

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30. Stop Probation PrivatisationCarried as Amended: 30.1

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.

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

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.

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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.

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, appropriate women’s sector organisationss 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.

31. Rebuilding Local DemocracyCarried as Amended: 31.1, 31.2, 31.3

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 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.

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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. 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. We also cannot ignore the negative impact of these cuts in the homes of local government workers – the vast majority of whom are women 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. 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. 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.

Where services are being delivered by the community, for example with local libraries, are no substitute for professionally staffed and properly funded services.

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.

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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, including tailored services to meet the needs of women, Black, disabled and LGBT people;

3) Take the opportunity under 2) above to inform, educate and engage young people in the campaign to defend local public services.

4) Encourage alliance building with relevant partners in our communities in pursuit of this campaign;

5) 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;

6) 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;

7) 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.

8) 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.

37. Women and the Housing CrisisCarried as Amended: 37.1

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.

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.

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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 council 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.

45. Barnett FormulaWithdrawn

46. An NHS for the FutureCarried as Amended: 46.1, 46.2, 46.3, 46.4, 46.5, 46.6

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.

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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” .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.

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.

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 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. 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.

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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 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.

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 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 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.

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. 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 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.

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.

Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to:

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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 and for properly funded services that are accessible to and meet the needs of all, including minority communities at national, regional and local level including providing active regional and branch support for broadly-based local campaigns;

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.

4) Continue to work with the TUC and other trade unions to fight to defend the NHS;

5) Campaign for safe staffing levels to help ensure the best care;

6) Work with service group executives (SGEs), regions, the self-organised and young members groups to build capacity amongst UNISON members and local communities in responding to privatisation threats;

7) Reaffirm the principle that free health care should be available to all irrespective of a patient's perceived societal contribution;

8) Work with allies to monitor and expose the expansion of privatisation in the run-up to the 2015 general election;

9) Work with service groups to encourage close working between branches in pioneer sites and in Labour’s whole person innovation councils;

10)Support the integration of health and social care where this is in the interests of patients/users and trade union, 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 and with the aim of extending the principles of NHS provision and consumption to social care ;

11)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;

12)Work with UNISON Labour Link to feed the union’s views into Labour’s plans for Whole Person Care.

49. Bringing in the LGBT Vote for Public Services, Jobs and GrowthCarried

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.

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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 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;

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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.

53. Defending Trade Union ActivistsCarried as Amended: 53.1

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.

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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.

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.


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;

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 union facility agreements as a key component of good employment relations practice.

56. Save our Co-op!Withdrawn

60. Budget Cuts and the Impact of Austerity on Black Workers and Communities

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CarriedConference 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.

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

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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.

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;

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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.

62. Consolidating the UNISON Challenge to AusterityWithdrawn

64. The Impact of Austerity on WomenCarried

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 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.


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;

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3) Promote the work of the Public Services Alliance to campaign and highlight the issue affecting women.

84. ColombiaCarried

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.

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.


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.

88. Women and AusterityCarried as Amended: 88.1, 88.2

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 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 and young women, older women and Black women have been especially vulnerable. 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

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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;

c) Publicise and challenge inequalities and the detrimental impact of government economic policy;

d) Highlight and challenge the cumulative impact on women of national and local strands of government policy through for example welfare changes, lack of support for childcare and changes to pension entitlement;

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e) Provide appropriate training and education materials to branches and regions on these issues and ways of tackling them.

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.

93. Scotland's FutureCarried

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 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

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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.

96. Voter Registration and Political EducationCarried

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;

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.

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98. Northern Ireland Peace ProcessCarried as Amended: 98.1

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.

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.

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.

102. Nationalisation of all Energy CompaniesCarried as Amended: 102.1

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.

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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.

ii) 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.

111. Trade Unions and Political InfluenceCarried as Amended: 111.1, 111.2

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 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.

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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.

Furthermore, Conference recognises the importance of engaging members, particularly young members, in political activity. In the Northern Region, the Public 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.


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 all anti-union legislation including legislation restricting lobbying introduced by the Con-Dems.

4) Establish effective systems of political campaigning using social media to engage members in lobbying councillors, MPs and other political decision makers.

113. Safeguarding the Union's Future: NEC Interim Report on Branch ResourceWithdrawn

116. Branch Resources ReviewRemitted

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

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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.

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.

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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:

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.

125. UNISON websiteWithdrawn

127. Training For Branches Who Employ Their Own StaffRemitted

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.

EM1. Soma Mining TragedyCarried

Conference will be aware that on 13 May 2014, an explosion at the coal mine in Soma, Manisa, western Turkey caused an underground mine fire which burned until 15 May killing a total, 301 people in what can only be described as the worst mining disaster in Turkey's history.

The mine, operated by coal producer Soma Komur Islemeleri A.S suffered an explosion, the cause of which is still under investigation.

The fire occurred at the mine's shift change and 787 workers were underground at the time of the explosion. After the final bodies were pulled from the mine on May 17 2014, four days after the fire, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz confirmed the number of dead was 301. Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) announced the names of 301 workers who died in

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the mine disaster and 486 people who survived but some politicians claimed that the number of dead is more than 340.

In late 2013 miners protested dangerous mining conditions and the main opposition party demanded the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to investigate the mine's safety. However these calls were rejected in the National Assembly of Turkey with votes from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) only weeks before the disaster.

For years workers at the mine had complained about the dangers in the mine, where methane leaking from coal deposits frequently caused fires. Only days before the accident, miners spoke of an intense heat, which is often a prelude to a major fire.

As families grapple to understand how their loved ones left for work but never returned, vocal protesters are demanding an explanation for how a push to privatise Turkey's formerly state-dominated mining sector, combined with allegedly cushy relationships between mine owners and government regulators, has made the industry lethal for a growing numbers of miners.

An official investigation began on Sunday 18 May and has so far resulted in the detention of 25 employees of Soma Holding, the mine's parent company, Ramazan Dogru, the general manager of the mine, and operating manager Akin Celik are among those detained, while five Soma employees have formally been charged with “negligence and causing multiple deaths.”

The arrests suggest an about-face for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been accused of being too cosy with Soma Holding. Melike Dogru, wife of the mine's general manager, is a local councillor for the AKP and chairwoman of the provincial parliament. Turkish media has reported that mine owner Alp Gurkan was awarded $33 billion in government contracts over the last seven years.

Some miners claim that the safety breaches were a direct result of the absence of government supervision. They state “We never saw inspectors anywhere but in the main sections of the mine, where there isn't a risk of fire. The oxygen masks many needed to survive were faulty, checking masks should have been an easy thing for inspectors to do.”

In a visit to Soma, Turkish PM, Erdogan, called mine accidents in Turkey “commonplace,” and compared them to similar accidents in 19th century Europe. Public anger in Soma exploded over those comments, and the premier was heckled and booed by a mob in Soma after delivering his speech. The anger grew after the PM’s adviser Yusuf Yerkel was photographed kicking a protester in Soma, and miners took to Soma's streets over the weekend. The investigation that began on Sunday 18 May 2014, seemed to further stoke the miners’ anger. Some said the government was merely looking for a scapegoat.

Notwithstanding the above this tragedy ranks as the worst mining disaster in recent memory, and is made all the more tragic by the seemingly uncaring attitude of the government and mining companies.

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Their attitude is unacceptable and must come to an end. It is intolerable that mine workers in Turkey are denied their basic human right to work in an environment that guarantees their safety.

Conference we note that Turkey has the worst possible safety record in terms of mining accidents and explosions in Europe and the third worst in the world.

Conference we call on the National Executive Council to work with the International Committee and other parties to:

1) Call on the Turkish government to immediately ratify and implement International Labour Organisation Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines, to save the lives of mine workers;

2) Call on the Turkish authorities to take the lives of mineworkers seriously and to place it above profit;

3) Call on UNISON to continue to support the International Labour Organisation at national and branch levels to ensure health and safety for workers across the world.

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A. ORGANISING IN FRAGMENTED WORKFORCESCarried

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;

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 recognises the difficulties associated with organising workers in the private, voluntary and independent sectors. 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. It is increasingly difficult for members in these areas to participate in our union- they often work with employers where UNISON is not recognised and where it is difficult to get time off. Conference believes that outsourced and fragmented workers must be encouraged to play a central role in the life of the union. Our current structures do not facilitate this. 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.

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

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are no longer based on one employer, with the average UNISON branch representing workers employed by 26 different employers. Representatives in our core employers are increasingly prohibited from using their facility time to recruit, organise, represent and maintain members in these outsourced areas. Key branch activists also 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 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. Conference recognises the role that retired members and Self-Organised groups could play in assisting the Union meet its approach.

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, whilst ensuring that the key principle of a lay member led union is maintained and strengthened. 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 region wide 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;

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;

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II) Initially focus on the larger employers with the greatest potential for membership growth, including winning trade union recognition for UNISON where UNISON is not recognised.

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.

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 and encourage the participation as appropriate of retired members to meet I) and IV) above.

VI) Work with regions, branches, Service Groups and Self-Organsied groups to develop proposals for future democratic, lay-led UNISON structures and seek to ensure that these workers are no worse off than those members employed by the core employer when it comes to playing a full and active part in UNISON.

C. PAYCarried

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 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 condemns the attitude of Government and employers alike towards public service pay settlements, specifically 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 UNISON members have been subject to the pay freeze for up to five years, with some public sector staff suffering 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. The proportion of UNISON members relying on benefits to make ends meet is steadily increasing. In addition, many private companies and community and

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voluntary sector providers of public services have mirrored the freeze and cap. Wage awards of 1% and thereabouts are not increases but wage cuts. The pay freeze has to be broken. Government as an employer should move to increase the wages paid to its own employees such that their real value is restored.

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. To help address the historic fall in wages there is a need for sustained increases in the National Minimum Wage.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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.

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However, 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. Conference therefore 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.

There is an urgent need for a shift in societal resources from profits to wages. 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.

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.

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.

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. 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. 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 makes a valuable contribution in building up member confidence and forging a union wide strategy.

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 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) Encouraging union wide joint working between branches across Service Groups, including the ever growing number of members who are no longer covered by

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national pay bodies, for example by encouraging all regions to do all they can regularly to hold quorate meetings of their Regional Council;

2) Drawing on lessons learned from the 2011 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 and sharing the successes of those regions who engaged most effectively with building support for industrial action;

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, maximising democratic engagement of all UNISON members, across all UNISON Service Groups in our campaign to secure real pay increases for all our members.

Conference therefore calls upon the National Executive Council to use the Worth It campaign, and our key political campaigning to:

a) Campaign for an end to the public sector pay cap and call for a clear commitment to this from Ed Balls and Ed Miliband;

b) Continue to highlight falling living standards and the argument that higher wages are needed for the good of the economy;

c) To support UNISON’s sector-based activity around pay, in particular to ensure support where members democratically decide on lawful industrial action;

d) Use the Worth It Campaign to engage with UNISON membership is a key way of fighting back in conjunction with sector based campaigns;

e) 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;

f) 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.

g) Promote wider uptake of a living wage as a means of ending the blight of in-work poverty and a substantially higher National Minimum Wage;

h) Campaign to defend public sector jobs, which provide decent pay and labour standards, and against privatisation, which impacts negatively on the economy through redistributing public money from wages to profits;

i) Campaign for an end to the use of zero-hours and other exploitative contracts;

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j) Work with Labour Link and UNISON regions to encourage Councils and other providers to sign up to the union’s Ethical Care Charter;

k) Work with allies to make living standards a central part of the 2015 general election campaign;

l) Use the activity associated with the Worth it campaign to recruit new members and to reach out to the wider community;

m) Seek to coordinate across service groups and with unions across the public sector to organise united action against the pay freeze; and

n) 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.

D. ETHICAL CARECarried

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;

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’.

Conference welcomes the progress of UNISON’s Ethical Care Campaign since its launch in 2012. The Charter advocates a minimum standard of care that local authority commissioners should seek to deliver. 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.

Conference believes that home care workers pay and status should reflect the compassion and skill their job requires.

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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 welcomes in particular:

i) 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;

ii) 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;

iii) 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,

iv) 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

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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:

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 resolves to 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 work with relevant service groups to seek to ensure that:

01) The Charter is promoted and awareness raised of the challenges faced in the home care sector;

02) This campaign is given an appropriate priority in regions and relevant branches;

03) Campaign material and other resources are available to mount campaigns in line with I)-IV) above;

04) Regions offer opportunities to exchange information and build on campaign successes;

05) A high profile campaign is delivered to highlight the difficulties faced by home care workers and raise awareness of the Charter and its demands;

06) 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

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the definition of “public function” under the Human Rights Act 1998 to include home care provided by the private and voluntary sectors.

07) There is a formal response from the government to the Charter;

08) The Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb is written to highlighting examples of unfair working practices in the home care sector and explain why a change of approach is required.

E. IMMIGRATION, UKIP AND THE POLITICS OF HATECarried

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.

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 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

Conference thefore 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

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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. 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’. 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

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.

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. 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.

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.

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

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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. 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.

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 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, UAF and Stand Up to Racism;

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) Highlight to all members the importance of voter registration with a targeted campaign specific to UNISON’s self-organised groups;

4) 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;

5) 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;

6) Work with Hope not Hate to scrutinise and monitor UKIP’s new Councillors;

7) 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;

8) Challenge the toxic rhetoric around migration and place a renewed focus on organising and recruiting migrant workers in public services;

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9) Continue to work with organisations such as Show Racism the Red Card to expose the myths of migrant workers to young people;

10) Highlight UKIP attacks on workers in general and public service workers in particular.

11) 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.

12) 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;

13) 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.

14) 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.

F. ZERO HOURS CONTRACTSCarried

Conference notes that employers have increasingly been turning to zero hour contracts, 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.

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: demands of the job – where work is erratic and highly unpredictable, varying from day to day and week to week; 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; 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 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.

Conference 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. However, 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

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they always involve the shifting of risk from the employer to the employee. It is wholly fair and appropriate to demonise zero hours contracts.

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 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. 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.

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;

3) Zero hours contracts in comparison to fixed contract employees receive lower gross weekly pay;

4) 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;

5) 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;

6) 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;

7) 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

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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;

8) are more susceptible to unfair treatment through weaker employment rights and are made to work in unsafe conditions with constant fear of been sacked.

Conference also notes that the use of zero hour contracts have spread so rapidly official statistics have failed to keep track. Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest there are approximately 250,000 people on zero hours contracts. However the realistic figure suggested by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development research shows approximately a million people working on zero hours 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. 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.

The prevalence of zero hours contracts is higher amongst young Black people than any other group and 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. Zero hours contracts also 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. 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.

Conference believes that zero hours contracts have no place in the provision of health and social care services. 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. LFS data

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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 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 further 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.

Conference calls on the National Executive Council to 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.

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 and assess the effect on the employees subject to these contracts;

ii) Consider what changes need to be made to improve such contracts both for the benefit of the employees and the services they deliver and take steps to campaign for any necessary changes that are identified through the above;

iii) 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

iv) Monitor and campaign against the use of zero hours contracts in the provision of health services and 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”;

v) Campaign to highlight the importance of social care employment standards in determining the quality of care services;

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vi) 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;

vii) work with the National Black members committee and other self-organised groups, service groups and other trade unions to raise awareness of the disproportionate impact on Black women workers in particular of the increased use of zero hour contracts.

G. TRANSATLANTIC TRADE & INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP & EUCarried

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 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. 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 will 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 will only serve the interests of multinational enterprises and those who seek to push back regulation and liberalise public services and permanently remove them from democratic control in order to extract maximum private profit. 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.

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

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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 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.

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.

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.

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H. Branch ResourcesLost

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Amendment to Rules

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Amendment to Rules

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1. Rule C Unemployed MembersCarried

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."

3. Rule C Becoming a MemberCarried

Rule C 5.1

Delete second sentence “Any person……UNISON membership.”

4. Rule D National Delegate ConferenceLost

7. Rule D Service Group ConferenceWithdrawn

8. Rule D Service Group ConferenceWithdrawn

11. Rule D Retired Members' OrganisationCarried

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.”


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.

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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


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”.

22. Rule G The Branch CommitteeNot carried by required 2/3 majority

Rule G 2.1.3

Insert "Disability Officer," after "Equality Officer(s)"

Rule G 4.1.1

Insert "Disability Officer," after "Equality Co-ordinators,"

29. Rule P Conduct of ConferencesLost

30. Schedule E Political Fund BallotCarried

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.”

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31. Schedule E Political Fund BallotCarried

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”

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.

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Emergency Motions

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Emergency Motions

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EM1. Soma Mining TragedyCarried

Conference will be aware that on 13 May 2014, an explosion at the coal mine in Soma, Manisa, western Turkey caused an underground mine fire which burned until 15 May killing a total, 301 people in what can only be described as the worst mining disaster in Turkey's history.

The mine, operated by coal producer Soma Komur Islemeleri A.S suffered an explosion, the cause of which is still under investigation.

The fire occurred at the mine's shift change and 787 workers were underground at the time of the explosion. After the final bodies were pulled from the mine on May 17 2014, four days after the fire, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz confirmed the number of dead was 301. Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) announced the names of 301 workers who died in the mine disaster and 486 people who survived but some politicians claimed that the number of dead is more than 340.

In late 2013 miners protested dangerous mining conditions and the main opposition party demanded the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to investigate the mine's safety. However these calls were rejected in the National Assembly of Turkey with votes from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) only weeks before the disaster.

For years workers at the mine had complained about the dangers in the mine, where methane leaking from coal deposits frequently caused fires. Only days before the accident, miners spoke of an intense heat, which is often a prelude to a major fire.

As families grapple to understand how their loved ones left for work but never returned, vocal protesters are demanding an explanation for how a push to privatise Turkey's formerly state-dominated mining sector, combined with allegedly cushy relationships between mine owners and government regulators, has made the industry lethal for a growing numbers of miners.

An official investigation began on Sunday 18 May and has so far resulted in the detention of 25 employees of Soma Holding, the mine's parent company, Ramazan Dogru, the general manager of the mine, and operating manager Akin Celik are among those detained, while five Soma employees have formally been charged with “negligence and causing multiple deaths.”

The arrests suggest an about-face for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been accused of being too cosy with Soma Holding. Melike Dogru, wife of the mine's general manager, is a local councillor for the AKP and chairwoman of the provincial parliament. Turkish media has reported that mine owner Alp Gurkan was awarded $33 billion in government contracts over the last seven years.

Some miners claim that the safety breaches were a direct result of the absence of government supervision. They state “We never saw inspectors anywhere but in the

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main sections of the mine, where there isn't a risk of fire. The oxygen masks many needed to survive were faulty, checking masks should have been an easy thing for inspectors to do.”

In a visit to Soma, Turkish PM, Erdogan, called mine accidents in Turkey “commonplace,” and compared them to similar accidents in 19th century Europe. Public anger in Soma exploded over those comments, and the premier was heckled and booed by a mob in Soma after delivering his speech. The anger grew after the PM’s adviser Yusuf Yerkel was photographed kicking a protester in Soma, and miners took to Soma's streets over the weekend. The investigation that began on Sunday 18 May 2014, seemed to further stoke the miners’ anger. Some said the government was merely looking for a scapegoat.

Notwithstanding the above this tragedy ranks as the worst mining disaster in recent memory, and is made all the more tragic by the seemingly uncaring attitude of the government and mining companies.

Their attitude is unacceptable and must come to an end. It is intolerable that mine workers in Turkey are denied their basic human right to work in an environment that guarantees their safety.

Conference we note that Turkey has the worst possible safety record in terms of mining accidents and explosions in Europe and the third worst in the world.

Conference we call on the National Executive Council to work with the International Committee and other parties to:

1) Call on the Turkish government to immediately ratify and implement International Labour Organisation Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines, to save the lives of mine workers;

2) Call on the Turkish authorities to take the lives of mineworkers seriously and to place it above profit;

3) Call on UNISON to continue to support the International Labour Organisation at national and branch levels to ensure health and safety for workers across the world.

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