UNISON’s women’s conference opens in Liverpool today

UNISON’s 2018 women’s conference opened today (Friday) at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool.

Women make up more than 75% of UNISON’s membership, so the conference presents the ideal opportunity to debate the ongoing challenges and obstacles that women face in modern Britain. Issues such as misogyny, online abuse and low pay will be discussed during the three-day conference.

Workshops will also be held to support members, covering topics such as your legal rights when trying to create a work/life balance, mental health issues in the workplace and what can be done to reduce the impact of Brexit on women’s rights.

UNISON’s general secretary Dave Prentis, who addresses delegates this afternoon said: “As a union made up of two-thirds of female members, the issues that women face in the workplace are central to everything that we do.

“This years’ conference feels particularly timely – in the wake of the #MeToo campaign it’s clear that sexism and misogyny is as pervasive as ever. Less than a mile from the conference is the Royal Liverpool hospital, where female workers have been left unsure of their futures in the wake of the Carillion collapse.

“Many women grapple with the reality of low pay as a result of the gender pay gap. UNISON is working relentlessly to remove the punitive pay freeze and help to lift thousands of people out of poverty.

“As long as any form of discrimination, overt or unconscious, exists – UNISON will challenge it.”

Notes to editors:
– The conference takes place from the 1-3 February at the BT Convention Centre, Kings Dock, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool L3 4PF.

Media contacts:
Siobhan Cooley T: 020 7121 5555 M: 07903 870786 E:s.cooley@unison.co.uk

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‘You can be a mother, daughter, sister and engineer if you wish’

UNISON’s women’s conference opened its second day with a passionate debate on the lack of women working in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Speakers in Liverpool discussed the need to remove the stigma around STEM subjects in order to increase female participation.

Angela Wall from Kirklees spoke passionately about her career as an electrical engineer.

Janis Ford, a career’s adviser from Hertfordshire, told delegates about the importance of impartial advice for young women from careers advisers.

Yvonne Watson from Grampian health branch talked about her sister, a technician in the navy who visits schools to talk to children about working in STEM.

“I’m very proud of my sister,” stated Ms Watson. “She shows me that you can be a mother, wife, daughter, sister and engineer if you wish.”

Conference voted to:

• work with branches and regions to create a campaign to remove stigma of females undertaking STEM subjects at any age;
• work with Labour Link to lobby the UK government to address this matter in Parliament;
• work with Labour Link to lobby the UK government to provide a bursary for females wishing to undertake STEM A levels, to help retain and develop talent.

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‘I see first-hand how lack of funding is harming the NHS’

UNISON president and hospital catering assistant Margaret McKee gives a rousing speech at the union’s women’s conference in Liverpool.

Ms Mckee works at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast and told conference of the challenges she sees her colleagues and patients facing.

“Operations are being cancelled,” she said. “People are dying before they can be treated.”

And there are problems all public sector workers face:

“The value of our wages has declined sharply as the cost of living has increased.

“There has been a lot of talk about ditching the pay cap, but not a penny more has made its way into the pay packet of our members.”

“This government has taken incompetence and misconduct to a new level.

“It’s sad that our second woman prime minister has proved to be no better than the last,” she added.

“It’s time for the message to go out loud and clear – privatisation and PFI have failed and we need to work to get rid of it.”

Ms McKee also mentioned the government’s limiting of child tax credits to the first two children, and the so-called ‘rape clause,’ which says that a woman can claim for a third child if one child was conceived as a result of rape.

This clause forces women to label their children as a product of rape, she said, and could put them in danger if they are still in contact with their attacker.

The UNISON president also called for support for her chosen charity of the year, Rosemount House, and ended her speech with praise for everyone at the conference: “You are all amazing women and I thank you for being here and for all you do for women and our union.”

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Women’s conference kicks off with a vote to boost organising

The biggest ever UNISON women’s conference, with more than 540 delegates, set out an organising agenda in Liverpool this afternoon to make sure  that more low-paid women can play their part in the union.

Caroline Collinson, from Newcastle City branch, moved the first motion of conference, calling for organising among low paid women to be a priority.

“It is vitally important that, within our branches, we map and identify our low paid women workers so we can reach them,” djr dsof

“Low pay is a real and ongoing issue for women, as is the difference in pay between men and women which is still a big problem.”

Other speakers supported the motion and mentioned the difficulty part-time working women face in becoming more involved in their branch.

Conference agreed to:

• encourage branches to map low paid women members;
• produce material specifically targeted at low-paid women that encourages them to become active within the union;
• encourage regions and branches to use the Getting the balance right toolkit to make sure the union’s principle of proportionality is met.

Find out more about Getting the balance right – a toolkit for achieving proportionality in UNISON

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Blog: Standing up for working people includes standing up for mental health

All too often, Mental Health does not receive the attention or the support, that other health problems do. Our union has a proud history of fighting for greater funding for mental health support, but just as importantly, for greater recognition of mental health in the workplace.

Today – February 1st – is a day to put that right. Today is “Time to Talk” Day, which aims to start conversations about mental health, and encourage us all to be more open – talking, listening and changing lives.

Since Time to Talk was launched three years ago, UNISON has been a keen supporter. In Redditch and Bromsgrove we’ve held dozens of mental health events – including activities like hand massages, guerilla keep fit sessions, health trainers doing health MOTs and tai chi classes.

At the same time, we’ve also seen other UNISON branches making real strides in this vital area. Halton local government and Lothian health branches have been amongst those working hard to tackle mental health stigma and improve mental wellbeing in the workplace and at home.

And in our Wales region, innovations like the creation of a Mental Health Champions role in 2016 and an annual Mental Health Day have shown the practical, positive ways that UNISON can change the conversation on mental health – and change lives in the process.

This is something which our union can and will do more of in the years ahead – always finding new ways to further support our members. And as pressure mounts across the public sector – with most forced to do more with less – it’s even more important that we care for each other.

Standing up for working people includes standing up for mental health. We’re proud of the steps that UNISON has taken already on this vital issue, and of the steps we will take in future.

Dave Prentis, General Secretary, UNISON
Laney Walsh, Branch Secretary, Redditch and Bromsgrove UNISON

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LGBT History Month helps us challenge prejudice

February is LGBT History Month – a chance to celebrate LGBT lives and culture in order to challenge prejudice and build equality.

This year sees the 30th anniversary of the UK government passing Section 28, the notorious piece of legislation that prohibited local authorities from “promoting homosexuality” in schools.

It left unable to help distressed young people – and not even knowing whether they could mention Oscar Wilde.

Forty years ago Harvey Milk, the first out gay councilor in the USA, was murdered. but on a brighter note, the rainbow flag is also 40 years old, while Sarah Walter’s lesbian classic, Tipping the Velvet, is 20.

This year’s theme for history month is Geography: Mapping the world.

If those anniversaries provide us with a snapshot of progress in a short time, then there is no shortage of information around to remind us that, while equality is spreading – from marriage to adoption and much more – there are also large parts of our world where LGBT people live in fear.

Being LGBT is criminalised in 72 states, In eight of those, it is punishable by death.

There are plenty of resources to help you start a conversation this month.

On LGBT global equality, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association publishes a series of maps showing sexual orientation laws around the world.

You can find them here at the ILGA website. Transgender Europe has produced similar work on transgender rights here.

Two new books, published in December and Janaury, look at the struggle for LGBT rights within the context of trade unions.

Both Champions of Equality: Trade unions and LGBT rights in Britain (Lawrence & Wishart) by Peter Purton and Trans Britain: Our Long Journey from the Shadows by Christine Burns (available here) feature UNISON.

UNISON has produced a presentation for branches – updated to include the anniversary of Section 28, it has extensive notes, enabling anyone to present it. Download here.

Our interactive UNISON LGBT history highlights can be found here and an LGBT history wall chart can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Finally, The Proud Trust has an education and resource pack that, while aimed specifically at young people, but is great for everyone.

You can find that at the trust’s website.

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How UNISON has helped beat the January blues

New Year gongs

Film and TV stars and sports people may customarily grab the New Year headlines, but they weren’t the only recipients of New Year’s Honours.

And there was a particular New Year fizz in the news that two UNISON members, who work tirelessly to protect the country from floods, received MBEs.

Carol Holt and Peter Spencer both work for the Environment Agency in the North West, Carol as deputy director for flood incident management, and Peter as a flood hydrologist, advising the agency on forecasting floods and modelling their impact.

Andrew Dobbie, UNISON national officer for the union’s water, environment and transport service group, said their awards were “richly deserved recognition for their many years of public service, keeping our people safe from floods.”

Ever green in retirement

It’s typical of UNISON to think of its members and the greater good of the nation – if not the whole world – in the same breath. And a cunning new campaign ­does exactly that, by combining pensions and the environment.

The union launched a campaign to encourage local government pension funds to divest from carbon – in other words, to pull their hard-earned money out of green-unfriendly  businesses.

UNISON’s step-by-step guide is designed to help members of local government pension schemes push for changes in the investment of their funds. The aim is to explore alternative investment opportunities, allowing schemes to sell their shares and bonds in fossil fuels and go carbon-free.

Figures published last year revealed that £16 billion was invested in the fossil fuel industry by local government pension funds.

Chair of UNISON’s policy committee James Anthony said: “Pensions are meant to safeguard our future, but that future is threatened by the burning of carbon in fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

“This campaign empowers people to hold their pension funds to account.”

And with five million members of local government pension schemes, and over 13,000 different employers paying into them, UNISON believes its campaign will resonate with a wide audience and influence the pensions agenda.

Winter heroes

Thousands of words were written in January about the “winter crisis” in the NHS, with the huge delays at A&E departments and corridors clogged with hundreds, if not thousands of patients waiting for a bed, or a chair, and a doctor with time to see them.

UNISON has contributed to that debate. But amid our hard-nosed view of the reasons for and statistics of the crisis, there was also the glimmer of hope and inspiration that came from our members on the frontline.

Paramedic Jason Anderson has worked for the London Ambulance Service for 17 years. While lending his experienced, insider-view of the crisis (“Although winter was and still is the busiest period, an increase in call rates throughout the year has become the norm”) his professionalism, caring attitude and commitment shine through every word of his interview.

Jason epitomised the value of UNISON members to the health service – why patients value them, and why they need everyone’s support while the government gets its act together.

“Maybe once every other day, you walk away from a patient with a smile on your face, because you’ve done something that’s made them better,” he says. “You feel you’ve made a difference. That’s why the staff keep doing what we do.”

“A force for good”

OK, so there weren’t any lightsabers scything the air of the higher education service group conference in Chester, but there was plenty of belief in the power of good intentions.

“Unions have brought about many of the positive changes in higher education,” Denise Ward told activists. “We are a force for good.”

The conference agreed that UNISON would work with other unions for an end to poverty pay in the county’s universities.

Delegates voted for a pay campaign that would include a pay rise of £1,500 a year or 7.5% – whichever is higher; for all employers to pay the real living wage and work towards a minimum rate of £10 an hour in the sector; eradicating the gender pay gap by 2020; and an end to zero-hour contracts.

Ms Ward, who chairs the service group executive, said that the aim was for university pay that “catches up and keeps up.”

And calling on activists to build the membership, she said: “We are at our best when we work together.”

Our Nelson Mandela Award winner

Councillor Yvonne Mosquito became the third recipient of the UNISON Nelson Mandela Award, in recognition of over 37 years of dedicated campaigning and organising in her local community in Birmingham.

Yvonne’s community work began as a teenager when she became a supplementary school teacher assistant, and has continued through years as an elected member of Birmingham City Council and numerous other, high-level public posts in the West Midlands.

She received her award from the union’s president, Margaret McKee, during the Black members’ conference in Liverpool, which Dave Prentis cites as the biggest conference of Black trade unionists in Europe.

In one of his January blogs, the UNISON general secretary writes: “I am so proud of UNISON’s history tackling inequality and racism. A union that did not prioritise these would not be the UNISON I know.”

So that’s just a few of our personal highlights from the first month of the year. Bring on February!

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