2022 National Disabled Members Conference

‘We must be united for battles ahead,’ says UNISON president

Addressing delegates at UNISON’s national disabled members’ conference in Brighton this morning, the union’s president, Andrea Egan (pictured above), told them: “We face unprecedented times – and we must emerge united for the real battles that lie ahead”.

Congratulating delegates on their work in the Year of Disabled Workers, she noted that activists had trained 100 new disabled officers for the union, which she called “a fantastic achievement.”

And that was not all: “Your work on the Disability Employment Charter has been inspirational”, said Ms Egan, “and an inspiration for the union’s forthcoming Year of Black Workers.”

Unity was a thread that ran throughout her speech.

“We must be united,” she noted, as the Conservative government plans yet another period of austerity. “The Tories will do what they do best – cuts, cuts and more cuts”.

Hospitals are worried about paying for energy, schools wondering if they can keep the lights on, while the response to the cost-of-living crisis from this “government for the 1%” is “ineffective at best and deplorably negligent at worst”.

The president spoke of the EU Retained Law Bill – a “bonfire of employment rights [that] seeks to deregulate employment rights” – and outlined some of the rights that could be lost.

“UNISON is fighting this government on this bill, as we are on other grounds,” she said, and reiterated: “When we work together, we’re stronger.”

Citing UNISON victories – and not least the recent win for staff in Lancashire and Cumbria working for the NHS but employed by OCS – she observed that the whole union, from general secretary Christina McAnea to staff and activists, is working to create ways to take on employers.

“Poverty is a choice of the powerful,” she said. “As a union, we must be on the side of the worker who is unable to pay their bills.”

UNISON disabled members conference – platform seen from the left, with signer in sight

In the final debates of this year’s conference, Christine Jackson from the Northern region moved a motion on the importance of public transport for disabled people.

However, there is a considerable way to go. As an example, she cited the Tyne and Wear Metro, which has 60 stations, but only 10 of them have Access for All.

Access for All provides an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to the platform.

Another delegate noted the discrimination against disabled people on planes, together with the general lack of support on public transport. “The only way I can travel is with my support”, she said.

Conference also supported a motion from the Black members’ caucus, which highlighted the impact of long COVID on Black members, who were finding it particularly difficult to get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) payments – even though the courts have judged long COVID to be a disability.

Rose Gale from Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, said: “My employers are penalising people with long COVID, which is not universally recognised. Following the usual triggers [on sickness levels] is not appropriate”.

Delegates backed a motion calling for implementation of the BSL (British Sign Language) Act, with Howard Beck telling conference: “British Sign Language was recognised as a language 19 years ago. More work needs to be done. Interpreters go through roughly seven years of training. It’s a significant amount of time and commitment”.

He explained that there are many spoken language agencies popping up and claiming to be able to teach BSL – profiteering from it without knowing about it or the culture around it – and having a negative impact on provision for Deaf users.

Supporting the motion, Katrina Gilman said that her job included hiring sign language interpreters “and it’s very difficult. We need to hold our employers accountable to make sure BSL users have access to services”.

Delegates also backed motions on women’s health, breaking down barriers to employment and trans ally training.

The article ‘We must be united for battles ahead,’ says UNISON president first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Delegates call for help to combat the epidemic of male suicide

A busy afternoon at UNISON’s disabled members’ conference today was dominated by a harrowing debate on men and mental health yesterday, which heard testimony from delegates about their personal experiences of male friends or relatives who had taken their own lives.

In 2020, 75% of those who took their own lives in the UK were male, with 4,880 men and boys ending their lives – equating to 12 deaths every day of the year.

While people of all genders experience mental health problems, gender stereotypes mean that men’s mental health problems often go unnoticed.

An incredibly moving speech from one delegate whose own son had ended his life on the epidemic of male suicide in the UK, was followed by a delegate who works in mental health in the North West, who spoke of spending his working days stopping patients trying to end their lives.

“This is real,” he said: “This is massive, because guys won’t say nothing”.

That was a recurring theme – of men who are told to ‘man up’, who have been taught that showing emotion is weak and that talking about how they feel is as bad.

Another delegate talks of how her nephew ended his own life, and how now, his son is struggling, and constantly asks: “Why did he do it when he was loved?” And the delegate said: “And I can’t answer, because I don’t know”.

Once again, the lack of communication for Deaf people was highlighted, as it makes it harder for those who are entertaining suicidal thoughts to access help.

Another delegate told of his own suicide attempt, after an upbringing that never allowed men to talk or acknowledge emotions.

He went on to says that he is now involved in Men do Talk, a campaign in Scotland, encouraging men to be able to open up.

Conference voted to call on the national committee to:

develop a campaign to raise awareness of male mental health;
consider whether the safe place referred to in a motion to June’s national delegate conference could be extended to include a safe space where men can share and discuss their experiences of mental health;
provide details of appropriate sources of help via the UNISON website.

If you are struggling, the Samaritans are available to listen, 24/7, every day of the year

Conference also passed a motion from the disabled LGBT+ caucus, which called for the national committee to raise awareness of the Conservative government’s “declared intention of replacing the 1988 Human Rights Act with a bill of rights, which we call the ‘Removal of Rights Bill’,” said Carl for the caucus.

Disabled and LGBT+ people rely heavily on the protections of the Human Rights Act. “Many disabled people have to use to articles in the courts to access public services to live independently,” he explained, but the proposed bill of rights could see rights removed rather than improved.

“We need to be monitoring what’s going on – we have a fight on our hands to protect out rights.”

The article Delegates call for help to combat the epidemic of male suicide first appeared on the UNISON National site.

‘We want workplaces to thrive – the Tories want to curtail unions’

“We want our workplaces to thrive. A Tory government wants to curtail trade union action even more, claiming that they’re run by trade union ‘barons’ rather than the democratic processes we go through – and this from a government that is on its second unelected prime minister in two months.”

Vicky Foxcroft, Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people, was addressing UNISON’s national disabled members’ conference in Brighton this afternoon, and noted that, disabled people are so important to this latest version of a Tory government that “we don’t know who the new minister [for disabled people] is”.

It was, she said, indicative of the contempt in which the Conservatives holds the disabled community.

She also cited the example of the COVID pandemic, where the government’s daily news conferences never had a BSL signer for Deaf viewers.

Ms Foxcroft asked then prime mister Boris Johnson after this three times – the third, doing so in sign language to indicate what a lack of signing means for Deaf people – but nothing was ever done to address the issue.

Instead, she said, the government wanted to set “migrant against migrant, worker against worker, young against old and sadly, disabled person against disabled person.”

Labour in office will face problems “after the government has tanked the economy,” she said. They party might not be able to everything it wants to, overnight, but it has to start the progress.

Repeating the pledges of Labour leader Kier Starmer to fight any further anti-union legislation – and repeal the 2016 anti-union act – she highlighted broken Tory manifesto promises, including those on keeping bills low.

“I don’t want to be shadow minister for disabled people – I want to minister for disabled people”, said Ms Foxcroft.

“We will do this together, campaigning together and, “when in government, delivering together.”

The article ‘We want workplaces to thrive – the Tories want to curtail unions’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Disabled members look to the legacy of 2022

The first plenary sessions of UNISON’s annual disabled members conference took place this morning, with the cost of living and securing a legacy for the unions’ Year of the Disabled Worker dominating proceedings.

But it also saw member Paddy Toner presented with his award as this year’s winner of the union’s Local Service Champions Awards by general secretary Christina McAnea (pictured above).

Mr Toner is a rehabilitation worker for the visually impaired at Halton Borough Council. He himself is registered blind. He was nominated by Helen Illidge, his support worker, who accompanied him to the conference.

Watch a video about Mr Toner here and read an article here.

In the morning’s debates. speaking for the national disabled members’ committee, Tony Slaven explained that he’d spent this year touring a presentation around: 2022, The Year of the Disabled Worker, from Lanarkshire to Westminster – Lanarkshire, because that’s where the idea originated.

He noted that the year had highlighted the value that disabled workers bring to the workplace and the union and had promoted the need for disabled members to “take control” against a background of a government that not only overlooks or ignores disabled workers, but “deliberately discriminates against” them.

Of the year’s work he stressed: “It cannot stop on the 31 December … it has to be embedded in the union.”

Lisa Dempsey from the North West noted that: “Disability is not a dirty word. “Why are my needs ‘special’ because I have a disability?. “We need to reclaim the words disabled and disability”.

Sarah Barwick from Kent said: “Employers do not understand the Equalities Act” and this needs to be challenged. Additionally, “if you don’t notify your employer [that you have a disability], they can say they didn’t know when it comes to reasonable adjustments”.

In a motion on “smashing all equality pay gaps, from the national Black members’ caucus, Tara Thomas told conference: “We all know we’re not paid enough.”

The gender pay gap is well documented and acknowledged. Women’s jobs not valued as much as ‘male’ jobs. “Perfectly legal, but wrong”.

“So what happens if you’re Black, disabled and a woman?” she asked. “Turned down so often, I no longer apply.” She said that the union needed to find way to prove such attitudes so as to challenge the situation.

Peter Daley from Greater London asked that the national committee take this work across all the union’s self-organised groups.

Discussing the COVID pandemic, Hazel Barnet from Yorkshire and Humberside

Said that many disabled members feel particularly worried.

Members who were previously classed as vulnerable, have not been given any extra protections after the government announced that the pandemic was over, including in stopping free tests.

Andrew Berry from Islington – who has dyslexia and is asthmatic – reported that now, after COVID, he had “never felt more vulnerable. COVID is not over and we must continue to learn from the pandemic”.

There was an urgent need to treat air quality as a health and safety issue and as an access issue. It also remains important to encourage employers to adopt the COVID safety pledge, while the union itself can work toward increasing the number of UNISON events that are hybrid, which can set an example to employers.

In a motion on accessibility to mental health services, Tina Kemp, for the national Deaf members’ caucus, told delegates. “For Deaf people, it is nearly impossible to access services.

“For example, they’re told there’s no money for interpreters or the interpreters are poor or have no experience in mental health issues.

“Personally, I have noticed Deaf members have committed suicide while waiting for services.”

Moving a motionon disabled people and the cost of living crisis, Graeme Ellis for the national committee said: “It’s not a cost of living crisis – it’s a cost of survival crisis.”

Many members are low paid, with no hope for pay rise, rent is rising and food itself is going up, while the cost of food for special diets has tripled.

“They couldn’t get us with COVID,” he said, “so this government is having another stab, with starving us to death.

“We need a better deal.

Mr Ellis asked people to use the They Work For You website to contact their MP and explain about the effects of the crisis.

“We have to get the message out that we’re not going to stand for this any more.

Works in guidance and says every day is becoming worse and worse, seeing people in a dreadful state because of the situation.

Moving an emergency motion calling for a general election, Stephen Lowry from the Northern joked: “We’re three PMs and six chancellors away from Christmas.

“Liz Truss was a PM for less than 50 days. I’ve waited longer for a hospital appointment. Two PMs have been unelected.

“We need a general election now.”

The article Disabled members look to the legacy of 2022 first appeared on the UNISON National site.

General secretary urges members to ‘vote, vote, VOTE’ in NHS ballot

“I’ve been speaking to our NHS workers – nurses, ambulance workers, hospital cleaners, who say the service is already on its knees, that’s it’s so bad, going on strike won’t actually make it worse, but will draw attention to it.”

General secretary Christina McAnea was speaking at UNISON’s annual disabled conference in Brighton this morning, and was addressing the fears of health members over the damage that industrial action could do to the NHS.

But as she stressed the challenge facing the union in getting the vote out and urged members working in health to ‘vote, vote, VOTE’ and to persuade their fellow members to do so. This is particularly vital given the high bar the Tories’ anti-union laws have set on turnout in industrial action ballots.

This was vital given the continuing cost of living crisis – and the prospect of “austerity part two” from new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as he deals with the fallout from the catastrophic ‘mini-budget’ of his predecessor Liz Truss and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng.

She told delegates that, in Scotland, where the devolved government has made a different offer to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, “we are waiting to see the outcome of the consultation on the latest offer”.

She said that she was “confident the Labour leader in Wales and his cabinet members will talk to us.

“Do I think the Tories will? Well, Truss, Kwarteng and Thérèse Coffey [health secretary under Truss] certainly wouldn’t have – let’s see what this week’s Tory leaders will do. Let’s just say – I’m not holding my breath.”

It is against this background that the union “will be doing all we can to win every single ballot.”

The cost of living crisis was not the only theme for Ms McAnea, who also wanted to celebrate 2022 as being UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers, and pledged to ensure that, when it is over, she will write to all regions and service groups “explaining their role in continuing its legacy.

“Because we don’t just campaign and fight for your rights in the Year of Disabled Workers, we commit to doing this all year round, every year.”

Praising the group for its continuing work to help, support disabled members, the general secretary concluded by telling conference: “No matter how big and daunting the challenges ahead of us may seem, nothing is insurmountable when we are united and deliver the same compassion, dedication and tenacity that you show to your members every day. Thank you”.

The article General secretary urges members to ‘vote, vote, VOTE’ in NHS ballot first appeared on the UNISON National site.