2023 National Delegate Conference

Conference restates UNISON’s campaign for abortion rights

Delegates at UNISON’s national delegate conference last week reaffirmed the union’s commitment to campaign for the decriminalisation of abortion in England, Scotland and Wales.

Greenwich Local Government branch proposed a motion on defending abortion rights, which was described as “very important and timely” in the light of the overturning of Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court last year, “the biggest attack on abortion rights since the 1970s,” and the recent jailing in the UK of mother of three Carla Foster for ending her pregnancy.

Speaking for the national executive council (NEC) in support of the motion, Liz Wheatley (pictured) called Ms Foster’s 28-month sentence, half of which must be spent in custody, “a disgrace”.

She added: “This ruling will give confidence to all those who stand outside clinics harassing women trying to exercise their right to choose, to all those who want to turn the clock back and send us into the backstreets.

“Bans, laws and rulings like this won’t stop abortions, they’ll only stop safe abortions. They will drive abortion underground and see the return of people dying from backstreet abortions. And they will make it even harder for Black women, for women with disabilities to access abortions.”

Ms Wheatley outlined a number of instances of women being investigated by the police in England and Wales, in the past eight years, to see if they had had ‘illegal’ abortions or for trying to terminate a pregnancy, including a woman who had a stillbirth and was still in hospital.

“For these women, for Carla Foster, for many others, we have to campaign for decriminalisation, she said. “The fact that abortion is still a criminal offence in this country has to change.”

Blog: Why attacks on legal abortion is a trade union matter

The article Conference restates UNISON’s campaign for abortion rights first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON raises the age limit for its young members

UNISON’s national delegate conference last week approved a rule change that has an immediate impact on the union’s young members.

Delegates agreed to raise the ceiling age for young member status from 26 to 30. This increases the time in which activists can work in a young member capacity and, consequently, the age of those taking the two young members’ seats on the national executive council.

It’s estimated that the move will roughly double the number of the union’s young members.

Josephine Grahl, UNISON’s national officer for young members, commented today: “We hope this change will strengthen UNISON’s young member structures, giving young workers a longer period to join and become active in UNISON young members’ groups, and giving us time to develop young activists who will go on to play a lifelong role in the union.

“This motion came from UNISON’s young members’ conference in December 2022, where it was very strongly supported, and our survey of UNISON members showed that a large majority of members of all ages felt that increasing the age was the right thing to do.”

Ms Grahl added: “The increase in age reflects the changes in the workforce that have happened since UNISON’s first young members’ groups were established in 1996: the increase in school leaving age, the expansion of participation in higher and further education, and the fact that the public sector workforce tends, these days, to be older than the average.

“But it doesn’t stop here. We hope every branch and region will use this opportunity to step up organising with young workers – and make our young members’ groups better than ever before.”

The article UNISON raises the age limit for its young members first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Conference celebrates – and resolves to do more – for Black workers

National delegates today underlined the union’s ongoing fight for the rights of its Black members, by passing three motions in the closing sessions of conference.

The first focussed on the ethnicity pay gap (EPG), which the union believes is a major cause of in-work poverty experienced by Black workers, and the cause of severe intergenerational inequality in Black communities.

The EPG is as high as 23.8% in London, with regional variations across the UK.

Although the government committed to asking large employers to publish information on their ethnicity pay gaps in its 2017 election manifesto, to date few companies have complied.

The introduction of mandatory monitoring of the EPG is an important measure needed to identify the disparities within the workforce and force employers to be accountable.

As one speaker told delegates: “Black workers and especially Black women continue to pay the price of being Black. Employers have to be called to account.”

Said another: “The ethnicity pay gap is a major cause of poverty. And it’s widening. Closing the gap would be great for business and would potentially boost the UK economy by £2m a year. But there’s still resistance.”

The motion calls on the national executive council to:

make closing the EPG a priority in the union’s bargaining, organising and campaigning agendas;
produce a UNISON toolkit to implement mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, and encourage branches to use it;
request that Labour Link use its influence to persuade the Labour Party to commit to creating a statutory duty on all public service employers to annually report their EPG and take steps to address disparities experienced by their Black workers.

Proposing a motion on the affects of the cost of living crisis on Black workers, Lola Oyewusi of the national Black members’ committee (main picture, above) told delegates: “Black workers and members continue to face significant hardship.

“There are more food banks today than McDonald’s. And millions of people, especially Black workers, are using food banks for everyday living. Their children are struggling, because their parents have to make a decision: do I put the heating on, or do I use the little money I have to buy food for my family.

“The energy companies are making huge profits,” she continued. “The water companies are making huge profits. The cost of living crisis is a political decision.”

Ms Oyewusi added that many Black members have been on the picket lines this year, and “deserve to be paid as well as other people.”

Jacqueline Wallis said that the cost of living crisis was having a “disproportionate effect” on Black people, especially Black women, parents and those with a disability.

And Chris Akaluka (pictured above) observed the co-relationship between low-paid and outsourced workers, adding that Black workers were most likely to be outsourced.

“The monster is outsourcing. It’s divisive and it has a racial undertone. We must support insourcing, with the right terms and conditions,” he said.

Delegates called on the NEC to provide material to branches and regions that both highlights inequalities, and shares valuable lessons from campaigns against racism inside and outside the workplace – for example where Black workers have organised and taken action against low pay or to return inhouse.

Drawing these many themes together was a motion that marked the midway point of UNISON’s 2023 Year of Black Workers – and acted as a stimulus for continued action.

The year has been an opportunity to celebrate the union’s long history of challenging racism in the workplace, to come up with practical steps for further change.

Proposing the motion, Jason Pierre of Coventry and Warwickshire Combined Healthcare branch said: “We are hoping to establish a legacy, to introduce things that will help us better understand the needs of Black members.”

This includes a campaign toolkit for branches, which will aid their organising around Black member issues.

Lola Oyewusi said that the year was one “we can never forget”, which was both celebrating the contributions of the union’s Black members and setting down a legacy of organising and good practice “so that those coming behind us have a platform to stand on.”

She also addressed every delegate in the hall when she said: “We are all one.”

Annette Heslop agreed that “intersectionality is key” and that Black members needed “white allies” in their fight for equality.

The motion stated that “it is only by having broader conversations together, about how deep-rooted racism is in society, that it can be eradicated.”

It called on the NEC and the national Black members’ committee to:

continue to promote the Year of Black Workers;
work with all parts of the union to freshly consider their work programmes from a Black member perspective;
encourage all parts of the union to hold appropriate events to celebrate the Year of the Black Worker;
gather Black members’ experience of work and public services wherever possible;
continue to campaign to close the ethnicity pay gap.

UNISON 2023 Year of Black Workers

The article Conference celebrates – and resolves to do more – for Black workers first appeared on the UNISON National site.

‘We will defend our right to strike – and our right to vote’

National conference delegates this week voiced their determination to defend their rights as trade unionists and voters – against a wave of government suppression.

A debate on defending the right to strike focussed on the government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which the Lords sent back to the House of Commons last week, for the second time, with significant amendments that water down some of its anti-trade union aspects.

Speaking of the use of work notices, which would allow employers to name specific staff on strike days – who would then be required to attend work under threat of disciplinary action or even being fired – one delegate said: “You know it will be a boss’s charter – they will name the union reps as the people required to come in, as an attempt to break the strike.”

Delegates noted that UNISON must continue to lobby the Labour Party to ensure that, if it comes to power, it follows through on its commitments to repeal this and other anti-trade union laws.

Speakers on the the motion ‘taking effective action within the straitjacket of anti-union laws’ addressed the NJC strike ballot currently underway in local government, with local government and school workers deciding whether to take industrial action over the employer’s latest below-inflation pay offer.

Introducing the motion, Kath Owen of the NEC said: “We’re in the middle of a wave of industrial action. All of you in local government branches are working your socks off to get that ballot done.”

Reasons to vote yes in the NJC strike ballot

A delegate from Leeds said: “We want local government to join in the wave of strikes that have electrified the public in the last year. Tories out – strikers in.”

Delegates passed the motion, which calls on the national executive council to:

devise and roll out training courses across all regions on how to organise industrial action ballots and win disputes, adjusting where appropriate for devolved public services, bargaining and employment law regulations;
examine and explore the organising methods used in both local and national trade union ballots that have surpassed the 50% ballot thresholds in Great Britain;
make recommendations on which methods of organising are key to holding successful industrial action ballots.

The motion ‘defend our right to vote – voter ID is voter suppression’ concerned the damaging consequences of the Elections Act, passed last year, which requires mandatory photo ID at all general and by-elections in the UK, and many other elections in England and Wales.

UNISON has already voiced its concern that the requirement will disenfranchise millions, particularly already disenfranchised and disadvantaged groups in society, who for various reasons, not least poverty, are unlikely to have acceptable ID such as passports and driving licences.

Proposing the motion, Becky Tye of Eastern region refuted the government assertion that the act was designed to suppress election fraud: in the 2018 general election, 58m votes were cast, with just 34 allegations of voter fraud.

Instead, she said, it was designed to “gerrymander, to manipulate the vote… to create a barrier to participation in our democracy for particularly Black people, LGBT+ people, young people, people with disabilities.”

Jacob Collier said that in the recent local council elections he encountered many people “eager and enthusiastic to vote, but unable to do so because they did not have the required photo ID.”

The government was creating “a regressive society where democratic rights have been curtailed,” he said.

“They know they can’t win [elections] with ideas, because they don’t have any. They know they can’t win on their record, because they don’t have one. So they have to sneak in by the back door.”

Passing the motion, delegates called on the NEC to:

work alongside the TUC, WTUC, STUC and affiliated civil liberty organisations to continue to lobby against these draconian measures;
work with Labour Link to influence the next Labour Party general election manifesto to commit to reversing this legislation;
while the law remains, to continue to campaign for other forms of ID to be acceptable such s student ID and non-photo-ID.

The article ‘We will defend our right to strike – and our right to vote’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON presents Dr Neville Lawrence with honorary membership

Today UNISON presented Dr Neville Lawrence, father of Stephen Lawrence (pictured), with honorary union membership for life.

Presenting the membership at UNISON’s 2023 national delegate conference in Liverpool, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea described how the union has had ‘a long history’ of working with Stephen Lawrence’s parents, Dr Neville Lawrence and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, who have both received honorary union memberships.

Mr Lawrence recounted to delegates how the trade union movement was fundamental to his family’s battle for justice over the murder of their son, Stephen Lawrence.

“Black members came to my house one morning and said ‘we will help you, we need you to get involved in the union.’

“I remember when I had just come to the country and in order to get to work in those days, if you didn’t have a union card, you could not get through those gates. And there I was again, going to the unions to ask them to help me to get the people who had murdered my son convicted.

“I went to a conference in Blackpool, and we took leaflets. A man had told me: ‘If you come to the conference, there will be members of different unions inside the conference, and they will take your request all over England’.

“I am standing here 30 years later because of you, and all the other different unions who have been with us over the past 30 years.”

Mr Lawrence explained that he ‘did not realise what racism was until I came to this country’.

“I knew there were differences between races, but I didn’t know that hatred could be so bad that you would see an innocent person standing at a bus stop, waiting to go home, and then decide to kill him.

“My life has been turned upside down, and I am saying to you: without the help of all the different unions who have been by my family’s side, maybe I wouldn’t be standing here.

“Thank you very much for being with us. I hope that you continue to support my family.”

Mr Lawrence’s address was met with a standing ovation from conference delegates.

The article UNISON presents Dr Neville Lawrence with honorary membership first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Rosena Allin-Khan shares Labour’s vision for mental health

The final day of UNISON’s 2023 national delegate conference opened with a speech from shadow minister for mental health, Rosena Allin-Khan MP (pictured).

Both a politician and a doctor, she opened her speech saying: “I am an NHS worker like so many of you in here today.”

“I want to thank you for all that you do. All the hours that you put in, even though you’ve been going through your own, personal, daily struggles. You are an incredible, powerful force for good.

“As a proud NHS doctor, when I’m able to, I put on my scrubs, I turn up and do my shifts at A&E.”

Drawing on her experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Allin-Khan said: “While we gave our all to patients and their families waiting in line for PPE, Tory donors were lining their pockets.

“I remember the NHS staff I saw lying on ventilators when I worked in the ICU in hospitals.

“People like you and I who had gone in to save lives, but it cost them their lives. It was us who provided solace to terrified people. It was you and the people you support. And now we know as the country suffered, the Tories partied.”

Labour’s vision for mental health

Ms Allin-Khan went on to describe mental health as ‘core business’ for trade unions, explaining the systemic drivers of poor mental health, and what a Labour government will do about it: “It is so important that we tackle the root causes of ill health: poverty, ill housing, polluted air, unhealthy food, overwork and stress.

“We need a system which prevents ill health, which allows us to live longer lives and be healthier for longer, no matter our social class or what we do for a living.”

Ms Allin-Khan explained that a Labour government would “stop mental health policy from being placed in a silo” and “bring in long-term, whole government planning for improving mental health outcomes and mental health in all policies.

“Labour ministers will allow mental health its fair share of funding. The first job of a Labour government is to remove preventable pain and avoidable disease from the lives of our citizens.”

She also explained the importance of international solidarity, citing her experience working as a doctor in Palestinian refugee camps and training doctors and taking medical aid to Ukraine, and declaring the need for Britain to remain an “interconnected global village not an isolated island with a drawbridge up.”

She said: “We must be an open country, welcoming refugees and celebrating the immigrants who live, work and study here.”

Finally, she praised UNISON’s steadfastness in “opposing Tory dogma and lies”, celebrating members as “ceaseless champions for fairness and justice.”

Ms Allin-Khan was met with a standing ovation from UNISON delegates.

The article Rosena Allin-Khan shares Labour’s vision for mental health first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Heartbreaking stories of workplace harassment heard at NDC

Chaired by UNISON vice-president Amerit Rait, the second day of the union’s national delegate conference passed a motion on tackling harassment at work.

Introducing the motion, the chair of the Welsh regional young members forum Ryan Hopkins said that harassment is one of the key issues raised by young members in the union.

Mr Hopkins drew the links between government cuts to services and increased harassment that workers face from members of the public: “Being justifiably stressed by a lack of services does not justify harassment, and it makes it more difficult for workers to put all of themselves into their job.”

The motion was amended to include a clause specifically on disabled workers. A TUC report found that 68% of disabled women workers had been sexually harassed at work.

Urging the union to pass the motion, Rosie MacGregor from the national retired members committee described the fear of harassment “as equal to the fear of reporting it.”

Another young member who works as a healthcare assistant described how, when she was harassed by a patient, she was told to ‘just get on with it’.

She said: “I was made to feel uncomfortable all day. That is the case for every female healthcare assistant who has to work with male patients in hospitals. The NHS, like most employers, love to put up posters to say they won’t tolerate abuse or harassment of staff. I wish they would follow those posters.”

Supporting the motion, Alison Lewis from Nottingham County branch shared her experience: “As a social work team manager, there are some people who think it’s part of our role to accept verbal or physical abuse.”

She also highlighted the increased rate of harassment for Black workers: “41% of Black workers are still experiencing racism at work. I’ve experienced racism at work, by a manager, and by a peer, and without the people in this union, I would not be standing here today.”

One union member, who worked in further education, described how she had 72 safeguarding referrals within six months.

The motion calls on the union to:

promote existing model policies and other relevant materials around harassment, abuse, violence and safeguarding at work across the service group;
work with relevant sections of the union to develop model policies where relevant ones do not currently exist;
provide information to UNISON branches on negotiating adequate safety measures for lone workers, commuters and those working unsociable hours; and
promote awareness and understanding across UNISON of issues around harassment, abuse and violence, with a particular focus on combatting sexual harassment, racism and workplace disability discrimination.

The conference session also passed a motion to make 2024 the year of LGBT+ worker, with special mention of the importance of standing up for trans people, particularly young trans people.

The article Heartbreaking stories of workplace harassment heard at NDC first appeared on the UNISON National site.

International motions on women’s rights and Palestine passed at NDC

Chaired by Libby Nolan, the third morning of UNISON’s 2023 national delegate conference saw declarations of international solidarity, particularly on women’s rights and Palestine.

The conference session began with a one minute silence to pay respects to Alan Jinkinson, UNISON’s first general secretary who died last year.

Delegates then heard two impassioned speeches from trade union leader Gonul Erden and Rosa Pavanelli (pictured), the general secretary of Public Services International, the global union federation for public sector trade unions.

Ms Erden, only recently released from prison in Turkey, addressed UNISON members over video message: “My main strength in overcoming this difficult period comes from solidarity from comrades like you.”

Rosa Pavanelli’s speech, calling for global solidarity to defeat the rise in “far right populism”, was met with a standing ovation.

Women’s rights

The first motion passed was on ‘defending and improving women’s rights internationally’. Introduced by the national women’s committee, the motion invited powerful speeches from numerous activists.

Branch secretary of Camden UNISON Liz Wheatley said: “We live in a world where women are treated as second-class citizens, it’s true here, and it’s true around the world.”

Ms Wheatley also called for solidarity with Carla Foster, the mum of three who received a prison sentence this week for ending her pregnancy. Ms Wheatley said: “UNISON has a proud history of defending abortion rights”

Another speaker articulated how intertwined the struggles for labour rights and women’s rights are: “All of these issues are interlinked. If you want to fight sexual harassment at work, you need secure employment. If you want to flee an abusive relationship, you need the money to do it. Economic independence is crucial. All of these things go together.”

The motion calls on the union’s commitment to:

continue to work internationally to defend abortion rights;
continue to work with the International Committee and the National Women’s Committee to provide solidarity with women who are on the frontline in demanding trade union rights, peace and social justice, specifically in Colombia and Turkey;
work with the National Women’s Committee to show solidarity with women in Iran and explore ways to help them fight oppression and discrimination.

Palestine

The second motion passed was on trade union solidarity with Palestine.

Introducing the motion, a speaker from Belfast referred to the recent Amnesty International report that officially categorises Israel as an apartheid state.

The motion calls on the national executive council to:

encourage distribution of and discussion on the new guide for UNISON activists: ‘Talking about Palestinian rights’;
support Amnesty International’s call on the International Criminal Court to consider the crime of apartheid;
support branches to campaign for local government pension funds to engage with the companies they invest in and to demand they end their involvement in the occupied Palestinian territory and in the violation of Palestinian human rights;
defend the right of public bodies to purchase, procure and invest ethically, including by using BDS in support of Palestinian rights.

The motion was amended to include a commitment to “work with Labour Link to secure a commitment from the next Labour government to recognise Palestine as an independent state”.

Proposing the amendment, Glenn Williams from the North West region reminded delegates that 72% of the 193 UN member states recognise Palestine as a state.

The article International motions on women’s rights and Palestine passed at NDC first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Care dominates debate at national delegate conference

UNISON’s national delegate conference turned its focus to care on Wednesday morning with a set of motions on the issue.

Moving the first, on the social care crisis, Rosie MacGregor (above) of the retired members forum told delegates: “It isn’t the first time we’ve considered the need for reform of adult social care – but despite our active campaigning and the meaningless promises from the government, nothing, nothing has changed.”

She went on to highlight the dual failings of the system, both for the service users and the workers who provide care. Asking delegates: “Is it any wonder that many leave the profession due to poor working conditions and inadequate pay. We must continue to campaign for a society where care workers are fairly treated.”

One delegate, who had worked in care for 20 years gave an emotional speech in which she told the story of a man she had worked with, who decided to work in a residential as the consistent hours would allow him to spend more time with his young family.

“Three weeks later,” she said, “He was dead. COVID ripped through his care home. And for what? Minimum wage and zero-hours contracts? That’s not just unfair, its criminal. And all the while the private companies lay back and roll around in the profits.”

Another speaker told conference of their adult autistic son and the effect it had on his family when his son was placed in a residential care home over 100 miles away from where they lived. He said that every time they visited, he was being cared for by a different care worker “there was no consistency.”

He left delegates with the message: “You cannot put a price on an individual’s quality of life.”

The motion reasserted UNISON’s support for a national care service to bring about consistent standards of care and consistent terms and conditions for the workforce. Speakers noted the work of the union in commissioning the recent Fabian Society report – Support Guaranteed.

Delegates credited the report with outlining the roadmap and the building blocks required to create such a service but were quick to add that simply the idea of a national care service wasn’t enough.

Speakers in further care debates in the morning, told of the stark difference in approach from the Welsh and Scottish governments. Conference heard how, in Scotland, the government’s plans, though a ‘national care service’ in name, amount to little more than a charter for private companies.

Tony Slaven said: “The Scottish government are promoting something they call a national care service and make the comparison to the NHS.” But he argued that the government’s plans to create ’a vibrant market of care’, was just another way to privatise the sector.

He said that for private companies, “The people who need the service are cash cows to be milked and the people who provide the service are a cost to be squeezed.”

The motion argued that Scotland’s situation demonstrates that it is not enough to assume that all stakeholders share our principles and values for a national care service.

Speaking to that point Mark Chiverton called for UNISON to work for a national care service to be a “properly democratic organisation. Accountable to local representatives and accountable to the workforce.”

Jan Tomlinson of Cymru/Wales carecarecaremoved a motion which highlighted the positive work currently being done under a Labour government in Wales, under a tripartite approach (employers, unions and governments working together), telling delegates: “Each nation can learn from our experience in Wales and how we have been driving change.”

Highlighting the union’s work she said: “Progress hasn’t happened by accident – when UNISON started campaigning for a national care service in Wales in 2021, no-one was talking about it,”

She asked delegates to go back to their branches to speak to their members and “tell them – if Wales can do it, so can we.”

To round off the morning of debate on the subject, a conference fringe event – campaigning for a national care service – saw a panel of stakeholders and experts discuss the current approaches of the Scottish and Welsh governments, in detail.

The panel, and delegates, then examined how the lessons learnt from those can be applied to UNISON’s campaign, Make Care Work, to create a positive vision for the service.

The article Care dominates debate at national delegate conference first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Public services can help create a kinder, fairer society, says UNISON

Addressing the union’s annual conference in Liverpool today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:

“This year thousands of public sector workers in UNISON have voted for strike action. Environment Agency, CQC and university staff are still in dispute.

“Local government workers in England and Wales are currently voting for strike action, with others to follow in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“Council services are too often overlooked. It’s only when there’s no one to fill the potholes or empty the bins that anyone notices. When there are no urgent care packages available or no support for pupils with special needs that anyone realises the importance of local services.

“During the ballot there’s a simple message – vote for strike action. Not just for better pay, but to save essential services and shine a spotlight on their chronic underfunding.

“The strikes involving UNISON NHS workers captured attention and their action won the hearts of the public. The ‘yes’ votes piled pressure on mediocre ministers, who buried their heads in the sand and hoped the dispute would go away.

“The threat of strikes at almost every ambulance service in England, blood and transplant services, Great Ormond Street, the Tavistock and Portman, and Liverpool hospitals made clear the seriousness of the dispute.

“The government was forced to come to the table and put more money on it. Strikers braved freezing weather, standing up for what’s right. Not only for themselves, but for the future of the NHS. The public could see the importance of what they were doing.

“But it’s not just industrial action that changes history. UNISON sorts out wage problems that have persisted for years – for example, winning a low-paid healthcare assistant a life-changing £17,000 in back pay.

“There are also successful insourcing campaigns. At Barts Hospital Trust in London, 1,800 staff were brought back into the NHS. And in Lanarkshire, 400 staff are once more part of the NHS family.

“It’s happening in local government too. There’s a huge re-organisation in North Yorkshire, where UNISON’s leading negotiations to improve conditions. In South Lanarkshire, the union’s won a regrading for homecare workers, pushing their hourly rate to over £16 an hour.

“But wins like these don’t happen by themselves. Too often negotiations go unnoticed. Staff think their employer’s handed them a better deal from the goodness of their heart.

“If this government had a heart, there’d already be a functioning care service. UNISON’s just launched a roadmap to a national care service. The next task is to get a future Labour government to make this happen.

“This year is the year of black workers in UNISON. The Empire Windrush landed in the UK 75 years ago. And a few weeks later, the NHS was born. The NHS wouldn’t be celebrating its 75^th birthday this year, if that ship hadn’t docked in Tilbury.

“This is a year for important anniversaries – Neville and Doreen Lawrence are being awarded honorary membership of UNISON, marking the 30th anniversary of the tragic murder of their son, Stephen.

“Today’s also the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell disaster, a tragedy that should never have happened. One caused by corporate greed and negligence and a government that put profit ahead of regulation and safety.

“The government is intent on restricting union power and taking away workers’ rights. But unions remain strong and defiant in the face of anti-union legislation, now making the UK one of the most difficult places in the democratic world to strike.

“This could be the last conference before a general election. It’s a chance to shape the future. Public services are a shelter protecting and supporting communities. Its workers are guardians, always looking out for others, making sure key services are working to protect everyone. UNISON will always be there to protect them and keep public services going, creating a kinder, fairer society.”

Notes to editors:
– Today is the second day of UNISON’s annual conference, which this year is in Liverpool. The event runs until Friday. Further details about the four-day event can be found here.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Public services can help create a kinder, fairer society, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.