UNISON Scotland Conference Briefings 2002

Conference - Branch delegates Briefing
Scottish Policies on the main motions

This briefing is intended as a guide to Branch delegates.

It will reflect Scottish Council policy and will assist the two Scottish delegates in their discussions and negotiations with other Regions, the NEC and the Standing Orders Committee. It will also assist the prioritisation of the order of business. Scottish priorities have been indicated in the left margin.

In addition to the two motions which Regions may submit, this year Regions may submit two amendments and two options are highlighted.

The guide cannot mandate Branches who may have different policies. However, it may assist delegates in taking an overview of Conference. The general line is to support motions and amendments unless listed to oppose. Comments have also been made against important issues for support.

A meeting of Scottish Branches will take place on:

MONDAY 17 JUNE 2002 FROM 5.30PM - 7.00PM

CONNAUGHT HOTEL, WEST HILL ROAD, WESTCLIFF,

BOURNEMOUTH

Light refreshments will be provided. Conference Crèche will be available until 7.00pm:

If you need any help, advice or assistance during Conference, do not hesitate to contact the Scottish Council delegates.

MARY CRICHTON
MIKE KIRBY
Scottish Council Delegates

PRIORITIES

1	82	Energy
2	2	Economy
3	23	Integrated Public Transport
4	5	NHS Funding
5	55	Pensions
6	35	Equal Pay
7	135	Chhokar Family Justice
8	83	Missile Defence
9	104	Palestine
10	60	Anti Terrorism
11	120	Young Members
12	7	Public Services

RULES

8, 12, 4, 3, 2, 1

SCOTTISH COUNCIL REPORT

NATIONAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE 2002

BRANCH DELEGATES BRIEFING

PRIORITY No = Priority		POLICY RECOMMENDATION
	ECONOMY
2=2	A likely composite of motions 1-3 on the Economic Review, will include Scotland's motion (2).	Support 1-4
	With a referendum on Europe possible before next conference a motion from Wales/Cymru restates UNISON opposition to the Euro.

	HEALTH
5=4	Continued campaign against privatisation in health called for by Glasgow Health.	Support 5,6

	PUBLIC SERVICES
7=12	An NEC omnibus motion on Public Services may benefit from an amendment seeking a review and report of alternative means of funding and delivering public services. A variety of motions in this section may develop the NEC's position but 15-17 call for the national demo which everyone votes for but seldom if ever actually supports, and 18-19 call for a shift in democratic processes to include a referendum, a mechanism rejected by Scottish Council and a similarly rejected opposition to Partnership.	Support 7-13 Oppose 15-17 Oppose 18+19
23=3	The Education debate should be prioritised and a debate on public transport is long overdue.	Support 20,22,23

	PRIVATISATION
	Motion 26 again calls for the national demo and 25 adds little to motion 7.	Oppose 25,26
	The proposition in 28 to use charitable status arrangements for public bodies is flawed in that they cannot directly employ and provide services	Oppose 28
	The opposition (29+30) to using private facilities to carry out NHS work has hardly been pursued in Scotland due to low excess capacity, but has not been opposed in the few cases, because of public demand.	Oppose 29,30

	BARGAINING
35=6	A strategy for pursuing Equal Pay 35 would be welcomed and Edinburgh and Dundee focus on particular aspects of discrimination in pension schemes addressed in more general terms by motion 57.	Support 35-41

	EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS
	Work/life Balance, opposition to charging regime recently introduced into employment tribunals and further developments in the United Campaign to Repeal Anti-trade Union Laws are addressed in this section.	Support 42-46

	EQUALITIES
	Childcare, Age Discrimination, Lesbian and Gay Partnership Rights opposition to Institutional Sexism and the under-representation of women in managerial posts are all addressed.	Support 47-54

	PENSIONS
55=5	Considerable recent media attention to the shifting uncertainties surrounding sustainable pensions are raised by the NEC and Manchester.	Support 55,56

	HEALTH & SAFETY
		Support 57-59

	CIVIL RIGHTS
60=10	The post 9/11 legislation introduced by the Government is criticised by the NEC and should be reviewed.	Support 60
	Scotland has no policy on state-funding of political parties, but a debate is developing and it is perhaps premature to commit to the opposition in motion 62.	Oppose/Amend 62

	RACISM
	The NEC has a comprehensive proposal and action plan for Combating Racism in Local Communities (65) but 66 and 67 seek support for an organisation which has not satisfied UNISON of its democratic base.	Support 65 Oppose 66 +67

	ASYLUM AND INTEGRATION
	A probable composite of 68-71 may produce a core motion criticising Government action, welcoming the end of the voucher system and calling for an end to forced dispersal and the right to work. The difference of view may focus on support for particular organisations while UNISON supports the National Assembly and would be wary of the blank cheque in 71.	Support 70 Await advice in 68-69 Oppose 71

	DECENTRALISATION
	The debate on devolution for English regions moves on and while there has been little momentum in Scotland behind a call for elected mayors, we should align with the opposition to centralised control and favour continued elected councils.	Support 72-76

	SOCIAL POLICY
	The focus of the Social Policy debate is Care of the Elderly, the Scottish model to apply to other parts of UK.	Support 77-81

	ENVIRONMENT
82=1 83=8	While it is unfortunate that the SOC have juxtaposed Scottish motion Energy Policy, Women's Health and Star Wars, they all merit support.	Support 82-85

	INTERNATIONAL
104=9	For once the longest section of the agenda with a variety of specific and general issues will require prioritisation with Palestine deserving the highest profile.	Support 103-104
	The solidarity organisations with which UNISON works are identified in motions 103+104 not 101+102 which have many good features which may be contained in a composite. But the proposal to break links with the Israeli trade union centre Histadrut misleadingly misrepresents them as a solelyZionist organisation.	Oppose 105 Defer 101+102
	The NEC campaign on Globalisation (89) benefits not from the specific issue promoted by UCL.	Support 87-88 Oppose 86 Support 106+107
	While the NEC statements on the actions in Afghanistan may not wholly reflect the wider terms of the Scottish Policy, it does reflect a consensus in the union which 93-96 would seek to undermine with a round-robin motion from a particular political perspective.

	POLITICAL FUNDS
	The criticism contained in motions 109+110 is unfounded as a consultation exercise is under way through March-May following the exploration and explanation of the legal and constitutional options open to the union. Motion 108 might benefit from being less self-righteous in its criticism and an amendment developing the options to be considered.	Oppose 109-110 Amend 108

	INDUSTRIAL ACTION
	A review of the industrial action procedures as called for in 112 is under way and the motion 111 was rejected by the Scottish Council as simplistic.	Oppose 111

	RECRUITMENT & ORGANISATION
	The ongoing agenda is covered in motions 113-117 with some interesting evidence from the Higher Education Sector which in part questions the focus of this activity.
	PARTICIPATION
120=11	A variety of organisation issues are addressed in motions 118-125 and while 120 recognises that the future of the union lies with organising young members, it fails to recognise that they are not being employed in the services where we organise.
	The sledgehammer to crack an NEC nut in the Southern Region is not one we require in Scotland where NEC members (generally) attend and report to Council and Committee.	Oppose 123+124
	Similarly in 125 the union is not a federation of local organisations but a national union of local branches, who are required to adhere to national rules.	Oppose 125

	SERVICES TO MEMBERS
	Some interesting and beneficial issues are raised in 129-131 in providing legal advice and assistance to members.	Support 129-131
	The specific cases and details of 132-134 should be left to the NEC and not addressed in the fractious debating of conference.	Remit or Oppose 132-134
135=7	Support for the Chhokar Family Justice Campaign has been piloted by UNISON Scotland since the Spring of 1999.	Support 135

	FINANCE & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
	A review of subs bands has merit. The reorientation of the Welfare Fund to maximising benefits rather than providing charity is contradicted by 137.	Support 136 Oppose 137

	BRANCH FUNDING
	Branch Treasurers always know best, but 139 seeks to unpick the review of branch funding delivered last year after two years consultation and there is current provision for exceptional cases.	Oppose 139
	The underlying commitments to branch employed staff should be a matter for the union as a whole and not individual branches and a remit and review of the issues may be more appropriate.	Oppose/Remit 140
	Similarly the preparation for RMS is an issue for all branches, and often more of an issue for smaller branches without admin assistance than for larger branches which already have resources.	Oppose 141

	CONFERENCE ADMIN
	Doncaster's annual beef with the SOC fails to take account of the SOC's requirement to report to Conference. While it is possible for branches to liaise with the NEC, exposing one's briefs often gets one into trouble!	Oppose 145 Oppose 149

	RULES
	The unusually small number of rules amendments means that they will all be heard on Thursday afternoon and should not require prioritisation. However, 8, 12, 4, 3, 2 and 1 should be supported but 9 and 10 opposed as being daft and giving rise to interminable rules wrangles and the proposal in 19 should await the outcome of motion 136 review on subscriptions.	Oppose 9,10,19

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National Conference 18-21 June 2002
Initial Briefing

The Communications & Campaigns Committee will issue a pre-conference pack and daily briefings at Conference. We hope to post these daily on the website from Bournemouth.

Here we start with a run down on UNISON Scotland priorities for Conference and policy recommendations on all the main issues.

Conference - Branch delegates Briefing