Received from: Unison
Merged into composite 12
Congress believes the government’s claim to have brought about “parity of esteem” between mental and physical health in England lies in tatters.
Recent UK polling shows that concern about mental health has doubled in the last year.
The systemic underfunding of mental health services, beds and training provision has had a progressive and continuing detrimental impact on both staff and service users at the same time as austerity generally has contributed to increasing mental ill health.
Congress shares the concerns of MPs that proposals to transform mental health care for young people through maximum waiting times and improved support
in schools will take too long to effect real change and fails to address the wider population.
Congress is alarmed that yet again the crucial issue of improved social care funding has been postponed, with the green paper delayed until autumn 2018.
Congress believes the mental health crisis can only be properly addressed by adopting an holistic approach that involves not just the NHS, but also social care,
education, youth work, housing and also policing.
Congress asserts that mental health is also a workplace issue and that there is a need to ensure improvements in how employers tackling the causes of work-related stress, which can cause or exasperate mental ill health.
Congress calls on the General Council to:
i. campaign for improved mental health funding across the UK, working with service users and community groups;
ii. lobby for the RIDDOR system to be changed so that work-related stress absence is reportable.
UNISON
AMENDMENT
- Add new sentence at the end of paragraph 7:
“The rise in insecure work, the fall in real wages and the frequent removal of sick pay provisions are all factors that have contributed significantly to the mental health crisis.” - Add new sub-paragraph iii. at end of motion:
“iii. campaign to ensure that government and employers take action to address the mental health implications of poor employment protections.”
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
AMENDMENT
- Add new sub-paragraphs iii. and iv. at end of motion:
“iii. organise a one-day conference in 2019 on mental health in the workplace to bring together unions and organisations specialising in mental health issues
iv. set up a cross-union working group on mental health to share best practice and co-ordinate campaigning work.”
Communication Workers Union
AMENDMENT
- Add new sub-paragraph iii. at end of motion:
“iii. work with affiliates to organise a concerted trade union response on mental health and wellbeing that expects employers to conduct risk assessments that identify workplace and other risk factors and underlying causes of the condition, before making a
commitment to address recommendations, including signing up to Time to Change.”
Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association