You can download the motions pack using the links below. Motions are in text form beflow.

MOTIONS FOR 2025 AGM

Due to this being a rolling AGM, we will not amend the motions, but you can propose alternative motions on the same subjects if you want.

The deadline for alternative motions is Monday 20th January at 12noon

If something has happened after the original submission date of the motions that requires an Emergency Motion then the deadline for those is Friday 7 February at 12noon.

Please email all motions to the Branch Chair Gary Whiting GWhiting@lambeth.gov.uk

The UNISON AGM will be on Thursday 13^th February. Details will be circulated soon.

MOTION ONE – A campaigning branch

UNISON is a democratic workplace organisation where workers organise together to fight for rights, better pay, and improved conditions. Our commitment is to workplace representation and democracy, ensuring we are the staff side voice in all matters with management and leadership.

The union is not just elected officers—it is every member working together. We need to overcome the idea that ‘the union’ is something separate that people just pay money to. The union is only strong when we are organised and able to act in coordination. Branch officers and stewards can lead, but it requires members to fight over issues like job cuts and workload.

Though many new members have joined, we lack enough stewards to cover all workplaces or departments. There has been a decline in engagement, limiting our ability to function effectively.

Our strategy is based on two key principles:

• Base Organising: Developing a strong and functional union at workplace and branch level.
• Strategic Organising: Building member participation to win specific material changes.

Base Organising
We will launch a quarterly newsletter about workplace developments, requiring members to share what is happening in their teams or departments.

We are also committed to:

• A branch structure with regular, participative meetings that reflect geography and diversity.
• Participation by all members regardless of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age or their working hours and their employer
• Proportional representation among branch office holders and delegations.

Strategic Organising
We must start winning local disputes. Management only takes a union seriously with industrial strength, which requires collective actions, including strike action. The incoming branch leadership will work with members to identify teams where job cuts have increased workloads or strained relations with management.

We will use the UNISON Organising To Win framework, which has been tested in sectors like NHS and social care. This five-phase strategy includes escalating campaigns to force change. We will hold strategy discussions in each directorate and aim to organise in workplaces and schools for our members.

The AGM resolves

1. For the incoming Branch Committee to focus on recruitment and training of stewards and workplace reps. To encourage more people to become active in the union in order to strengthen our organisation and ability to deliver results.
2. For convenors and branch officers to host Organising To Win sessions in each directorate to identify teams in the council that we can organise collective action around.
3. For UNISON to work with the wider community to launch a campaign to save our local public services from government cuts

Proposed: Simon Hannah

Seconder: Daniel Jeffery

MOTION TWO – Building a diverse leadership team

This motion is calling for this Unison branch to actively engage Black members to step into leadership roles in the branch. Our membership is predominately Black female. Black members have always been the central and leading force in our branch since the union’s formation.

National Black Members Conference 2007 noted:

Black members represent around 10% of all workers but are massively under-represented in trade union branches and in UNISON’s own structures. Black workers do face additional barriers when trying to get involved, with this having a disproportionate effect on Black women members.

In 2013 National Black Members Conference noted a concerned about the lack of visibility and representation of Black members at the National Delegate Conference and Service Group Conferences.

In 2022 at National Delegates conference a motion was passed on

National Executive Council and Rule Book Commitment to Fair Representation- Motion 9. It read as follows: Conference believes that the union has the most unrepresentative structure of senior lay leaders since the union was founded 29 years ago. It reflects the old established order of white privilege. It diminishes the role and value of Black members, and it ultimately weakens our union.

Our branch delegation supported this motion with qualification as we believe and act on representation.  We put words into action and elected our first female Black Branch secretary in 2022. But we need to do more. We need to take a more active approach in developing our next Black leadership in our  branch locally and nationally. It is not good enough to pass motions on fair representation, equality  and justice and the top table is still white.  

In 2022 Black workers in our branch were surveyed and 33% said that they would like to get involved in the branch. 50% said that they were unsure, 17% said No.

In 2024 The branch was instrumental in pursuing the Council to sign up to Unison Anti racism charter. Like we are holding the Council to account so should we hold the branch to account in implementing fair representation.

This AGM resolve

1. Up scale branch’s campaign to recruit, train and support Black workers in leadership, and issue a report to members in 6 month.
2. Implement a mentoring scheme for Black workers in the branch
3. Campaign with the Black workers group and other SOG to support Black workers stepping into  leadership roles on the branch committee.
4. Implement all Regional and National motions on fair representation in our branch.

Proposed: Jocelyn Cruywagen- Lambeth UNISON Black workers group convenor.

Seconder: Bashir Miah

MOTION THREE – Fighting climate change

1. This branch notes that as global temperatures rise, the impacts on humans and ecosystems are also multiplying. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, drought and flooding have the greatest impact in those regions and communities which have done least to contribute to the problem.
2. We note that Donald Trump’s re-election is a dangerous development as he is a climate change denier who wants to increase fossil fuel burning just at the point when we need a just transition away from carbon energy.
3. This branch notes that Labour is pursuing Carbon Capture and Storage as a way to fight climate change. This technology is largely untested and will cost over £21bn. Meanwhile Labour is slashed its green spending from £28bn a year to £15bn, including the for insulating 19m homes.
4. London is the most congested city in the western world, our reliance on cars to get around is a big environmental and social problem.

This branch resolves

• To re-affiliate to the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group and to send delegates to its meetings.
• To support the work of the Ecosocialist Action Network that was launched at the Ecosocialism Conference in December 2024
• To continue its affiliation of Fare Free London and to promote its message that we want free public transport in London and better and more accessible transport for everyone.
• To build for the mass protests in late 2025 around COP30 – the annual event tasked with stopping Global Warming that has so far failed to deliver.

Proposer: Simon Hannah

Seconder: