martyn jones

Delegates heard that an increasing number of Black women are migrating to the UK to work in health and social care roles yet are facing severe challenges with childcare support.

This is because they are ineligible for public funds due to visa restrictions. These exclude them from accessing state-funded childcare schemes, including 15- or 30-hour free childcare, Universal Credit childcare support, and other early years programmes.

Introducing the motion, a speaker from Durham branch said: “Black women have historically been placed at the bottom of the labour market. We are the backbone of the essential services yet the last to receive protection. We are praised for our strength and yet denied the structural support every worker deserves.”

“This is not an accident, this is a structural design that disproportionately harms Black women,” she said.

“Employers are using childcare as a weapon, they use visa dependence as a leverage, they are using the vulnerability of migrant Black women to extract labour.”

In support, a delegate from UNISON’s north west region added: “Black women are doing essential frontline work, yet they face some of the worst conditions in our workplaces.

“But because their visa is tied to their employer many are simply too afraid to challenge it.”

The motion called for UNISON national women’s committee to:

• Work with Labour Link and UNISON policy teams to campaign for fairer access to childcare support for migrant women on Certificate of Sponsorship visas;
• Raise awareness of these issues across branches and regions, encouraging solidarity and targeted support;
• Develop resources for migrant women to better navigate childcare systems;
• Promote employer-provided childcare assistance schemes and advocate for flexible working policies;
• Ensure the voices of Black migrant women are central to future union campaigns on childcare, immigration, and workplace equality.

The motion passed unanimously.

Supporting disabled Black women with caring responsibilities

Another motion that passed unanimously was for greater support for Black disabled women with caring responsibilities.

Lola Oyewusi (pictured), who introduced the motion behalf of the national women’s committee, said: “For many black women, life is not split into neat boxes. You don’t clock off on having a disability, you do not clock off from caring responsibilities, you don’t clock off from being a Black disabled worker.

“The workplace treats caring as a personal inconvenience,” she said.

Speaking in support of the motion, a delegate from Southampton district branch said: “This is a lived reality and it’s my reality.” She described how Black, disabled women are ‘navigating discrimination and holding our lives together in systems that were never designed for us’.

“Caring responsibilities are treated as a private burden instead of a workplace issue,” she said. “Being Black and disabled does not mean our struggles matter more, it means that we face more than one barrier at the same time and those barriers often get ignored.”

“This motion is not asking for special treatment, it’s asking for fairness, dignity and visibility. And something even more basic: the rights to be believed when we speak about our experiences.

“When we support those who face the greatest barriers, we strengthen the whole movement.”

The motion called on the national women’s committee to:

• Work with UNISON’s National Black Members Committee to raise awareness of the specific challenges faced by Black disabled women carers;
• Develop guidance for branches on supporting members with dual identities as Black disabled people and as paid or unpaid carers, with particular attention to Black women;
• Work with UNISON Labour Link to campaign for stronger legal protections and rights for Black disabled carers, including paid carers’ leave, improved benefits, and accessible respite services;
• Work with UNISON College to ensure that equality training and women’s resources explicitly include the experiences of Black disabled women with caring responsibilities;
• Promote the creation of safe, supportive spaces within UNISON where Black disabled women carers can connect, share experiences, and influence policy.

Paid leave for grandparent carers

The third motion to pass on women’s care responsibilities called for the union to advocate for grandparents to have paid time off to support with childcare responsibilities.

The speaker introducing the motion on behalf of the national women’s committee said: “The state of childcare in this country is a mess. The current parental leave entitlements have been repeatedly labelled the worst in Europe. Statutory maternity pay is less than half living wage and paternity leave barely exists.”

She described how grandparents are filling the gap left by unaffordable nursery places. “Grandparents are looking after children so that the parent can return to work,” she said.

“Grandparents are providing crucial support during the first weeks of new parenthood, sometimes moving into their adult child’s home to take care of parent and child. But grandparents themselves receive no support in this demanding role. Without paid leave, some grandparents are forced to reduce working hours or leave employment altogether which negatively impacts future pensions.”

Speaking in support of the motion, a delegate from Northern Ireland said: “When workers care for others they deserve care and protection in return. Today we need to extend that principle to a growing group of our members: grandparents who are carers providing stability and keeping families afloat.

“This is skilled, exhausting and essential labour yet it is invisible in current labour arrangements.”

“Caring is work and workers who care deserve paid leave.”

One of the final speakers in support of the motion was Rosie MacGregor, on behalf of retired members’ committee. “Not all grandparents are retired and they don’t have that time to spare,” she said.

Ms MacGregor sang Bread and Roses to the conference hall, which was met with a standing ovation.

The motion passed unanimously.