Disabled Workers' Conference
Please note that this conference is not open to members of the general public. All delegates to this conference must be nominated members of one of the TUC’s affiliated unions.
If you are interested in attending this event, please contact your union to request more information.
- Information for your union’s delegates, visitors, and conference observers
Delegation leads
If you are the delegation lead then please make sure we have your mobile phone number, we will use this to contact you if needed.
Key dates for delegates
If your union has nominated you to be a delegate at the 2025 TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference, here is what you can expect from the TUC:
- 30 January 2025: Your union should have submitted your name to the TUC by this date.
- w/c 10 February 2025: The TUC will email you a link to register. If you do not receive this, please email your union contact to ensure that you have been nominated to be a delegate
- 21 March 2025: This is the deadline for you to complete your individual registration. Please note that this is a two-stage process. You will be sent a monitoring form first, at the end of which is a link to the final registration form.
- w/c 12 May 2025: The TUC will email all attendees with a link to the final conference documents, including the agenda, nominees to the Disabled Workers’ Committee and the conference guide
If you have any queries about the conference, please email your union contact in the first instance. The TUC provides all the essential information to unions, who are then responsible for keeping delegates informed.
Visitors
Visitors' tickets (maximum 10 per union) will be issued via affiliated unions before conference. Because of the need for extra security at all TUC conferences, names, and address of those wanting visitor tickets must be supplied and those tickets are not transferable.
Visitors will be asked to submit their individual registration by 21 March no later than 4pm.
Equal access
The TUC is keen to ensure that we provide equal access for all delegates, especially disabled delegates.
Please tell the TUC whether you have access requirements by 21 March 2025, no later than 4pm. Please include this information when completing your registration.
Please note that your union is responsible for providing hard copies of all documents. If you require documents in a specific format, please include this in your reasonable adjustments so we can pass this on to your union.
The TUC will meet all access needs where reasonably practicable and if notified in time.
Childcare facilities
The TUC is committed to ensuring that no delegate is prevented from playing a full part in Congress because of childcare responsibilities. Your unions should notify delegates with children below school age that crèche facilities will be provided for these children during conference hours, free of charge, provided notice is given of this by the closing date for delegate registration, 21 March 2025.
The TUC provides a creche if we have over 5 children requiring this service; we make other arrangements with the parent if there are fewer than 5 children requiring the service. Please note that unions may be liable for the cost of any ‘no-shows’ or late cancellations.
Out of hours childcare arrangements, to allow delegates with childcare responsibilities to attend fringe events can also be arranged up to 8pm.
Delegates that are breast feeding are welcome to bring their children with them.
Monitoring
In line with the TUC commitment to equality, delegations will be asked to complete an online equality monitoring form as part of their individual registrations.
Scrutineers and tellers
We need a small number of scrutineers to count the ballots for the Disabled Workers’ Committee and the motion to Congress. The TUC will approach the delegation leaders for volunteers from amongst their delegates.
- Information for union officers and staff
TUC Contacts
If you have questions or queries in relation to any aspect of the 2025 TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference, please email: equalities@tuc.org.uk.
Key dates
The TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference will take place on Tuesday 3 June to Wednesday 4 June 2025 in the Bournemouth International Centre.
- Motions and nominations to committee must be received by 30 January 2025 no later than 4pm.
- Unions must submit the names of conference delegates by 30 January 2025 no later than 4pm.
- Amendments to motions must be received by 19 March 2025 no later than 4pm.
- Delegates must complete their individual registrations by 21 March 2025 no later than 4pm.
- Fringe and delegation meeting requests must be received by 21 April 2025 no later than 4pm.
- Emergency Motions must be received by 29 May no later than 4pm.
Conference Forms
- Motions: https://forms.office.com/e/j1Hptd8WyE
- Nominations: https://forms.office.com/e/CPYatDywV8
- Delegate registration: https://forms.office.com/e/ieBgNLFPrz
- Visitor registration: https://forms.office.com/e/dR9xNdJZD4
- Fringe and Delegation meeting requests: https://forms.office.com/e/4z8PdxJXFE
- Amendments: https://forms.office.com/e/zmH10ncWy3
Individual registration forms will be sent directly to attendees after 10 February 2024.
Conference sessions times
Conference sessions will be as follows:
Tuesday 3 June 2025 10:00 am to 18:00pm
Wednesday 4 June 2025 9.30am to 17.30pm
Motions and amendments
Download the guide to writing motions
Motions
Please use this form to submit motions by 30 January 2025 no later than 4pm.
Unions can submit one motion of no more than 200 words each. Any longer motion will be ruled out of order. Please note that the motion should cover one subject only. If the motion covers more than one subject it may be ruled out of order.
Motions must be approved by the General Secretary.
Composite motions
The Disabled Workers’ Committee will consult unions about compositing motions where appropriate.
Amendments
Please use this form for submitting your union’s amendments.
Unions can submit one amendment of not more than 60 words.
The form will be open after the Preliminary Agenda has been shared with unions.
Amendments must be submitted by 19 March 2025 no later than 4pm.
Speaking times
The time limit for moving and speaking to motions is six minutes for the mover of the motion, and four minutes for any subsequent speaker as a reasonable adjustment.
Emergency motions
Emergency motions, of a maximum of 200 words, must deal with issues that have arisen since the closing date for ordinary motions. In other words, they must be a genuine emergency. They must be received by the TUC office at equalities@tuc.org.uk and titled EMERGENCY MOTION, on 29 May 2025 no later than 4pm by email as a signed PDF and a Word version.
Emergency motions must be approved by the union General Secretary.
Delegations and registration arrangements
Delegate Registration
Unions must submit the names of conference delegates by 30 January 2025 no later than 4pm using this form and must include any access and/or childcare requests.
Conference delegates should be disabled.
All affiliated unions are entitled to be represented by a minimum of two delegates, providing that the organisation has paid the fee prescribed in Rule 3 of the Rules and Standing Orders. For affiliates with 10,000 or more members, the following entitlements also apply:
- Organisations with between 10,000 and 20,000 members: up to 5 delegates.
- Organisations with between 20,001 and 50,000 members: up to 10 delegates.
- Organisations with between 50,001 and 100,000 members: up to 15 delegates.
- Organisations with between 100,001 and 500,000 members: up to 20 delegates.
- Organisations with between 500,001 and 1,000,000 members: up to 25 delegates.
- Organisations with over 1,000,001 members: up to 30 delegates.
The General Council are especially keen to encourage delegations from those unions who do not usually attend conference. Delegates will be asked to submit their individual registrations by 21 March 2025.
Visitors’ tickets and documentation
Please use this form to submit your visitor names including any access requests.
Unions must submit visitor names on 30 January 2025 no later than 4pm. The cost per visitor is £15 inclusive of VAT.
Visitors will be asked to submit their individual registrations by 21 March.
Visitors’ tickets (maximum 10 per union) will be issued via affiliated unions before conference. Because of the need for extra security at all TUC conferences, names and addresses of those wanting visitor tickets must be supplied and tickets are not transferable.
Nominations to committee
Please see the attached guide to writing nomination statements.
Please use this form to submit your union’s nominations to the Disabled Workers’ Committee on 30 January 2025 no later than 4pm. Nominees must be registered as delegates by this date.
The Disabled Workers Committee consists of members of the General Council together with eighteen representatives nominated by affiliated unions: fourteen elected places (known as section A General Seats), one for the seat set aside for a Black member (known as section B), one for the seat set aside for a LGBT+ member (known as Section C), one for the seat set aside for a woman member (known as Section D), and one for the seat set aside for a young member (known as Section E).
You are therefore invited to nominate up to five members from your union, who must be delegates to the 2025 Disabled Workers Conference, to serve on the Disabled Workers Committee for the year 2025/2026.
The nominee (not the nominating union) is asked to provide a supporting statement on the nominating form, for circulation to delegates before conference. The statement should contain biographical information and relevant details of work carried out in the trade union movement but should not be in any way an election address. The General Secretary of the relevant union should endorse the statement which must be no more than 150 words.
Fringes and delegation meetings
If you would like to book a fringe or a delegation meeting room, please use this form. The form must be received by 21 April 2025. The room will be provided at no cost to unions, but the cost of refreshments will not be covered by the TUC. Unions will need to liaise directly with the conference venue to arrange refreshments.
If your union is running a fringe event, it is your responsibility to provide reasonable adjustments to attendees.
Monitoring
In line with the TUC commitment to equality, delegations will be asked to complete an online equality monitoring form as part of their individual registrations.
Scrutineers and tellers
We need a small number of scrutineers to count the ballots for the Race Relations Committee and the motion to Congress.
The TUC will approach delegation leaders for nominations from amongst their delegates.
TUC Contacts
If you have questions or queries in relation to any aspect of the 2025 TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference, please email: equalities@tuc.org.uk.
Watch live
TUC Disabled Workers' Conference will stream public sessions (Key note speakers and panels but not debates on motions). The link will be made available here before the conference starts.