- Conference
- 2003 National Lesbian & Gay Conference
- Date
- 1 August 2003
- Decision
- Carried
This Conference is proud of UNISON’s history of working in partnership with many organisations to campaign for equality for our members.
This Conference is particularly proud of the close working relationship which the National Lesbian and Gay Committee (NLGC) has had with Stonewall over the years.
This Conference notes that many organisations have been involved in campaigns to address the inequalities of lesbians and gay men in this country.
This Conference believes that no one organisation is eligible to take the credit for any of the advances which have been made.
This Conference is disappointed to note that in the Stonewall recruitment flyer entitled “The Future?” Stonewall lists its record of campaigning as:
“1997 – Stonewall wins immigrations rights for same-sex couples;
1999 – Stonewall lifts ban on lesbians and gay men in the armed forces;
2000 – Stonewall changes the law to oblige schools to tackle homophobic bullying;
2002 – Stonewall achieves an equal age of consent;
2002 – Stonewall introduces first Partnership Bill to recognise same-sex couples.”
The flyer aims to recruit people to become members of Stonewall and refers to the members as Friends of Stonewall, the flyer states that without these Friends, Stonewall would never have “made it”.
This Conference mandates the NLGC to write to Stonewall expressing our disappointment in the strongest terms, that no credit has been given in this publication to the partner organisations who have shared the work and financial burden associated with these triumphs.
Further, this Conference mandates the NLGC to continue to seek opportunities to work in partnership with others wherever there are shared objectives and it is appropriate to do so, but to insist that:
1.its partners have aims and values consistent with UNISON’s and, in particular, the values of open membership, member democratic control and direct member participation;
2.where partners are employers, there is collective bargaining and a recognised union;
3.the partnership enables UNISON to achieve measurable outcomes related to its own major objectives, particularly that of promoting trade unionism in the lesbian and gay (L&G) communities and recruiting and organising L&G workers;
4.the partnership is value for money;
and,
5.partners respect each other’s contribution.