- Conference
- 2013 National LGBT Conference
- Date
- 30 July 2013
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are less able than others to rely on family support in old age so may be more reliant on home care services. Conference is concerned about the quality of such services and whether they address the needs of LGBT people.
Conference also notes that the concerns of users of home care services and of workers in the service impinge upon the self organised groups in a variety of ways, for example, the numbers of women workers and migrant workers in the service.
Conference welcomes the initiative of UNISON’s Home Care Forum to publish its “Time to Care” report and launch its “Ethical Care” charter and campaign. These link decent wages and conditions for workers with quality of service for users and urge local authorities etc. to refrain from commissioning services at prices which are bound to lead to poor service and low wages.
Conference considers that the self organised groups have a great deal to contribute to the campaign. It instructs the National LGBT Committee to liaise with the Local Government Service Group (of which the Home Care Forum is part) to:
1. Publicise the campaign in Out in UNISON and elsewhere as appropriate to win the support of LGBT UNISON members;
2. Identify the needs and concerns of LGBT workers and service users, how these might feature in the campaign, how to recruit and organise LGBT workers and how to promote the campaign to LGBT communities; and,
3. Encourage other UNISON self organised groups to join the initiative.
Conference urges branch and regional LGBT groups to raise the campaign with their respective branch or region with a view to sustaining a long-term campaign in every local authority area.