- Conference
- 2022 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 23 September 2022
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that UNISON members are under sustained and constant attack by the United Kingdom (UK) Government. From spiralling cost of living to services we rely on most disappearing, the UK Tory Government’s attacks on our members are leaving many to feel isolated and weary. There is only one way to combat these attacks – we must agitate, organise and campaign.
Conference believes that we have a real opportunity to work with our self-organised groups (SOG’s) to recruit more members who are underrepresented in our union and get them active. Conference recognises that many of our members who become active are not only active within self organisation, but in their regional, branch and service group democratic structures.
And it works. Our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) SOG members have been successful in recruiting at community events across the United Kingdom and have encouraged greater activism. The campaign on trans equality has encouraged over 200 members to be allies in the workplace. The LGBT+ national committee’s young LGBT+ worker campaign continues to grow with many in the network now getting involved in their branch and regional groups.
When national, regional and branch LGBT+ groups work together with Black members, disabled and women SOG’s, our recruiting potential is enhanced, encouraging the young members and retired members forums to lend their expertise and voices creating a unique mix of positive affirmation and excitement. We welcome the diversity of our equality organising, including migrant workers networks, and community campaigning brings. This produces a collective union identity to members in disaggregated, isolated and fragmented workplaces.
We also understand that there is no single form of communication to reach all non-members. While traditional engagement through one-to-one contact and mailings are effective, they should not be our only tools. We must expand our use of virtual platforms like social media to assist with recruiting and organising. Conference notes the increasing importance of community organising and also of the website, social media and my.unison, which can only be effective if members are signed up and using them. The LGBT+ national committee has recognised the importance of this and created a digital organising guide.
Conference believes that a key part of our response to the continuing attacks by the UK Government must be to redouble our recruiting and organising effort, bringing together the best of our tried and tested strategies, and our newer strategies. We must continue to emphasise the collective nature of our movement and our demands, but at the same time we must engage directly with individual members and potential members. Conference it is time for UNISON to launch a coordinated, sustained campaign to win back our rights.
Conference calls on the NEC to:
1. Continue to advertise and promote engagement with my.unison, encouraging members to update their personal information, including completing the new sexual orientation and gender history fields;
2. Further develop the use of web-based tools to assist with our recruiting and organising objectives, including UNISON’s app and the online skills bank to engage new members and encourage existing members to become active;
3. Publicise and promote examples of good practice in equality and community organising which have led to recruitment, engagement and effective local campaigns;
4. Encourage branches, regions and service groups to involve self-organised and young members groups and migrant worker networks in developing and implementing recruitment and organising strategies;
5. Publicise and promote the regional groups, caucuses and branch self organised groups who are establishing and building on relationships with LGBT+ community organisations and groups;
6. Work with the service groups executives and national self-organised committees to encourage branches, regions and service groups to involve self-organised groups in developing and implementing recruitment strategies;
7. Support self-organised groups’ priority bargaining initiatives such as promoting the trans equality model policy.