- Conference
- 2023 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 19 July 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is delighted that this years National Delegate Conference unanimously supported to make 2024 the ‘Year of the LGBT+ Worker’, which is in contrast to the resistance and challenges when it was first sought to become a LGBT+ self-organised group many years ago.
LGBT+ members in UNISON can still sadly encounter discrimination at home, at work and even in our union. It is often due to such negative experiences that LGBT+ members often miss out on opportunities to develop and further obtain skills that will enhance their social and educational status, or be given a reasonable chance in their career development. LGBT+ members come from all backgrounds and each with their own experiences, which can be unique.
LGBT+ members are more likely to leave the education system with lower grades and be in lower paid jobs than non-LGBT+ members. LGBT+ members are also more likely to experience verbal harassment, insults and other hurtful comments or behaviour in society as a whole, which is even greater if you are a woman, Black or disabled.
Conference believes LGBT+ self-organisation is vital to our union and not only does it provide confidence to LGBT+ members that UNISON is a union which challenges discrimination and celebrates diversity, but it is also a mechanism where LGBT+ members often obtain the opportunity to get involved and regain any confidence they may have lost due to their personal experiences, which in turn enables them to become activists or hold senior positions within branch, regional and national lay structures.
We are proud of our union and our LGBT+ self-organisation. There is much to celebrate and a LGBT+ legacy we can create.
Conferences requests the National LGBT+ Committee to:
1)Continue to promote the great work of LGBT+ members and LGBT+ self-organised groups (SOGs),
2)Provide branches and LGBT+ SOGs with information of why LGBT+ self-organisation is vitally important for our LGBT+ members and the wider union,
3)Create a plan and take the steps necessary to help deliver a successful ‘Year of the LGBT+ worker’ in 2024, which includes how members throughout UNISON can get involved and help achieve a LGBT+ legacy to be proud of.