- Conference
- 2024 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 17 July 2024
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that despite the achievements of the national LGBT+ committee, our strong self organised group, and the successes in raising the profile of LGBT+ workers through the last year, the reality for many members is that our workplaces are unfit for our needs.
Conference notes that the TUC survey of LGBT+ Workplace Experiences 2023 concluded that despite LGBT+ workers being protected under the Equality Act 2010 from discrimination, harassment and bullying, it is common to experience the workplace as negative and harmful. Workers surveyed largely had low expectations, being grateful even when the most basic legal protections were in place.
The interviews conducted highlighted the situation for trans and non-binary staff to be particularly bad, with many referencing the toxic narratives about LGBT+ people that are prevalent in the media as leading to a hostile working environment.
Furthermore, a TUC survey carried out in 2022 noted that 1 in 5 workplaces do not have any policies to support LGBT staff, and that only 1 in 8 employers monitor their LGBT pay gap. The most recent research (2022) suggests there is a 16% LGBT pay gap, meaning LGBT workers are effectively paid £6,703 less per year.
As LGBT+ trade unionists, we need to demand more.
Conference calls on the national LGBT+ committee to:
1) Build on the success of UNISON’s trans equality model policy to develop and promote
A)model policies on gender neutral language and gender neutral welfare facilities such as toilets and changing areas.
B)a model policy on workplace bullying that reflects the specific needs of LGBT+ staff arising from the hostile media environment and a nuanced understanding of micro-aggressions and online hate.
C)model policies on recruitment, training and progression that reflects the specific needs of LGBT+ staff.
2) Provide further guidance for branches on how to campaign for LGBT+ workers review exercises, with particular regard to monitoring the length of service in roles for LGBT+ workers, the number of LGBT+ workers at different grades/bands, and pay gap monitoring. By extension, providing guidance to branches on how to tackle any inequalities identified through this monitoring.
3) Provide guidance to branches and regions on the development of LGBT+ peer-to-peer support networks for members, especially where those workers may be isolated from the community in their workplaces.