- Conference
- 2024 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 1 January 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that 2024 is UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ Workers and welcomes the opportunity that this provides to promote UNISON as the union for LGBT+ workers in local government, raise awareness of LGBT+ rights, challenge discrimination, negotiate LGBT+ inclusive policies and recruit and activate LGBT+ members in the service group.
The year highlights the important contribution our LGBT+ members make to local government, to improving employment conditions for LGBT+ workers and to campaigning more broadly on equality for LGBT+ people.
2024 also marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of NALGAY, the lesbian and gay network in NALGO – the British trade union movement’s first LGBT+ organisation.
The LGBT+ self-organised group has been key to campaigns to improve the rights of LGBT+ people within the workplace and wider society and has played an active role in the repeal of section 28, equalisation of the age of consent, and the introduction of civil partnerships and marriage for LGBT+ people. But there is still much more to do.
Most recently, the national LGBT+ committee has helped to create the successful trans ally training across our union. This helps members to better understand the issues our trans, non-binary and gender diverse members face and how to be allies to them. We are proud of how many members have taken part in this programme and how many trans, non-binary and gender diverse members have become activists because of this work. It also shows that by equipping members with knowledge and empathy, we can facilitate more welcoming and supportive workplaces.
While many lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans plus (LGBT+) people have seen positive change in recent years, prejudice and discrimination continue to impact the lives of many LGBT+ people. This includes many people feeling unsafe and uncomfortable at work. For example, many LGBT+ people still do not feel able to disclose their sexual orientation and/or gender identity at work for fear of discrimination. It is concerning that some employers are afraid to visibly speak out in favour of LGBT+ workers due to myths and misconceptions perpetrated by anti-LGBT+ and anti-trans groups.
Conference is alarmed at the rise in violent and threatening protests at libraries and other public buildings against Drag Queen Story Time events. These events aim to engage children in a love of books, providing fun and interactive children’s shows with talented drag performers. Drag Queen Story Time shows that being different is not a bad thing. However, some of these events are being exploited by the far-right to further an agenda of hatred and division.
Conference welcomes the launch of the UNISON Year of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) Workers campaign for 2024 and believes that UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ Workers in 2024 will provide everyone in the local government service group with an excellent opportunity to take forward UNISON’s vital work on LGBT+ equality. We can do this by highlighting the experiences of our LGBT+ members, promote the important contribution they make to the union, raise awareness of LGBT+ rights, and continue to challenge LGBT+ inequality and discrimination in local government workplaces.
It will also provide us with an opportunity to focus on building our organising work to increase meaningful participation of LGBT+ activists, particularly young LGBT+ activists, who can provide a voice for others in the workplace.
As a trade union, we need to continue to encourage active recruitment and promotion of LGBT+ members in UNISON and strive for LGBT+ representation at all levels of leadership. By fostering diversity in leadership, we not only provide role models for LGBT+ members but also bring diverse perspectives to decision-making, benefiting the entire local government service group & union.
To achieve this, all branches should run awareness campaigns within the workplace using UNISON’s LGBT+ materials, and where possible, support local LGBT+ Pride events.
We need to continue to encourage active recruitment and promotion of LGBT+ local government members and strive for LGBT+ representation at branch, regional and service group level. By fostering diversity in leadership, we not only provide role models for LGBT+ members but also bring diverse perspectives to decision-making, benefiting the entire. To achieve this, local government branches need to support local LGBT+ Pride events, run awareness campaigns within the workplace and make UNISON’s LGBT+ resources visible.
Conference believes that the Year of LGBT+ Workers can be used as a tool to negotiate with employers to improve inclusion in workplaces for LGBT+ members working in local government, for example, adopting trans inclusion policies.
Conference acknowledges that tackling systemic and ingrained discrimination against LGBT+ members will take more than one year. Conference further recognises the need to use the success of the year to continue our work and embed the work on LGBT+ equality in all areas of local government, and when negotiating with employers.
Conference welcomes the ‘Trans Equality is UNISON business’ campaign, launched in July 2022, and the work done so far by the service group towards making all our workplaces trans inclusive, and places where Trans members feel safe to disclose their gender identity. It also welcomes the success of the Trans ally training being rolled out across the union.
This helps members to better understand the issues our trans, non-binary and gender diverse members face and how to be allies to them. It also shows that by equipping members with knowledge and encouraging empathy, we can create more welcoming and supportive workplaces. The Local Government Service Group recognises that this work needs to continue and be built on in the coming year.
Conference also welcomes the growing success of the national LGBT+ committee’s young LGBT+ worker campaign with over 200 young LGBT+ members so far in a network who are now getting involved in their branch and regional groups.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to work with the National LGBT+ Members Committee, and other parts of the union where appropriate to:
1) Release statements endorsing the Year of LGBT+ workers 2024 and build support for branches to make this campaign a priority part of their work plan and agenda;
2) Promote UNISON’s year of LGBT+ workers including at national and regional events;
3) Encourage local government branches to use days in the LGBT+ calendar to promote the work that UNISON does for LGBT+ equality;
4) Promote and encourage the use of UNISON LGBT+ guidance, fact sheets and model policies in local authority workplaces;
5) Work with the national LGBT+ committee to run a webinar on the Year of the LGBT+ workers for members in local government;
6) Conduct a survey of local government members working in public and school libraries to gather information on their experiences of Drag Queen Story Time events and publish guidance before the end of 2024 on successfully and safely managing these events;
7) Hold an online/hybrid meeting of members working in libraries, and invite an officer from relevant branches to attend, to feed in to the survey and share experiences of how we can organise LGBT+/Drag Queen Story Time events, including how we can challenge both far-right opposition and decisions by employers not to hold or cancel such events.
8) Continue to encourage branches, regions and sectors to negotiate on the LGBT+ workers’ rights in collective bargaining; for this to include reference to the importance of using inclusive language in local government workplaces, agreements and policies, promoting the UNISON resources available to support this work;
9) Promote and encourage participation in equality training, in particular the trans ally training.
10) Continue to promote the UNISON fact sheet ‘How to be a Trans ally’, encourage branch officers and members in local government to undertake trans ally training, and encourage branches to promote this with employers;
11) Promote and encourage the use of UNISON LGBT+ guidance, fact sheets and the adoption of model policies including UNISON’s trans equality model policy in local government workplaces;
12) Work with local government employers to identify and share good practices that are currently in place which support the recruitment, retention, and progression of LGBT+ people in local government workplaces and careers;
13) Encourage LGBT+ members to participate and stand for election in their respective branch, regional and national local government service group executives/committees and as workplace stewards and other representative roles;
14) Support members in education to support trans young people in the light of government consultation,and explore working with other education unions to produce clear guidance on the rights of trans young people to support, respect and dignity and not to be outed to parents.
Local Government Service Group Executive (Motion 1)
Camden UNISON (Amendment 1.1)
National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus Committee (Motion 2)