- Conference
- 2024 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 22 February 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that we are halfway through celebrating the Year of LGBT+ Workers and welcomes the opportunity that this provides to promote UNISON as the union for LGBT+ workers, raise awareness of LGBT+ rights throughout the union, challenge discrimination, and recruit and activate LGBT+ members.
The year highlights the important contribution our LGBT+ members make to the union, to improving employment conditions for LGBT+ workers and to campaigning more broadly on equality for LGBT+ people. Over the years the LGBT+ group has played a key role in campaigns to improve the rights of LGBT+ people within the workplace and wider society and particularly active 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 launched its trans equality campaign, and within that, 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.
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 union.
To achieve this, branches need to support local LGBT+ Pride events and run awareness campaigns within the workplace and making UNISON’s LGBT+ materials visible.
Conference acknowledges that tackling systemic and ingrained discrimination against LGBT+ workers 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 our union.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to work with the appropriate parts of the union to:
1)Continue to promote UNISON’s year of LGBT+ workers including national and regional events;
2)Evaluate the success of the year with an indicator of where activity has taken place and the range of stakeholders involved;
3)Encourage regions and branches to use days in the LGBT+ calendar to promote the work that UNISON does for LGBT+ equality;
4)Establish a programme of activities which build on the achievements of the year;
5)Promote and encourage the use of UNISON LGBT+ guidance, fact sheets and model policies in public service workplaces;
6)Work with service groups to follow up on the motions which have been passed by Service Group Conferences to deliver the bargaining agendas on LGBT+ rights and equality in the workplace;
7)Promote and participate in equality training, and in particular the trans ally training.