- Conference
- 2024 Police, Probation and CAFCASS Conference
- Date
- 20 June 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference celebrates that 2024 is UNISON’s year of LGBT+ workers. This is an opportunity to not only showcase the amazing work the LGBT+ self–organised group has done over our history but is also a chance to highlight the continued discrimination faced by LGBT+ members, and what we can do to make our workplaces more inclusive. Our union has a long, proud history of LGBT+ activism. 2024 marks 50 years since the establishment of NALGAY, the first gay and lesbian group in the UK trade union movement.
Even though we have come so far in those 50 years, LGBT+ people in the UK experience significant inequalities compared to the general population. This applies to both staff and the public. After the damning Casey Report, many police forces have apologised for historic discrimination against the LGBT+ community. Police forces have also made inroads in respect of LGBT+ inclusion, especially in terms of recruitment and retention.
The evolution of the Gay Police Association into the National LGBT+ Police Network is evidence of this change. The network’s purpose is to:
• Provide a reference to stakeholders in the Police Service, the wider criminal justice sector and LGBT+ organisations on LGBT+ issues in policing;
• Support the development of local and regional LGBT+ staff support networks;
• Represent local and regional LGBT+ staff support networks on issues faced collectively;
• Support police forces and national police establishments in the development of operational policing knowledge and services that will enhance services to the LGBT+ community;
• Support police forces and national police establishments in being representative and inclusive of the LGBT+ community;
Conference believes that UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ Workers can be used as a tool to negotiate with employers to improve inclusion in workplaces for LGBT+ members working in Police and Justice. For example, adopting the UNISON trans equality policy and using the LGBT+ policy checklist to make our workplace policies as inclusive as possible. We also need to encourage active recruitment and promotion of LGBT+ 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 service group.
Conference recognises that there is still much to do to re-establish the trust of the LGBT+ community. By embedding LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace, we can work towards developing an inclusive policing strategy that addresses the concerns of the wider LGBT+ community.
Conference calls on the Police and Justice Service Group Executive to:
1)Promote UNISON’s year of LGBT+ workers to Police and Justice service group members;
2)Work with the National LGBT+ committee and regional LGBT+ self–organised groups to make LGBT+ equality a core part of our negotiations with employers;
3)Encourage branches to advocate and campaign for a revision of employers’ equality policies to ensure they follow our model guidance for LGBT+ workers;
4)Encourage and support the development of activism amongst our LGBT+ members;
5)Promote and encourage participation in equality training, and in particular the trans ally training.