- Conference
- 2025 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 23 July 2025
- Decision
- Carried
Conference celebrates our union’s rich history of international work and the increased importance of having a global perspective in many areas of our work. Conference recognises that UNISON’s national LGBT+ committee also has a strong tradition and practice of undertaking international work and regularly engages with and plays an important role within ILGA (International lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex association) World and ILGA-Europe (IE).
UNISON ensures that LGBT+ issues are raised in the different international forums in which we work and that trade unionism is raised in all LGBT+ forums in which we engage. Our strength and understanding of strong governance protocols means that our involvement on both the Global stage via ILGA world, and on the European and Central Asian stage allows UNISON to play an important role in LGBT+ democracy. In addition, UNISON has been instrumental in increasing recognition by global and European trade unions of LGBT+ workplace discrimination and different ways to address it.
For many years trade union (TU) delegates held TU caucus meetings at both IE and IW.
UNISON has been instrumental in making TU voices heard in these spaces. At the 2019 IW Conference in New Zealand, UNISON and other trade union affiliates, held the first full day TU preconference. The result was a resolution to the conference to formally hold a TU preconference prior to all IW Conferences.
The 2022 IW conference in Los Angeles resulted in a coordinated commitment of activists from the network of global union federation affiliates to organise a comprehensive and well attended preconference in Cape town 2024. This included an impressive range of government speakers and had a third of the delegation attending on scholarships.
Whilst there have been great strides in advancing LGBT+ equality over the last 30 years, in many countries, LGBT+ voices are still silenced and we need to keep pushing for greater protection for LGBT+ individuals – both within workplaces and wider civil society. Some countries have taken steps forward in terms of equality and greater recognition of the human rights of LGBT+ people. Others, like the United Kingdom (UK), have taken vast steps backward. We are horrified about continued attacks on LGBT+ people and despair that protections for LGBT+ people can so easily been eroded.
Conference calls on the National LGBT+ committee to:
1)Continue to promote an internationalist perspective amongst LGBT+ members.
2)Encourage LGBT+ members to support ILGA by using resources freely available to effect change.
3)To consider facilitating a nationwide International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) event using IE’s rainbow map to highlight the woeful slide down the index to encourage a groundswell of outrage.
4)Work with the National Executive Council International committee to encourage initiatives for LGBT+ Equality globally.