Brexit

Conference is aware that UNISON and the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Plus (LGBT+) Committee and Self Organised Group have consistently expressed concerns about the Government’s policies on Brexit. For disabled LGBT+ members, the prospect of a no deal exit from the European Union (EU), and the impacts as outlined in the “Yellowhammer” report, […]

[NDC MOTION] DECRIMINALISATION FOR SAFETY

Conference notes that UNISON’s policy on sex work, adopted in 2010 on the basis of a motion from women’s conference, is to support proposals which decriminalise the selling of sexual services while introducing a ‘sex buyers law’ criminalising those who purchase those services. Conference recognises that the great majority of sex workers are women. Conference […]

Mental Health and Suicide Awareness to Support Young LGBT+ members

Conference applauds the National Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) Committee for the work undertaken to date to highlight the effects of austerity measures on LGBT+ workers, the services we provide and the knock-on effects of the reduction in those services. Conference further notes that a range of governmental bodies, statutory services and civil […]

Forced sterilisation in exchange for gender recognition

Conference notes its outrage that the rights of the trans community remain under sustained attack around the world. It is still the case that in many countries there are laws in place which force transgender people to be sterilised before changing their gender. In January 2019 the Supreme Court of Japan upheld ‘Law 111’ which […]

Ensuring LGBT+ Representation in Apprenticeships

This conference welcomes the commitment of the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network (ADCN) to take action to widen participation in apprenticeships, champion diversity, and support greater social mobility. The ADCN champions apprenticeships and diversity amongst employers and encourages more people from underrepresented groups, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Plus (LGBT+) people, people with disabilities, women, […]

Inclusive Language

This conference would like to acknowledge and give thanks to the essential work carried out by UNISON on respecting and promoting reproductive rights, tackling period poverty and raising menopausal awareness. However, in many of the motions produced around these issues, we continue to see a use of exclusionary language. Motions often make reference to “women […]

Domestic Abuse in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans + Relationships

Conference notes that there is a postcode lottery of services that support victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans + (LGBT+) relationships. For example, in Blackpool, the local Probation Service only has access to programmes that are aimed at heterosexual male offenders, whereas in Manchester, the local Probation Service has […]

PUTTING POLITICS BACK IN PRIDE AND WIDER LGBT+ COMMUNITY

Conference notes the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) legislation during the last Labour Government years strengthened our protections and way of life. Within the last decade we have seen further legislation come forward which, whilst has been intended to improve the lives of LGBT+ people, in a lot of respects, we continue to […]

Promoting Inclusion and Diversity in Sports

Conference notes that LGBT+ people continue to face discrimination and exclusion in areas of sport and face barriers in terms of accessing sport, both as a fan and as a participant. People continue to be exposed to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language, and although this might not always be directed at individuals this impacts on […]

Feeling Good in the WET Service Group

Conference welcomes the fact that more conversations are being held around the issues of mental health, however, for many it is still a taboo subject and for others a painful subject. This however does not stop the effect it has on people, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, beliefs. Mental health does not discriminate and […]

The continuing drift from RPI to CPI and the impact on pay.

This conference notes the continuing desire by employers in the water sector to move away from RPI and embrace CPI when negotiating pay. Excuses abound, from the employers, to explain the reasoning to change to CPI. One of the main excuses being given, is the regulator Ofwat’s changes to the method used to increase consumer […]

LGBT Mental Health Workplace Initiatives

Conference notes that there have been some staff wellbeing initiatives by employers in the Water, Environment and Transport service group related to mental health support, these are not consistent and there is still further to go for employee wellbeing. Conference recognises that at least one in four of us will experience mental health problems at […]

UNISON Activists and Mental Health

Conference is concerned to note that increasingly both branch activists and lay officials are finding themselves suffering extreme stress and anxiety when dealing with the levels of case load that they are presented with. In some cases representatives in WET have been placed under extreme personal pressure by employers. Conference notes that these pressures on […]

Fair representation of Black people in the recruitment process

In 2009, the Department for Work and Pensions embarked on an experiment to understand the scarcity of non-white faces in top managerial posts in UK organisations. 2,000 fake job applications were created in response to 1,000 real vacancies across multiple sectors, professions and pay grades. Similar CVs – one with a “traditional Anglo-Saxon” name and […]