Conference knows that we have debated issues in relation to LGBT+ health and wellbeing on many occasions, including mental health, access to services, and training of healthcare workers on LGBT+ issues to name but a few. But sitting behind all of the disparities and health inequalities of our LGBT+ members are the fundamental social determinants […]
Conference motions
The ongoing crisis in Palestine has brought significant hardship and suffering to its population. The crisis requires a comprehensive and inclusive response that addresses the needs of all vulnerable populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans plus (LGBT+) people. By working with our international comrades we hope that this can be achieved by fostering a more […]
Conference is saddened by the publication of the Department for Education’s guidance for teachers on how best to support pupils in school questioning their gender in December 2023. Gillian Keegan, Education Secretary at the time, said, “This guidance puts the best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be […]
Conference welcomes the demise of the United Kingdom (UK) Conservative government, ending fourteen years of backward steps for LGBT+ equality. We also welcome concrete commitments from the new UK Labour government to equalise the law on hate crime by extending the aggravated offence regime to anti-LGBT+ hate crime, to reducing the huge waiting-lists for LGBT+ […]
Five years remain until we reach 2030, and the UK goals of zero HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) stigma and zero new cases remain both tantalisingly close and yet still so far away. Last year in Liverpool, conference passed a motion – HIV has changed, but our employers don’t know this – that has kicked into […]
The last Westminster government had a terrible record on trans rights, ranging from inappropriate jokes and comments to actively seeking to change the Equality Act 2010 to remove gender reassignment as a protected characteristic. The United Kingdom’s (UK) Conservative government’s final act before being voted out was to enact a ban on prescriptions of puberty […]
Conference welcomes the new ace (asexual) and aro (aromantic) network that the national LGBT+ committee has established, called ‘The A-Spec Network’. This is believed to be the first trade union network for all those who identify under the asexuality umbrella in the United Kingdom’s (UK) trade union movement. Conference also welcomes the factsheet and awareness […]
Conference notes that despite the achievements of the national LGBT+ committee, our strong self organised group, and the successes in raising the profile of LGBT+ workers through the last year, the reality for many members is that our workplaces are unfit for our needs. Conference notes that the TUC survey of LGBT+ Workplace Experiences 2023 […]
Conference notes that the rulebook, as amended at the 2023 national delegate conference contains aims and objectives, sections on union democracy and antidiscrimination policies and yet in Rule Q definitions there are no clear definitions of transphobia, biphobia, homophobia or acephobia. ILGA-Europe (The European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) […]
Conference notes the ‘LGBT+ Inclusion @ Work’ report from Deloitte in 2023, following a survey they completed across workplaces in 13 countries, including the UK. The report highlights its findings that less than half of respondents feel comfortable being out at work, because they are concerned about being treated differently, or may even have concerns […]
Conference notes that suicide is the biggest cause of death in young people under the age of 35 and in men under 50 in the UK. In 2020 over 6,000 people died by suicide in the UK and 75% of those who took their own lives were men. This equates to 16 people, 12 of […]
The fight for decent working hours has always been at the heart of union campaigning. Trade unions fought for an eight hour day in the 19th century and a two-day weekend in the 20th. In the 21st, it is time to take the next step and win a four-day week with fair pay for all. […]
Government proposals in effect will ban the right for workers to raise genuine concerns concerning pay and working conditions through strike action. The new law is insisting on Minimum Service Levels, during strikes in areas where our members work. Ambulance, Border control and some passport workers will be affected, but this law can be extended, […]
Conference notes that in January 2024 UNISON joined the protest in Cheltenham against the Tories’ new Minimum Service Levels Act 2023, and a day of historical strike action took place in Northern Ireland. Conference notes that the last year has seen a high level of organising and bargaining in UNISON. The ‘One UNISON’ campaigns of […]
Conference is appalled at the ongoing funding crisis in local government, which is now resulting in an existential threat to the future of many councils across the UK. Extensive UNISON research from last autumn revealed that councils across the UK were facing a funding shortfall of £3.56billion in 2024/25 and a cumulative funding gap of […]