HIV AND THE AGEING POPULATION

Conference welcomes the advances made in the treatment of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the consequent increase in life expectancy of those living with HIV so that they are now expected to have a normal life span. This has exposed a whole set of new challenges for the HIV+ community as they face the […]

Why we do international work

Conference notes UNISON’s long, proud history of internationalism. UNISON is known here and globally for its internationalist perspective on all areas: from organising and fighting privatisation to defending employment and trade union rights. The neo-liberal economic model behind privatisation and outsourcing, cuts in public spending and taxation, the driving down of workers and trade union […]

Don’t let the Tories get away with it again!

Conference notes the extent to which the political landscape changed on 8 May. With its Westminster majority, the Tory government has wasted no time in implementing swingeing budget cuts and deeply regressive policies and laws that were partly tempered when it was in coalition. These include a renewed zeal for public sector ‘pay restraint’; attempts […]

Attacks on Facility time

Conference notes that the Trade Union Bill is just a start on a wide scale attack on trade unions and activists. Clause 13 of the bill includes a reserve power which can permit the government to introduce a cap on the amount of money spent on facility time in the public sector. This, in addition […]

Raising Awareness for LGBT Police Staff

In many police stations across the country police staff who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) have a working life which is overshadowed by the fear of exposure and ridicule, be it by an accidental or deliberate act. Rural districts are sometimes traditionally conservative communities and their understanding of LGBT issues coloured by […]

LGBT and sex worker organising and the fight against HIV

Conference recalls that 2010 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Conference adopted the resolution “Protecting sex workers and tackling prostitution” which recognized there are divergent views within the LGBT group on the issue of criminalising those who purchase sex acts and acknowledged “a need for continuing dialogue, especially where these issues affect men and trans […]

Pride in our past and our future

Conference notes the contradictory situations faced by Pride events in 2015. On the one hand we celebrate the fact that in this year, 30 years after the Miners’ strike, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) participated in many Pride events across the country – as well as in other trade union events such as […]

Building the challenge to the Tories and UKIP in our regions and nations

Conference notes that the majority Conservative government will have been in power in Westminster for a year by May 2016. The local, regional and devolved nation elections on 5 May will mark a first test of the Conservative’s electoral support and offer a chance to challenge their power at a local and regional level. Conference […]

LGBT+ Mental Health

Conference welcomes the decision by the Trades Union Congress Young Workers Conference to make mental health an issue of priority for the coming year and notes that the UNISON national young members’ forum has also made mental health a priority for its 2015-16 workplan. Conference also welcomes the discussions that have been initiated between equality […]

Gendered Dress Codes in the Workplace

Conference notes that, although many advances have been made in the treatment of transgender or gender non-conforming workers, harmful gender stereotypes are still being enforced through other means. Dress codes should serve a legitimate purpose, such as maintaining a desired image with customers and clients, or aiding staff visibility, and these ends can be attained […]

Transphobic Feminism

Conference notes that feminism is the promotion of women’s rights on the grounds of achieving equality of the sexes. Trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) are one part of the feminist movement, who believe that only women born women (i.e. with a XX chromosome and female genitalia) should be included. This transphobic ideology was brought to the […]

Same Sex Parents

Conference welcomes the extension of new rights to surrogate parents enshrined in the Children and Families Act 2014, and recognises that they will be of particular benefit to same sex parents. According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the number of lesbian couples becoming parents via fertility treatment increased by more than a […]

The Inhuman & Undignified Treatment Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Asylum Seekers

Conference notes the human rights abuse perpetrated within the country of origin of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people who make asylum applications in the United Kingdom (UK). Upon return to their homeland there would be a good chance they would be unable to live a fulfilled life, even facing the death penalty or […]

FORTY YEARS ON: CONTINUING THE PUSH FOR LGBT EQUALITY WITH LGBT LABOUR

Conference notes that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Labour is 40 years old this year. LGBT Labour’s achievements in influencing Labour Party policy include: 1. Equal age of consent; 2. Repeal of Section 28; 3. Gender Recognition Act; 4. Civil Partnerships; 5. Fertility and adoption rights for lesbians; 6. Outlawing discrimination in provision of […]

Equal Pensions (2)

Conference notes that some trans women remain cheated of arrears of State Pension due as a result of a European Court of Justice decision because the United Kingdom government, relying on domestic provisions on non-retrospection, refuses to backdate payment to date of transition. Conference instructs the national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender committee to work […]