Conference welcomes the launch of the Westminster government’s consultation on reform of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 on 3 July 2018. It notes that the consultation closed on 19 October, and commends all those branch and regional groups, individual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members and others who submitted responses supporting the reform […]
Conference motions
Conference condemns Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the US embassy to the city. On 14 May, as Israeli and US officials celebrated the embassy’s official opening, Israeli troops fired with live ammunition on unarmed Palestinians taking part in the Great Return March protests in Gaza, […]
Conference reaffirms that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights are human rights. However, even where legislation is in place, many LGBT workers still face considerable discrimination. Research shows transgender people experience the most severe forms of workplace discrimination including, in some countries, being excluded from the formal labour market completely. Turkey and Colombia are […]
Conference notes the recent increase in the number of companies selling ‘Pride’ related fashion and merchandise either in partnership with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organisations or on the premise that a percentage of their sales will be donated to LGBT organisations. Examples include Primark, which teamed up with Stonewall, and H&M, which donated […]
Conference cautiously welcomes developments and new ways of working that help to address service user and community needs negatively impacted by savage Tory central government cuts. For instance, Adult Social Care and Health Professional services are increasingly working together to provide enhanced clinical and social care rehabilitation pathways, helping people who require short periods of […]
That this conference celebrates that same sex marriage has been legalized in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Scotland, England, Wales, the USA and Uruguay. That this conference is concerned that the same rights are not […]
Conference notes with concern that over recent months there has been a dramatic increase in anti-trans campaigning and transphobia online, in communities, workplaces and, sadly, even within parts of the trade union movement. Although often superficially linked to the debate about the Gender Recognition Act, in reality most of the anti-trans campaigning is targeted at […]
That this conference calls upon The National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) to continue to apply pressure in any way legally possible to make full equal marriage a reality in all areas of the United Kingdom (UK). This will include continued pressure by the National LGBT Committee on Westminster and Stormont (if appropriate) to […]
Conference notes that: 1)The Supreme Court decision in Walker v Innospec in July 2017, that upon John Walker’s death his husband should get the same pension as would his widow, relies upon European Union (EU) law and sets aside a provision of the United Kingdom’s Equality Act 2010 that permitted occupational pension schemes to pay […]
Conference notes that: 1)Israel carries on denying Palestinians their rights and refusing to comply with international law. It maintains regimes of settler colonialism, apartheid and occupation over the Palestinian people; 2)This is only possible because of international support for Israel; governments do not hold Israel to account; corporations and institutions all over the world help […]
Conference notes the ongoing devolution agenda across the UK nations – at national, regional and local government levels. While there are some welcome national government developments in relation to the Trade Union Act, health and social care integration and the treatment of the public service workforce in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are concerns […]
Conference notes the depth and scale of the housing crisis the UK is facing, a crisis that has been gathering for decades but which has reached a crescendo with the Conservatives’ ideological war on council housing. Thousands of UNISON members delivering housing services have seen their employers change from local authorities to housing associations and […]
Along the 310 mile soft border on the island of Ireland a number of Northern Ireland schools attract pupils and workers from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In some circumstances the journey to and from their workplace is only a few miles. UNISON members working in support services in these schools have […]
In Northern Ireland youth services are provided by a combination of statutory and voluntary resources. A budget of £38 million from the NI budget and administered by the education authority underpins these resources. UNISON members working across both sectors have been involved in discussions responding to a major review of youth services. Statutory services are […]
In recent news it has reported that unemployment has hit a record low. What these statistics do not report is that a large proportion of this is because of the increase in zero hours contracts. Employers have increasingly been turning to zero hours contracts as part of the general attack on staff terms and conditions […]