Retaining LGBT Members when They Retire

When UNISON was founded it had about 50,000 retired members. Now it has about 166,000, more than one eighth of total membership. This number and proportion is likely to continue to grow. Retired members therefore form a growing part of the organising agenda. In particular, conference believes that the purposes of self-organisation in Rule D.4.2 […]

Beyond the European Elections – what happens next?

Conference notes that in May 2014, 28 European Union (EU) member states elected 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent their interests across Europe. These representatives have a 5 year term to advance policies and, for us, promote a Europe that celebrates its diverse members whilst condemning hate crime and inequality. Of the […]

Conference Guest Speakers

Conference notes that over the years the national lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) conference has received a variety of guest speakers to address conference. These guest speakers add another dimension to our conference, they give us the opportunity to hear from others within the LGBT movement and inform our debate. As the years have […]

No to Pinkwashing. No to Israeli Apartheid.

“No to Pinkwashing” is a group of Palestine campaigners, trades unionists and socialists based in Britain with strong links with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and with UNISON. “Pinkwashing” is a public relations tactic used by Israel. Israel is increasingly unpopular all over the world because of its occupation, settlements, the Apartheid Wall and the blockade […]

We Need You – Branch LGBT Officers

Conference notes that equality is at the heart of UNISON. We have a long history of challenging discrimination and winning equality in the workplace and beyond. Whilst we have made great strides towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and recognition of our rights, there are still areas where members experience discrimination, bullying and […]

UNISON membership monitoring

Conference notes that the 2013 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Conference wholeheartedly adopted motion 12 about introducing LGBT monitoring for members participating in our structures: committees, conferences and training events. The motion called for the LGBT committee to seek to ‘Work with the appropriate bodies within the union to introduce sexual orientation and gender […]

International labour movements, trade unions and LGBT equality

Conference welcomes the progress in recognition that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights are human rights, including labour rights, with more countries adopting laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, even where legislation is in place, many LGBT workers still face discrimination. For transgender people, the picture is particularly bleak. […]

LGBT rights and national collective agreements

Conference is concerned at increasing pressure to move away from nationally agreed terms and conditions. These hard fought-for protections represent years of negotiation by many valued trade unionists, who worked tirelessly so future generations could be treated with dignity, equality and respect. Conference will forever be thankful to them. These national collective bargaining and pay […]

Bisexuality – the hidden sexuality

Conference notes the research ‘The Ups and Downs of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB)s workplace experiences’, published in January 2014 by Manchester Business School. Findings for bisexual workers were particularly marked, including: 1. Bisexual people reported the highest levels of bullying and discrimination at work within the last 12 months – higher than lesbians and gay […]

Building on our work on tackling biphobia

Conference welcomes the resolution carried at the 2013 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) conference, reaffirming the principles and values of our group, including our commitment to zero tolerance of biphobia. Conference further welcomes education and training sessions at our conference, for the national LGBT committee and for branch and regional LGBT groups on identifying […]

Palestine

Conference is horrified that in July 2014 bombing raids are targeting 1.7 million Palestinians trapped under siege in Gaza, and shocked at the wave of racism and violence targeted against Palestinians. Following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli youths, Israeli leaders incited racism and hatred. Benjamin Netanyahu called for revenge and described Palestinians as […]

Homophobic Teaching in Schools

It has become apparent through press reports on Thursday 19th June that over 30 schools across the UK are using textbooks from the US-based Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum, which teach amongst other abhorrent views: that Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) can be avoided through religion; that homosexuality is a sin and a choice; evolution is […]

What we want from a Labour Government

Conference will note the recent report from the National Centre for Social Research, highlighting the austerity measures introduced by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat (ConDem) coalition government. This report showed the cuts have had a disproportionate effect on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Many LGBT workers have found themselves out of work, struggling […]

A caution with consequences?

Conference notes that when someone commits a minor crime, the police or Crown Prosecution Service can decide to give them an out-of-court disposal instead of taking the case to court. The disposal is often called a ‘caution’. Cautions are meant to be used for less serious crimes, for example low level criminal damage. Cautions are […]

For LGBT generations united

This conference believes there has been truly significant progress in achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the workplace and society in the United Kingdom, but agrees there is still more to do reach true equality here, and much more so around the world. This conference believes that the work of […]