Developing Links in Colombia

It is well known that Colombia continues to be the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist or social movement leader. Between January 2007 and June 2012, 225 trade unionists were murdered for campaigning for their members’ rights and social justice. What is less known by many is that the situation […]

Safe Ageing No Discrimination

Most people, not just lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, are reluctant to talk about ageing and dying. Many do not make adequate plans. LGBT elders may face extra barriers because of perceived or actual heterosexism from their contemporaries and from the services upon which they rely. Ageing Trans people have voiced concerns about […]

Equal Pensions

Conference notes that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which applies to England and Wales, required the UK government to review the differing treatment of widows, widowers, surviving same-sex spouses and surviving civil partners in occupational pension schemes. UNISON, other trades unions and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) made submissions to the review. They […]

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 […]

GET ACTIVE – AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

Conference recognises the priority that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) self organisation has given, along with the wider union, to recruiting new members and engaging existing members in self-organisation. It is to our credit that not only do we encourage membership and participation in the self-organised groups but we also encourage activists to operate […]

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 […]

Save legal aid before it is too late

This Conference condemns the cuts implemented to legal aid by this government. Legal aid is the means by which everyone in this country should be able to get access to legal advice and representation. However whole classes of legal aid have been removed that affect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Broken Rainbow, […]

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 […]