Conference notes that for many years Ghana’s government has been extremely hostile to LGBT+ people. Currently same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1960, which criminalises acts of ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this law. The law was inherited from […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that UNISON national LGBT+ committee has produced resources to support the recruitment of LGBT+ members and development of LGBT+ activists. These include ‘Putting politics back into Pride – a UNISON practical guide to recruiting and organising’, ‘Digital organising for LGBT+ equality guide’ and bargaining factsheets to support negotiations with employers for our LGBT+ […]
Conference notes that, during 2022, UNISON’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) self-organised group (SOG) succeeded in raising the issue of trans equality widely within the union by submitting substantially similar motions to several UNISON conferences. Their opportunity to do so is based on UNISON rules D1.10.4, D3.4.10 and D5.7.5 which entitle each SOG […]
Conference notes that a workplace that actively encourages Equality Diversity and Inclusion is more successful, can help to keep employees happy and motivated, prevents serious or legal issues arising, such as bullying, harassment and discrimination and will attract and keep good staff. Conference also notes that where LGBT+ members and their allies continue to fight […]
Conference welcomes the partial ban on conversion therapy announced in the Queen’s Speech in May 2022 that targeted ‘abhorrent conversion therapy practices’. Not abhorrent enough to extend to our trans siblings over 18. Apparently, the rights of trans people are part of a ‘balancing act’ that needs ‘careful management’. Not empathy, not protection, but ‘careful […]
Conference notes that one of UNISON’s main aims is ‘to seek to ensure equality of treatment and fair representation for all members and to work for the elimination of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, sexuality, gender identity, disability, age or creed’. To achieve this, UNISON seeks for branches to have equality co-ordinators, whose role […]
Conference notes that the trans community has seen an escalation in the volume and the toxicity of anti-trans articles across all media platforms in recent years, to a level now that is almost beyond comprehension. While the initial increase was commonly attributed to the United Kingdom (UK) wide rise in negative sentiment shown to all […]
LGBT+ people have been and are still experiencing verbal and physical bullying from colleagues, customers or service users because of their sexual orientation / identity and some still do not feel confident about reporting homo/bi and transphobic bullying in their workplace. According to Stonewall more than a third of LGBT staff (35 per cent) have […]
This Conference is deeply concerned by the steep rise in LGBT+ hate crime in Scotland since lockdown restrictions were eased at the beginning of last summer. The rise in homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes is not restricted to Scotland but has been replicated across the rest of the United Kingdom (UK). Hatred and abuse […]
Following the 2021 LGBT+ conference, the national LGBT+ committee launched a trans equality campaign to be louder and prouder about our support for trans and non-binary members’ rights. This campaign has many elements – from trans ally training and establishing a trans ally network to lobby the United Kingdom’s governments and the Labour Party to […]
LGBT+ people in the context of the war in Ukraine, like everyone, have many reasons to stay in Ukraine or to leave the country. Like their fellow citizens, LGBT+ people are staying, supporting each other, providing mutual aid, and fighting against the Russian invasion. LGBT+ people, however, face additional barriers to fleeing the country, including […]
Conference notes it has been 3 years since UNISON’s lesbian, gay, bisexual (Bi) and transgender (trans) (LGBT) self-organised group achieved a rule change to include the “+” to become the LGBT+ self-organised group. The purpose of the rule change was to ensure we are inclusive of all identities from within our community and to reflect […]
This conference notes that the ambitious environmental rhetoric used by all governments in the UK stands in direct opposition to the long-term fall in resources and support for the country’s environmental protection agencies which regulate and enforce environmental legislation. Why action is needed: For over a decade, our environmental protection agencies have been subject to […]
The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the Water, Environment and Transport service group, supporting and representing our Trans members effectively. Attacks on Trans rights have escalated further in the past year. There has been a sustained […]
Conference notes that UNISON has declared 2022 the year of disabled workers, which is a great opportunity for WET branches to organise, bargain and campaign on the issues that matter to our disabled members and to increase recruitment and retention as a result. WET branches can use 2022 to highlight the experience of our disabled […]