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 […]

Fighting against the cuts

Conference notes the election results in May and that the Tories will take the opportunity to push through ideological cuts to public services. Over the last five years, branches have seen that training budgets and funding for equality and diversity are amongst the first to be cut. This means that employees have less training or […]

Trans Health Matters!

Conference notes with serious concern the recent report of waiting times for National Health Service (NHS) gender treatment could reach twelve years in some parts of the United Kingdom (UK) unless urgent action is taken. For example, a recent Freedom of Information request by UK Trans Info revealed that by the end of April 2015 […]

Giving young trans people a decent start in life

Conference notes the widespread lack of awareness about young trans people and the issues they face, including within schools. This is made worse by the impact of austerity cuts to specialist and mainstream youth services, to community and support groups and to health services. Conference believes that giving young trans people the information, support and, […]

Improving services for bisexual people

Conference notes that of all the main sexual orientation groups, bisexual people are the most invisible and least provided for in terms of dedicated or fully relevant and inclusive services. Lack of evidence on bisexual people and services is both a symptom and a cause of wider bisexual invisibility. Conference therefore welcomes the survey report […]

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 […]

Bi not binary

Conference notes the myths and prejudice that surround bisexuality and bisexual people and how this impacts on people’s working lives. Conference believes that this is partly based on the dominant perception that gender identity and sexual orientation are binaries – woman or man; same sex attraction or opposite sex attraction. This leads to the non-inclusive […]

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 […]

Developing and supporting new activists

Conference notes that last year the national young members’ forum introduced a motion to draw up a charter for the ongoing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement, to help newer, younger activists understand what there still is to fight for. Conference further notes the motion was well-received and this charter is currently being drafted […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Scottish LGBT Equality Report

On the 21st July 2015 the Equality Network launched The Scottish LGBT Equality Report, a major new state-of-the-nation report on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people’s experiences of inequality in Scotland. The report is the most comprehensive study of LGBT inequality in Scotland to date, based on a survey of 1052 respondents and informed […]