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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

YOUNG, LGBT AND FACING HOMELESSNESS

Conference notes that the last government enacted housing and benefit policies which had a severe impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Conference is disheartened to find that, following the General Election, we now have a Tory government that is set to make things even worse, and for young LGBT people in particular. […]

Election of Retired Members’ Representatives to Self-Organised Group Conferences

Conference welcomes the decision of national delegate conference 2014 to amend rule D.6.8 to let the national retired members’ organisation send two representatives of relevant retired members to each national self organised group (SOG) conference. Conference congratulates the national retired members’ committee (NRMC) on its speed to implement this so that, as a result of […]

Prioritisation

Conference notes that prioritisation is a means to enable us to debate first and to have enough time to debate fully matters we deem of greatest significance. Conference considers there is a need to review whether, in practice, this is what we achieve. Conference wonders: 1. Whether any method of prioritisation can achieve such an […]

Alan Turing and Gross Indecency Convictions

Conference applauds the posthumous Royal Pardon granted to Alan Turing for his 1952 gross indecency conviction, effective in December 2013. However Conference believes that such pardons should be given to all men, living and deceased, who were similarly convicted because of their homosexuality. Conference agrees that the legislation that allowed such convictions was iniquitous, unjust […]

Sex and Relationship Education Lessons (SREL)

Conference notes that there is a growing call for ‘Sex and Relationship Education Lessons’ (SREL) to be included as a statutory part of our education system, including at previous UNISON Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) conferences. Reasons for the call include: 1. The fact that the United Kingdom has the worst rates of teenage […]

Disabled Labour

Conference will note the Labour election defeat in May 2015 and the return of a Tory Government. Conference will further note the lack of any policies likely to benefit people with disabilities in the Tory party manifesto or Queens Speech. Moreover, a further round of welfare cuts and reduction of services is proposed. Conference will […]

Attacks on access to justice is an attack on people with disabilities

Conference will note that we are now over 5 months into this Conservative Government and the wellbeing of our disabled members and their families is under constant threat from draconian legislation on welfare, social care cuts by local authority, changes to the benefits system and proposed changes to human rights legislation and a referendum to […]

New Ways of Working and Reasonable Adjustments

Conference notes that government cuts mean employers are looking for new ways of working to save money without cutting jobs. Often referred to as Lean or Agile Working, these methods were developed by Toyota and are predominantly used in manufacturing industries. If implemented correctly they can bring financial savings and improve working conditions. While we […]

Disabled members delivering public services in times of austerity

Conference condemns the continued attacks on the funding of public services. Austerity cuts are providing an environment for employers to continue to cut/reduce vital services, outsource services, or develop shared services with other public bodies and private organisations. The cuts are being used as a reason by employers to increase the use volunteers, have continual […]

Privatisation/Outsourcing and the Equality Duty

Conference is aware this Government is eroding the public sector by privatisation and outsourcing. The Post Office; East Coast Mainline; a third of recent NHS contracts; and more recently, over half of the Probation Service, all moving into private hands, not only will this lead to poorer service provision, it will also have a negative […]