Speaking at UNISON’s annual LGBT+ conference in Edinburgh today (Saturday), general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“Every member of our union should be treated with dignity and respect. Everyone should be able to work and live free from prejudice, discrimination and intolerance.
“Fourteen years of Conservative governments did much to harm the lives of LGBT+ people. The harsh austerity policies of successive Tory administrations had a devastating impact on essential services across the country. Many are still reeling from the impact today.
“But then last year a Labour government was elected. Promising to make changes to improve the lives of working people. But it’s not quite working out as many hoped.
“Ministers must get back to doing what a Labour government should be doing. Improving the lives of working people, rebuilding public services and striving for a more equal society.
“There are good things going on, but the government has been terrible at communicating them. Improvements like the employment rights bill. This will be life-changing for working people. But ministers rarely speak about it.
“It means the end of exploitative zero-hours contracts, workers receiving sick pay from the first day they’re ill and allowing unions to run digital ballots.
“Bad employers don’t like it. And have been lobbying furiously to try to get the bill watered down. Opposition peers are really against it too. And keep voting down key elements of the draft legislation.
“We must keep up the pressure on the government to ban conversion therapy. This has long been promised by Labour but we’ve yet to see any action. We need to continue to demand an end to this disgraceful practice. It’s something no one should be subjected to. And any ban must include trans, non-binary and gender diverse people.
“And while the figures tell us that homophobic and transphobic hate crime is down, the statistics aren’t a true reflection of what’s going on out there. Many LGBT+ people don’t feel safe in reporting hate. That’s why I’m in favour of the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.
“This would bring LGBT+-specific incidents in line with hate crimes based on race and religion, leading to more consistent sentences and prosecutions.
“And while it’s great that Scotland qualified for the World Cup. It’s not so great that most LGBT+ fans have experienced or witnessed homophobic or transphobic abuse when watching men’s football.
“Here in Scotland, 86% of LGBT+ football fans attending matches have heard or experienced homophobic abuse. That’s a truly terrible statistic, which brings home just how much there is still to do to change attitudes.
“Our union will always stand up against bigotry, discrimination and hatred. I’m extremely proud of our union’s work on building trans equality. UNISON’s trans ally training has been rolled out to over 7,000 members.
“The Supreme Court judgment has had a massive impact on people at work and in their daily lives. It’s still not clear what the final updated EHRC code of practice is going to look like. If true, leaks reported in the media this week suggest it will be horrendous and unworkable. With organisations having to employ toilet police to check who’s going to the loo.
“People banned from single sex spaces based on how they look. Or behave. Or barred from services that match their biological sex. With potentially nowhere to go. This must never be allowed to happen.
“The now withdrawn interim guidance has been completely unworkable. It’s causing real problems in workplaces. Without talking to any unions, employers have been telling some trans people to start using the toilet of their biological sex. The tribunal cases in Fife and Darlington illustrate how easy it is for employers to get things wrong.
“Workplaces should be a safe place for all employees. Trans, non-binary and gender diverse people must be able to live in their gender.
“It’s shocking that the UK has fallen to 22nd place in the ILGA Europe rainbow map, which compares the laws and policies of 49 countries on LGBT+ rights. We were first when it launched in 2015. We must demand better for LGBT+ people from the government, so the UK doesn’t continue the slide down the rankings.
“Global solidarity is important, with over 60 countries imposing the death penalty on homosexuality, and many others where it’s just not safe to be LGBT+. We must never stop doing all we can to make the world a safer place for everyone.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON’s annual national LGBT+ conference is taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. It opened yesterday and ends tomorrow.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contact:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
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