UNISON national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members committee Annual report 2013 LGBT members – building a stronger union UNISON national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members committee Annual report 2013 Contents Co-Chairs Introduction to Annual Report 3 Recruiting and organising 4 Negotiating 6 Campaigning 8 Internationally 11 From the caucuses 13 In the regions 16 This report of UNISON’s national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members committee covers our work from November 2012, following the last annual conference, to October 2013. Actions on last year’s conference decisions and monitoring information are included in a separate document. For a copy, email [email protected] or write to Carola Towle, UNISON LGBT equality, 130 Euston Road, London NW1 2AY. UNISON is the UK’s largest public service union. We have a proud history of working for equality for all. For information on joining UNISON and about LGBT workers rights: visit unison.org.uk/out email [email protected] phone 0845 355 0845 (minicom 0800 096 7968) 2 Co-Chairs Introduction to Annual Report It’s been 20 years since UNISON was born and 30 years since the first conference of the NALGO LGBT group at a children’s nursery in Camden. We also recently celebrated the 50th edition of our Out in UNISON LGBT newsletter. So it’s been a year of anniversaries and looking back at how far we’ve come, from a lesbian and gay group to a more inclusive LGBT group with strong Black and disabled representation and with a focus on organising, campaigning and recruitment that is recognised across the union. We’ve been instrumental in helping to make some of the huge advances for LGBT people happen over the last 30 years. We’ve campaigned against discrimination and the hated Clause 28 under the previous Conservative government, and we worked with the Labour Party to ensure the introduction of a raft of measures that have radically changed the life of LGBT people in this country. It now seems unimaginable that 30 years ago LGBT people could be lawfully sacked or refused services, weren’t entitled to their same sex partner’s pension and could not gain legal gender recognition. And yet there’s still so much more to do. In many ways the clock has turned back again under this government, with equal marriage used as a smoke screen to hide cuts to LGBT services and to the public services we all use, and to camouflage the impact of poverty pay, redundancies and reduced terms and conditions on LGBT workers. But over the last 12 months our LGBT members have been unrelenting in keeping up the pressure on this government, fighting the far right and the emerging threat from UKIP, and building our capacity through recruitment and organising. Those who met at that nursery in Camden 30 years ago must have thought the forces ranged against them were insurmountable. And yet they fought and eventually won. If our history as an LGBT group teaches us anything it’s that if we are organised and inclusive then we can win. Here’s to another 30 years of the good fight! Deirdre Costigan and Phillippa Scrafton 3 UNISON national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members committee Annual report 2013 Recruiting and organising Our LGBT group has always been strong on Scrafton, who has been in high demand, giving organising. We understand the importance of interviews, public speaking and running training. And recruiting LGBT workers into the union, building in April, we held the first national training for branch activists and reaching out to community LGBT officers. Massively over-subscribed, this was a organisations. This is more important than ever as high-energy day which revealed the wealth of talent both public services and trade unions face we have in our group. The national course will re-run unprecedented hostility from the Westminster in the spring of 2014 and regional groups have been government. Given the numbers of UNISON encouraged to deliver the training jointly with members who have lost their jobs through the neighbouring regions. government’s misplaced austerity measures, UNISON activists can be rightly proud that membership numbers are holding up due to their work bringing in Supporting regional and branch organising new members. We continue our programme of supporting branch and regional groups, with the twice-yearly meeting of Recruit, recruit, recruit regional LGBT convenors proving as productive as ever. This year, the first meeting focussed on We have supported LGBT members in this by recruitment, particularly on reaching less well- developing training materials on face to face represented groups such as trans workers and Black recruitment. We recognise that people may lack LGBT workers. Our thanks to Fidelma Carolan from confidence, so have promoted useful tips and a ‘flow- Northern Ireland for leading on this. The second day chart’ of how to start a recruitment conversation went back to basics on the role of the regional LGBT leading to the ‘will you join us today’ moment. This group convenor: always worth spending time on. can be used in workplaces and at pride and other community events. This was also the lead feature of We welcomed the outcome of the NEC review of self- the spring issue of Out in UNISON. organisation. The recommendations included strengthening the rule on the purpose of self- We’ve also developed our use of Twitter and organisation. The amended rule more accurately Facebook and encouraged regional LGBT groups to reflect the place of SOGs at the heart of UNISON’s do the same. We’ve included information and advice priority work of promoting the equalities and in Out in UNISON and our e-bulletin. bargaining agenda, defending jobs, terms and The annual LGBT recruitment and organising awards conditions and services and building density, with a are now a well-established part of our conference. strong and dynamic presence in the workplace. There are some novel entries this year and the jury will have its usual challenging task. Addressing under-representation 2013 is UNISON’s Another recommendation of the review will see all 20th birthday, but also costs for national caucus meetings met from national marks 30 years since funds from 2014. For the LGBT group, this is our our first lesbian and annual bi, trans, Black and disabled LGBT network gay (as it was then) meetings. This change recognises the role of these conference and 39 meetings in reaching under-represented groups. years since our group Previously, there was the same funding arrangement started. In this as for SOG conferences, with branches paying some anniversary year, we of members’ costs. are pleased to be celebrating a number All four of this year’s meetings were lively and well- of firsts. UNISON has its first out gay president, attended, with a good balance of people attending for Maureen Le Marinel, who will be addressing our the first time and more seasoned activists. We conference in November. The national LGBT welcome a number of new caucus reps onto the committee has its first trans co-chair, Phillippa 2014 national committee. 4 Involving retired members We’ve continued to look at ways to engage retired members in our LGBT group and keep them involved, so we can benefit from their knowledge and capacity. We’ve secured the support of all the national SOG committees and the NEC equality liaison committee for a rule amendment to give retired members the opportunity to send delegates to national SOG conferences, with the right to speak but not to vote. The proposal is now with the NEC. Our advice on involving retired members has been used as the model for a cross-SOG leaflet which was promoted in the Unizone at national delegate conference. We looked again at our range of recruitment and At the TUC organising resources. The Pride in our Work leaflet got a makeover, with a new photo (taken at the UNISON’s delegation to this year’s TUC LGBT branch LGBT officer training), snappier messaging conference was led Maureen le Marinel as her first and an anti-austerity theme. We circulated new official duty as President, a fact welcomed by advice for branch LGBT officers and are working on delegates at the conference with a resounding cheer. other materials to support branch LGBT groups. Our motion ‘Pay and Pride’ (similar to one of the LGBT motions to national delegate conference) was Monitoring data from successive LGBT conferences well received and UNISON intervened in a number of show a welcome increase in numbers of bi and trans other debates with mostly supportive speeches. delegates, and also reveal that more of our activists UNISON’s amendment was to a motion from are now in senior branch positions such as branch Community on ‘Improved access to HIV Testing’, secretary, not solely concentrated in equality and introducing a focus on tackling workplace LGBT roles (however vital these are). The weakest discrimination against people living with HIV, and area continues to be reaching low paid members. We raising the importance of a properly funded public have increased our stock of factsheets targeted at health service. Conference narrowly voted to send a sector groups, particularly those where lower paid motion on International LGBT rights to Congress over members such as homecare workers are UNISON’s motion Pay and Pride. UNISON’s nominees concentrated, and made sure these are at all UNISON to the TUC LGBT committee, Bev Miller (general seat) sector events. and Asha Wolfe-Robinson (seat representing bisexual Thanks to GPF funding, we had our usual high-profile members), were elected unopposed. presence at London Community Pride, UK Black Pride, Sparkle and BiCon.