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UNISON LGBT+ Conference 2021 – Day 2 afternoon session

This afternoons session started with a welcome back and now it’s time for Motions to continue being discussed and agreed on, these motions were all carried.

  • Trans Equality – Louder and Prouder
  • BI+ Inclusion -Stronger Together
  • Conversion Therapy

Freedom of Information Request- s

  • National Disability Strategy: Smoke and Mirrors
  • Next Steps in the Campaign for Trans + and Non-Binary rights
  • a Hub of hope

You can read about the motions by clicking on the below document

During the above debates attention was drawn to the Pink News Article “High-profile appeal against anti-trans LGB Alliance’s charity” if you click on the link below you can read more…

Next up we had a speech from guest speaker – Taiwo Owatemi MP who is the Labour MP for Coventry North West, and has been an MP continuously since 12 December 2019. you can find her on Twitter.com – @TaiwoOwatemi

the final session today was a panel debate on LGBT+ Mental health which was very interesting with personal accounts from the panel of situations that have happened and the best practice, sign posting work to ensure people are as protected and supported as much as possible. questions were raised with concerns for Mental Health First aiders and support for them to carry out their work successfully but employers not providing any support.

A useful guide has been recently released on mental health policies and bargaining for change. click the document below to read in more details.

Attention was also drawn to the important document, Thriving at work The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers. the important extract is the following…

“Deloitte conducted a systematic review of literature on the returns from investing in Mental Health in the workplace resulting in the inclusion of 23 high quality examples where investments were made in trying to improve mental health and where there was enough information to evaluate the impact. The return on investment of workplace mental health interventions is overwhelmingly positive. The average return per £1 spent was £4.20 (with a range of between 40p and £9), and this has been supported by international academic literature in the form of meta- studies”

you can read the rest of the document by clicking on the below

This concludes todays conference session and the next session will be tomorrow morning keep your eyes out for the next information.

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Unison LGBT+ Conference 2021 – Day 2 morning session

The opening of conference began with a welcome from

There was then a minutes silence to remember on those that have been lost over the past year.

This years bucket collection is going to Mermaids

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk

The Standing orders committee report two was this contained amendments and emergency motions to be added to the order of business.

First day of conference began with a speech from Francia Blanco a trans domestic worker from Nicaragua working in Guatemala.

You can read more about her cause and listen to the podcast which explains the work Francia and the union she is part of where LGBTQ+ Domestic Workers win rights with their union. Click on the image to go to the website.

you can also watch the following video for more information.

Now we move on to the presentation of this years Annual Report to read the report in full please click on the below image.

Motions for the Negotiating LGBT+ Equality section of the annual report is now being discussed. you can read the motions by clicking on the below image.

These motions were… all were carried.

  • Supporting ~Stonewall and our Trans Community
  • Working from home is s reasonable adjustment
  • sickness policy motion
  • Mental Health and suicide awareness to support LGBT+ members following the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Introducing pronouns into the work place
  • Mental Health: A Trade Union Issue
  • Make Call Centres more trans friendly

during this debate the following how to be an ally fact sheet was discussed and the can be read below by clicking on the images

Christina McAnea adresses conference

Christina McAnea General Secretary addressed conference and some of her key points from her speech were as follows.

68 countries are still facing serious issues surrounding LGBT+

you should be able to live your life and be who you are

Transgender awareness day is important to remember, you can read more about it by clicking the below image.

Remind our self to unite fight common injustices and be aware that we all have the same fight towards the external forces. One of the quotes that inspires Christina “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be in your revolution,” said Emma Goldman (1869-1940), this brought her speech to an end.

Now we move onto the International Work section of the Annual Report and the subsequent motions… all were carried.

  • Justice for Palestine
  • Trans Rights in Europe
  • Palestine
  • Solidarity with LGBT+ Afgans – Providing a place if safety
  • Defending International LGBT+ Rights

This concludes this mornings session of conference please look out for the next update this afternoon.

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Special Delegate Conference 2021 – Day 3

Today we attended the third of three days of the National Special Delegate Conference in a very different way, as a virtual conference run by UNISON attended by the branch. this was all done online with voting taking place virtually. and your Delegates all attended and actively participated in this event. 

First we had a welcome from Josie Bird, introducing us to the conference and the order of business and the rules around it.

Todays order of business was the remaining order of business and the continuation debating of the motions the detail of these can be found in the following documents. click on the documents to read more detail.

The first motion to be discussed is Motion 66 – LGBT+ people; hidden figures in the pandemic was carried

LGBT+ people should not be hidden figures in this Inquiry

Composite A (Motions 7 and 8) – Creating Fairer Workplaces for the Post Lockdown World is carried It’s crucial we lead the fight for a fairer workplace. We know who the Covid hero’s are this needs reflecting in pay! Read more on the composite here https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2021/03/SOC-Report-SDC-2021-Final_.pdf

Josie then went on to talk about the following video campaign. Impossible choices could soon define our local communities. But we can #SaveOurServices. Write to your MP to #DemandThe10Billion

https://action.unison.org.uk/page/65995/action/1

Motion 64 – No Going Backwards on Gender Equality is carried The gender pay gap is real! Women DO hold vital jobs within our public service. #bridgethegap

Motion 23 – Organise to Defend Workers’ Rights post Brexit, post Covid this is carried #FireAndRehire must stop!

Motion 45 – Coronavirus Pandemic – the Case for Public Services this was carried

Motion 20 – Learning the Lessons from the Pandemic for Safer Workplaces this was carried as amended 20.1

Motion 43 – Organising to End the Crisis in Social Care – this was carried Social care remains in crisis. Low paid carers worked all through the pandemic, PPE was in short supply, the risks faced & anxiety of Covid was real!

All motions that could be moved have been completed for this years conference any motions not moved will be passed to the NEC (National Executive Council)

And Finally