TUC LGBT CONFERENCE 2016

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2016 :: RMTnews 23 O ver 220 delegates, including 13 RMT members, attended the annual two-day TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender conference and discussed a number of key issues including the equalisation of survivor pension benefits, developing trans friendly work places and campaigning for trans equality and diversity. Other issues included the disproportionate rate of homeless LGBT young people; access to health care LGBT representation in the media. A successful RMT motion called on the TUC to campaign in collaboration with Commonwealth-based LGBT groups and activists to demand the Commonwealth Secretariat, where it is agreed as being appropriate, speak out about state-sanctioned discrimination. It called on the TUCC to press those Commonwealth countries with discriminatory practices to uphold their international obligations. Conference speakers included journalist and activist Owen Jones who spoke about his experiences as a gay writer standing against homophobic government cuts. Sophie Cook, patron of Just a Ball Game? addressed conference on their campaigning work with professional sports organisations and trade unions to promote equality and respect. Jessica Creighton also spoke about the important work of Rainbow Noir, a social and peer support group for people of colour who identify as LGBT. One of the many high points of the conference was an informal session on trans equality in the workplace: ‘Together for Trans’ with an RMT member as one of the panel speakers. This was an extremely educational and informative session where panel speakers shared with conference some of their real lived experiences. The session was an opportunity to discuss non-binary gender identity, which was explained simply as any gender that isn’t exclusively male or female, where a person may feel some mix of both male and female, somewhere in between, or something completely different. One motion on employer monitoring of social media and the right to privacy was discussed and remitted. Conference delegates voted to send the motion submitted by UNISON to the TUC Congress 2016. The resolution called for a strategy for forthcoming elections up to and including the 2020 Westminster and devolved parliament/assembly elections. Left to right: Paul Penny, Peter Woods, Natasha Robertson, John Stack, Sue Dunne, Cat Cray, CJ Bruce, Barry Weldon, Karl Davis, John Shackleford, George Weldon, Amanda Wareing, Alistair Kenworthy TUC LGBT CONFERENCE 2016