The conference took place in Manchester in November 2006. Two Notts UNISON Branch delegates have written up their experiences.
This was my first year as LGBT Officer for the Branch and so arranging for the conference felt quite daunting. With the paperwork sorted out and submitted to deadlines and everything booked we spent a weekend beforehand meeting together with other delegates from the Region discussing conference procedures, language and motions. This was extremely helpful as we were able to meet up with other people who would be at the conference and also look at the motions that would be discussed there.
This is only the second year as LGBT and it was noticeable that there remains a need to really identify with each other and learn about what we have in common as well as respecting our differing viewpoints. Having Pauline from Leicestershire at the weekend gave us an insight into some of the concerns of the Transgender members and this was very useful. Also Pauline is visiting the SOG group here in Nottingham on 17th January so if you want to come please contact me and I will give you details.
The Branch sent 4 members of the newly formed LGBT Self Organised Group, all first-time conference goers, and also submitted 2 motions to the conference, one on workforce monitoring of LGBT staff and the other on the inclusion of LGB people in the 2011 Census. Both were emphasising the urgent need to ensure that data is held confidentially and that the risk of using data to ascertain numbers of and needs of the LGBT community took into account the under-reporting that would be inevitable.
On the Friday a few of us travelled up by train together and started the weekend with Bucks Fizz and a picnic on the way, it felt like quite a party atmosphere. We arrived and signed in at the desk in the Town Hall – this was quite imposing in itself with lots of ornately carved staircases and rooms and pictures of Manchester dignitaries (male and white) on the walls. The venue might have been imposing but the welcome was very warm. I was glad that I knew some faces from the preparatory weekend and quickly felt part of things. It was quite a challenge to keep up with what was going on and there was a point were we were asked at the last minute to move a motion which we hadn’t had time to prepare for or understand and Richard rose to the occasion very bravely.
Our motion on monitoring was the second on to be debated on Saturday. I was extremely nervous at having to move the motion but there was a lot of encouragement and I felt pleased to have done it. Over the weekend there were a lot of new speakers and each time there was an encouraging round of applause for them. Both the motions from our Branch were carried easily and hopefully will form part of the workload of the LGBT Officer and for the Branch next year. Some of the other motions debated include issues such as:
Disclosure of sexual orientation to clients – asking for information and support to all members to help them deal with this issue.
Blood donation – the ongoing campaign about the restriction on gay or bisexual men being able to donate blood.
Support for International and European Pride events which highlighted the sometimes violent reaction met in some countries such as Warsaw, Moscow and Jerusalem to attempts to hold Pride events.
BNP – the rise in activity is of concern to us all and it was alarming to hear from some delegates about their Council elections. We can’t afford complacency and this came across loud and clear.
Women’s Participation - One of the liveliest debates was around whether or not to provide women only spaces. There had not been a lesbian caucus group and the social was a mixed event at this conference. A motion was raised that suggested that providing women only spaces was divisive and discriminatory and should be abandoned.
A number of the women in the hall, myself included, descended on the microphone to speak passionately for the need to preserve womens space. Apart from the fact that the whole concept of Self Organisation is that under represented groups need to have opportunities for their members to meet separately and that despite proportionality there were still 60% male delegates at our conference. UNISON is still struggling to raise the number of women activists and yet here is yet another argument that says we don’t need the same consideration as other groups in the Union such as black, disabled, bisexual & transgender members. The motion fell but the fact that there had been no space for a lesbian caucus meeting had an impact on the participation of a number of women attending their first conference and this was apparent when on Saturday afternoon there was a discussion group for women and the stories of isolation in branches as women and as lesbians was shocking. It is a very different story than the situation here in our Branch where there are women officers and I’ve had a lot of support.
There were a number of motions around developing as an LGBT group and ensuring there is training and awareness of all the differing strands that make up our SOG. We bring together people with very differing experiences of oppression and there is work to be done in the future to ensure that our unified group does not lose any of the voices of its members. There are similarities in the issues we face such as coming out, homophobia transphobia and biphobia however we also have to recognise that this SOG may sometimes raise things from more than one angle and we need to respect our different priorities as well. I believe that in a diverse group each of the sections(including the gay men) needs to meet separately sometimes in order to network and discuss issues particularly pertinent to them. This would not be divisive but would lead to increased participation and strength within our group.
A list of the motions and decisions reached at this year’s conference is available at the National UNISON website (http://www.unison.co.uk/) under conferences and conference database this gives a complete list of all the motions.
It was hard work and the weekend went by in a blur of motions, people and speakers and Sunday’s early start nearly finished me off and saw a few latecomers straggling into the hall! I arrived home on Sunday evening exhausted but enthused by the energy and passion of the people I had met during the weekend
Next year the LGBT Conference will be held in Glasgow 16-18 November 2007 and I’m hoping the Branch will have another delegation to send who are as enthusiastic and committed to the job of representing LGBT members from Nottinghamshire County Branch at this important national event.
Siobhan
Introduction
I have been employed by Nottinghamshire County Council since August 1998. Some time after this date I became a paid up member of UNISON. Several years ago Lesbian, Gay and Bi-Sexual (and recently Transgender) workers within the local authority started up a staff group. As a Gay man I regularly attended its monthly meetings which looked at policies and issues such as Equality within its LGBT workforce and also acting as a support group for employees.
It was by chance that I got involved with the National LGBT Conference this year. The person who was originally going had to drop out, and I took his place as a delegate, 4 weeks prior to the Conference taking place.
Training Weekend 4th and 5th November 2006:
This was a pre-conference course held at the Jurys Inn, Station Street in Nottingham, for delegates from the East Midlands region. I was one of several who had never been involved in UNISON business or ever attended a UNISON Conference. I found the preparation and training during this weekend very useful. The trainers taught us about terminology, rules and procedures set out by UNISON. They gave useful advice such as how we would be able to present ourselves if participating in a speech. A good deal of the weekend was spent looking at all of the LGBT Motions and Standing Orders being proposed by all the different regions and branches for the National Conference in Manchester.
UNISON National LGBT Conference 17th to 19th November 2006:
On Friday 17th November 2006 from 4:15pm to 5:00pm regional meetings were held in various rooms of the Town Hall in Manchester. Our East Midlands region met in the reception room to discuss motions and amendments. East Midland Regional LGBT Group were submitting Motions and Amendments, as were the Nottinghamshire County Council Branch LGBT and the Nottinghamshire Healthcare LGBT Group. From 6:00 to 7:15pm delegates met in their Service Groups. As I am an employee of Nottinghamshire County Council I met with the other Local Government delegates in the Great Hall. The evening ended with a Civic Reception held by the Lord Mayor in which he made a welcoming speech to LGBT delegates in the Banqueting Hall.
Saturday 18th November 2006 delegates were all in the Great Hall debating and voting on motions concerning LGBT issues. At 3:00pm there were Discussion Group meetings. I attended the LGBT workers rights – a beginners group workshop, a series of exercises using scenarios and real life incidents where employees have faced discrimination in their work place. From 4:45 to 6:00pm there was further business of debating Motions, Standing Orders and listening to a guest speaker within the Great Hall.
On Sunday 19th November 2006 the Conference started in the Great Hall at 9:15am. Having got behind on time on Saturday, there were more Motions to be debated and put to the vote. However, after 1:00pm all delegates took part in the closing Ceremony songs.
Conclusions:
This was my first time at a UNISON LGBT Annual Conference. I felt it was rewarding being able to listen, participate and vote on issues affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender people in the workplace and the greater community.
Richard
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