CONFERENCE supported a motion to celebrate the Year of LGBT Workers today and to call for the embedding of the work within Unison.

LGBT committee chairwoman Eilleen Best reminded the conference that thousands of Unison members and their families “continue to face vicious abuse” which made the Year of LGBT Workers was so important.

She said: “We need to continue the process of supporting members of the union to better understand trans issues and improve our policies.”

Ms Best told the conference that embedding LGBT work into the union meant recognising and embracing intersectionality with other equality groups.

She said she was proud that more than 5,000 members of the union had taken part in the trans ally training.

The training was put in place to help members better understand the issues that trans, non-binary and gender diverse members face and how to be allies with them.

Clare from the Southend local government branch said that it was important to “celebrate the history of resistance and to send out a clear message against the politics of hate” being put forward by the Tories.

She also said that it was important to “make sure that Labour follows up on supporting LGBT rights.”

Cath Owens, on behalf of the national executive council, said that she was proud that the union is “a strong advocate of LGBT rights.”

Ms Owens said it was important for all of the union “stand up for LGBT rights.”

She attacked the “dog whistle politics” of the Tories during the elections.

Ms Owens said that the NEC was determined to continue to “place LGBT rights front and centre of all of our campaigning work.”

Aaron from Bedford local government branch said it was important that it was important to get more LGBT officers in branches “but also across all other roles in the union.”