Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “LGBT+ parents are significantly more likely to experience intrusive questioning, negative comments and disbelief when exercising their rights to family-friendly and parental rights in the workplace. Management decisions regarding granting family or carer leave are often based on a heterosexual default that ignores the growing reality of LGBT+ families. Unions and union reps play a vital role in challenging wrong decisions, tackling discrimination and raising awareness of the rights of LGBT+ parents and the diversity of family structures.”
Usdaw is calling on conference delegates to support:
• The Westminster Government’s current review of workplace parental rights, and ensure it captures the experiences of LGBT+ parents and offers solutions to the particular challenges they face.
• The work unions are doing to highlight the experiences of LGBT+ parents, to help ensure that any reforms specifically improve LGBT+ workers’ access to and experience of family-friendly and parental rights.
• LGBT+ parents and carers being consulted when parental and other family-friendly rights are being negotiated with employers.
Paddy Lillis continues: “We are deeply concerned by the growth of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic attitudes in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Despite continuing improvements in public attitudes towards LGBT+ people, hateful narratives and misinformation about LGBT+ people - repeated and amplified on social media platforms - have normalised and emboldened those with homophobic, biphobic and transphobic views. Language matters and words have real-world consequences. Now more than ever, LGBT+ people need allies in their unions and workplaces to challenge discrimination, call out abuse, create safe and welcoming workplaces and stand in solidarity with LGBT+ workers.
Usdaw is calling on conference delegates to support:
• The STUC, TUC and affiliate unions promoting the need for allyship to defend, protect and further promote LGBT+ equality.
• Unions to continue to create safe spaces for LGBT+ workers to come together to network and discuss the issues that matter to them.
• Unions in their continued efforts to address the underrepresentation of LGBT+ workers in unions’ structures and in the workplace, and share best practice.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion