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UNISON’s women’s conference in Liverpool celebrated the power of working-class women’s collective strength - and trans inclusion

85 replies

IwantToRetire · 12/02/2026 19:02

A key focus of Ms Egan’s speech was the union’s position on advocating for the union’s trans members in a hostile political climate.
“As a union we have always stood for equality – for women, for Black members, for disabled members, for LGBT+ members, for all who face discrimination.

“And I want to be absolutely clear: I stand proudly and unequivocally in defence of LGBT+ rights. And I am a proud trans ally. Equality is not negotiable. And discrimination in any form has no place in our union, in our workplaces or in society.

“Your conference last year, and our national delegate conference, reaffirmed our commitment to trans rights. And we needed that clarity, because the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act has had a profound impact on our trans, non‑binary, and gender‑diverse members.

“We cannot hide from it. We cannot pretend it doesn’t matter. But we can fight to change the law when it comes to legal gender recognition.
“Nobody should have their dignity taken away because of the sex they were deemed to be at birth. Too many countries have moved forward on gender recognition while the UK falls behind. That must change and UNISON can be at the front leading that change and making that change happen.

“Let me say this from the heart: there is no contradiction between the rights of one worker and another. The only contradiction is between workers and employers. And no stroke of a pen in Westminster will silence us or weaken our defence of the working class – a working class that is diverse, made up of people of all backgrounds, nationalities, and genders.

“Our UNISON branches turned out in force to support trans rights when the ruling was handed out with one clear message: when trans rights are under attack, we stand up and we fight back.

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2026/02/when-working-class-women-organise-nothing-can-stop-us/

The speech itself is quite long, but I thought worth highlighting this bit.

‘When working-class women organise, nothing can stop us’ - UNISON National

At UNISON’s women’s conference in Liverpool, the general secretary celebrated the power of working-class women’s collective strength

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2026/02/when-working-class-women-organise-nothing-can-stop-us

OP posts:
LeftieRightsHoarder · 12/02/2026 23:58

Has anyone kept a list of all the women who’ve taken serious workplace grievances to employment tribunals, and won, after being ignored or even vilified by their union reps?

I’ve read of several where employers were letting men use women-only spaces. But those cases were just the few who actually get as far as a tribunal.

From my own experience, misogyny seems commonplace in trade unions. And that’s a disgrace.

2pence · 12/02/2026 23:54

HildegardP · 12/02/2026 23:43

Oh sweet summer child, you surely can't expect any woman to believe that little fragment of catechism.
UK Unions were always bastions of sexism & misogyny & they still are.

Edited for typo

Edited
Show quote history

…and what changes if you do nothing? Nothing. Do nothing, get nothing. If you’re a paying member then act. Change requires action.

moto748e · 12/02/2026 23:51

They were. But instead of getting slowly better, they are actually getting worse. When the leader of UNISON says she wouldn't feel comfortable defending the Darlington nurses (or was it Sandie Peggie?), you think, what's the point of unions, then?

HildegardP · 12/02/2026 23:43

2pence · 12/02/2026 20:15

Unions act on the motions their members ask them to raise and vote how their members ask them to vote. Unions are member led. If your union does not reflect your beliefs then ask them to raise a motion that does.

Oh sweet summer child, you surely can't expect any woman to believe that little fragment of catechism.
UK Unions were always bastions of sexism & misogyny & they still are.

Edited for typo

2pence · 12/02/2026 23:24

Unions are democratic. Members nominate and then vote for who represents them. If your current union rep doesn’t represent your views then don’t nominate them, nominate someone who does, attend the AGM and vote for that person. If you’re passionate enough to complain then harness that passion to bring change. Unions serve their members and are funded by members. Members decide the direction. If you want change, you need to bring change.

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 12/02/2026 20:58

I read somewhere the Gen Sec of Unison's niece is 'trans' so another handmaiden who's using her position of power to promote her own agenda. This blatant bias means the union will own defend members who have the right 'attitude', someone really needs to sue the unions, starting with Unison.

Unions act on the motions their members ask them to raise and vote how their members ask them to vote. Unions are member led. If your union does not reflect your beliefs then ask them to raise a motion that does.

None of that jives with my 'lived experience' of Unison. The one time I went to conference, way back in the Blair years, the branches from the North of England proposed the motion that the Union withdraw funding from the Labour Party because the Labour Governments policies were throwing thousands out of work up North. The paid union were against it, every time some one spoke for the motion, someone from the bull pit would come down and speak against. Eventually they called for a show of hands, and even a blind person could see it was to close to call. The stewards who were lining the walls even came forward to do a count, when the President declare the vote was against the motion. There was uproar, half of the conference walked out, and went home. The vote was a blatant fix. That's when I left the union, so the idea that unions are member led is naïve in the extreme.

deadpan · 12/02/2026 20:50

Blah blah blah, none of us want them to have no rights deary. Jeez when are they going to stop equating wanting to retain our own rights with according to them not wanting them to have any rights at all.
At no point has anyone said trans people should have no rights.

Original poster
IwantToRetire · 12/02/2026 20:36

2pence · 12/02/2026 20:15

Unions act on the motions their members ask them to raise and vote how their members ask them to vote. Unions are member led. If your union does not reflect your beliefs then ask them to raise a motion that does.

On a superficial level yes. But usually there are more motions than can be taken, and then the selection process shows who is in charge of the agenda.

As in Labour Party conference and no doubt others.

But the point of the OP is, not whether this reflects members but that yet another organisation is making the Supreme Court ruling about trans people, and not about women regaining their rights.

Which makes me wonder has any union represented women making complaints at work about having to share toilets and changing rooms with men?

OP posts:
2pence · 12/02/2026 20:15

Unions act on the motions their members ask them to raise and vote how their members ask them to vote. Unions are member led. If your union does not reflect your beliefs then ask them to raise a motion that does.

Theeyeballsinthesky · 12/02/2026 19:30

Unison continue to demonstrate that they despise women