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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Unions threatening strike action if males with a trans identity not allowed access to female toilets.

102 replies

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 16/05/2025 10:43

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14717831/amp/Civil-servants-threaten-strikes-transgender-toilets.html

I'm genuinely perplexed by what they hope to achieve here. The outcome can't be for the government just to ignore the law.

Will we find out how many members do actually support the Supreme Court ruling as surely a vote will be required?

OP posts:
teawamutu · 16/05/2025 12:23

ScholesPanda · 16/05/2025 12:17

I am a PCS member and rep.

It is a democratic union where any member can put something forward, and if it is endorsed at a branch meeting and doesn't break any rules it can go forward to conference. Personally, I think this is a good thing- motions put forward in previous years came from GC women when 'no debate' was the TRA line. Now we get the opposite.

Most motions will not be considered by conference, they will time out. If it does pass, (and it may well pass if it comes to a vote) it will probably disappear into a myriad of committees for consideration, and no ballot will ever take place.

If it is put to a ballot I would say very few members would vote to take action on this, and many reps wouldn't bother to campaign to encourage them to do so.

I don't know if that is helpful info or not, but my view is this is a variation on the annual Daily Mail theme of 'let's see which motion put forward to conference this year seems most rage inducing, and then mislead people into thinking all civil servants support it.'

Really helpful to get the process, thank you, and I agree completely about the DM's aim.

Similar motions have gone from my local branch, though, so it's something that was already bothering me.

From your perspective, is PCS completely captured or are the leadership a bit less blue haired and mad but not wanting to have the fight yet? If I got into bother as a result of stating GC beliefs, could I expect any support?

BonfireLady · 16/05/2025 12:24

BonfireLady · 16/05/2025 12:17

Or Kemi Badenoch in the next PMQs....

"Is the Prime Minister aware that the largest union for civil servants is considering strike action over males no longer being allowed into women's sports and changing rooms and vulnerable children no longer having access to puberty blockers? How does he plan to lead this country when its government departments are advocating against its laws?"

Actually, that should be "not being allowed" rather than "no longer being allowed".

The law hasn't changed. It's just been clarified.

Good to hear a sensible viewpoint on it from a rep within the union @ScholesPanda but the very fact it's been put forward is still batshit and worthy of mention.

DisappearingGirl · 16/05/2025 12:29

Slightly off topic but why are all these unions also bringing the Cass review into it? (mentioned in article re PCS, and also commented on by UCU).

The Cass review relates to evidence-based children's healthcare.

Presumably not many union members are children??

SinnerBoy · 16/05/2025 12:30

I doubt if such a strike would be legal, any more than one to be allowed to take Kit Kats from the canteen, without paying.

murasaki · 16/05/2025 12:32

What do we want? Free kit kits!
When do we want them? NOW!

lcakethereforeIam · 16/05/2025 12:34

Well, two fingers to that!

ScholesPanda · 16/05/2025 12:49

@teawamutu that's a difficult one. My own branch is quite sensible, but we are a small group and not factionalised, iyswim. So it's easier to be open with one another as we are collegiate rather than confrontational.

The Union is dominated by the high membership big departments of DWP and HMRC, and they are very factionalised, with each faction always seeking control and it can be very confrontational. There are GC women out there because I've seen them speak at conference, but overall the activists are very left wing and seem to have adopted this as a very important left-wing issue. Those women are a lot braver than me.

The glimmer of hope I see is that in my local Labour party, members who once were ultra loyal to the TRA cause have figuratively turned on a sixpence, and you'd think they'd never supported it. So I wonder how much of this support was skin deep.

SerafinasGoose · 16/05/2025 12:49

GCAcademic · 16/05/2025 11:55

Anyone in UCU? I can totally see them upscaling to "five fights", the idiots.

Yep - against my better judgement but unfortunately our employers' behaviour has been so hideous that our union (local branch) is desperately needed right now. They are a lot more effective on their own than UCU national and have already won local disputes.

But I'm reliably informed that there are a lot more GC employees around than you might think. Some of my colleagues, I'm pleased to say, did sign the leter in support of Kathleen Stock, although interestingly enough all the signatories were on the cusp of retirement or have now left on the VS scheme. Those not able to leave because of the changing HE climate have for understandable reasons not signed.

But even in our captured union/HE system I would confidently predict that there is no way would they achieve a 50% turn out over this. Aside from anything else people have strike fatigue and have already lost a fortune.

I'm still open-mouthed over the images posted by our incompetent GC, who was initially elected on the mandate that she would stand up for women's rights. Just awful - and an embarrassment to the lot of us.

SternJoyousBee · 16/05/2025 12:55

DisappearingGirl · 16/05/2025 12:29

Slightly off topic but why are all these unions also bringing the Cass review into it? (mentioned in article re PCS, and also commented on by UCU).

The Cass review relates to evidence-based children's healthcare.

Presumably not many union members are children??

Appealing to parents perhaps?

SionnachRuadh · 16/05/2025 13:08

SternJoyousBee · 16/05/2025 12:55

Appealing to parents perhaps?

I think there's an element of what Helen Joyce has described about the chilling effect of having one parent of a trans-identified child in a workplace, even if the child is an adult.

I've seen this myself, where you have a lovely bloke who everyone respects, whose daughter is now identifying as his son, he gets very evangelical about the whole thing, and nobody wants to upset him.

I imagine it's the trans parents who are pushing for the denunciations of Cass.

Abouttoblow · 16/05/2025 13:15

SternJoyousBee · 16/05/2025 11:37

This reminds me of the video clip of a conference in the US. The audience members were so busy virtue signalling and complaining about everything that the introduction went on for ever. Everything from reminding speakers to use pronouns to scolding the audience about clapping and calling out loudly as it upset the autistic members with auditory sensitivity. It was like a fictional parody but unfortunately it was not.

That guy is burned into my memory.

"James Jackson, Sacramento, he/him"

He said it every time he had a complaint and there were many 😂

Chatter, whispering, gendered language, applause, aggressive scents 😂
Don't talk to cops.
Dont talk to anyone without credentials
It was never ending.

spannasaurus · 16/05/2025 13:17

lcakethereforeIam · 16/05/2025 11:55

He's always reminded me of characters from one episode of BtVS, but MN keep taking down my post if I put up a picture to see if anyone else can see the resemblance 😟 So this time I'll keep quiet 🤫

And those characters were defeated by a woman finding her voice and speaking up

SionnachRuadh · 16/05/2025 13:17

I suppose we can be grateful that the UK left haven't adopted the American/Canadian/Australian practice of starting all their meetings with land acknowledgments.

Yet.

soupycustard · 16/05/2025 13:24

So to be clear: the civil service union wants to strike to demand that, in contravention of the law, males be given access to female toilets.
Gosh that's certainly some hill to die on.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 16/05/2025 13:26

What is BtVS? Hints are fine!

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 16/05/2025 13:28

Ereshkigalangcleg · 16/05/2025 13:26

What is BtVS? Hints are fine!

It's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm struggling to think what character it could be though.

ArabellaScott · 16/05/2025 13:28

Can I just check - Unions are going to strike over the right for men to access women's loos? Honestly honestly?

ArabellaScott · 16/05/2025 13:29

Abouttoblow · 16/05/2025 13:15

That guy is burned into my memory.

"James Jackson, Sacramento, he/him"

He said it every time he had a complaint and there were many 😂

Chatter, whispering, gendered language, applause, aggressive scents 😂
Don't talk to cops.
Dont talk to anyone without credentials
It was never ending.

Is this?

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Ereshkigalangcleg · 16/05/2025 13:30

Ah, cool, was scratching my head!

TheOtherRaven · 16/05/2025 13:30

BonfireLady · 16/05/2025 12:24

Actually, that should be "not being allowed" rather than "no longer being allowed".

The law hasn't changed. It's just been clarified.

Good to hear a sensible viewpoint on it from a rep within the union @ScholesPanda but the very fact it's been put forward is still batshit and worthy of mention.

Even that framing buys into making it sound poor men and enables them.

In actual fact, is the Prime Minister aware that the largest union for civil servants is considering strike action over men being required to respect women's rights, protections and equalities in law?

Too much of this is about 'what men aren't allowed' and not about the actual desire is to do something no decent man would have done to women in the first place. It's like a mugger whining about being made to hand back the mobile phone they just snatched off someone. If they are going to strike for male supremacism and subordination of women then they can bloody well be honest about it.

CassOle · 16/05/2025 13:48

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 16/05/2025 13:28

It's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm struggling to think what character it could be though.

I had a guess upthread. I was thinking of the episode 'Hush'.

mrshoho · 16/05/2025 14:06

So the pressing issues calling for a motion to strike are:

  1. Opposing the SC ruling as it prevents trans members from accessing their work place.
2.Opposing Wes Streeting's support of the Cass Review. 3.Calling for the removal of the ban on puberty blockers. 4.Opposing the segregation of trans people in sports as its unfair.

OK let's hope it goes all the way and Saorsa get lots of mainstream screen time.

Kucinghitam · 16/05/2025 14:13

CassOle · 16/05/2025 13:48

I had a guess upthread. I was thinking of the episode 'Hush'.

I agree. Definitely same vibes! And what @spannasaurus said, about how they were defeated.

Maddy70 · 16/05/2025 14:16

It's a daily mail article which doesn't tells you that it's highly likely not to be accurate.

A headline stating that a union is supporting one if it's membera is unlikely to create clicks

spannasaurus · 16/05/2025 14:20

Kucinghitam · 16/05/2025 14:13

I agree. Definitely same vibes! And what @spannasaurus said, about how they were defeated.

If not Hush icake may have been referring to Gnarl