LGBTQ+ and Trade Unions
“Trade Unions and Progress, a personal history” by Kieran Rose was proudly launched today at Fórsa HQ. The launch as part of Organising for Equality, an annual event in Fórsa that examines societal and equality issues, how they impact workers, and how trade union members are fighting for their rights.
Kieran produced the publication to outline the trade union movement’s important role in the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights in Ireland. A struggle that has its beginning with a motion put forward by Kieran when he was in the Cork Branch of the LGPSU (one of the predecessor unions to Fórsa).
The motion called for lesbians and gay men to be protected by the unfair dismissals act and called for equality legislation. This was the first motion if its kind, sparking hard fought trade union campaigns over decades.
Kieran, lifelong union member and LGBTQ+ activist, said “The trade union movement was hugely important in progress for LGBT people in Ireland from the early 1980s when we had few supporters but many powerful enemies.”
Fórsa’s LGBTQ+ Network
At today’s Organising for Equality event, we also formally marked the establishment of Fórsa’s LGBTQ+ network, a first in our history.
This has come about from a motion passed at Fórsa’s biennial Conference in May 2024. Delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion proposed by the Galway Health and Local Government branch to establish a network to support all members and staff who identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
A survey was undertaken recently on the experiences of LGBTQ+ workers, and the results will be used to inform the network.
Rob Patridge, who presented the motion at conference said: “While so much has been won, we know we still have a long way to go. Our hope with this network is to build connections between Fórsa members who are LGBTQ+, so we learn what is really happening in workplaces.
“Trade unions are built on solidarity, on workers coming together to fight for our collective rights. This is one more step towards that.”
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