Equality at our Heart

Equality is at the heart of UNISON.  We challenge discrimination and win equality in the workplace and beyond.  We all share the responsibility for equality in our union, workplaces and communities and fight against discrimination where ever we see it.

UNISON is a membership organisation, a provider services and an employer.  Like our own employers, it must comply with equality law and it strives to be an exemplary organisation. 

Part of UNISON’s approach to achieving equality is the organisation of groups of members who may themselves face prejudice and discrimination. UNISON has four self-organised groups – for women members, Black members, disabled members and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) members. Self-organised groups work in partnership with other parts of the union to identify and promote our equality agenda.

Recently we have seen the formation of staff networks across all of our employers, like UNISON these networks allow staff who identify with a particular equality group to come together to promote equality and share concerns that can then be raised with our employers.

I would urge all our members who identify with any of their employer's staff networks to join and become active within them.  By doing so we can bring our experience of being members of a trade union that has orginising on equality at the heart of everything we do.

If you would be interested to know more about UNISON self-organised groups then please get in touch with Branch Equalities Officer, Michael Craig, at michael.craig@phs.scot.