Report - Fire Brigades Union

SECTION G — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION
hosted by East Sussex fire and rescue service with the support
of their own fire authority.
Of note this year, was a change in policy with London Fire and
Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). London Pride is our
national pride event by virtue of it occurring in the nation’s
capital. Over the last decade LFEPA has hosted a pride
celebration on the morning of the Pride event to which
members of the FBU LGBT committee have been invited as
well as members of any other fire authority attending Pride.
The LFEPA Pride breakfast was traditionally a good opportunity
for getting all fire service stakeholders together prior to the
Pride march. LFEPA has withdrawn support for this event and
the loss of this support will impact on the organising of our
members attending this event.
Stonewall workplace equality index 2010
The LGBT committee continues to support Stonewall and to
encourage fire authorities to work with this organisation and be
members of the Workplace Equality Index. In 2010 a total of
42 fire services were registered as members. Of these, four
made it onto the list of Britain’s top 100 gay-friendly employers.
In March 2010 Stonewall hosted its workplace conference in
London. For the first time a workshop was held at the
conference on the specific issue of the fire and rescue service
(FRS) and this was facilitated by members of West Yorkshire
FRS and East Sussex FRS.
Putting the T into LGBT
In the last year we are pleased to report that we have been
contacted by many more members who are progressing
through transition. Currently we have five members who have
sought advice and support. It is encouraging that so many
members are finding the courage and confidence to move
forward on gender identity issues and we shall continue to
work closely with those members and their employers to
ensure their needs are met.
G12 National LGBT committee
AGM report 2010
On 17 December 2010 members of the LGBT section met at
FBU head office, Kingston for their annual general meeting.
The meeting was opened by the committee chair Yannick
Dubois and committee secretary Pat Carberry presented the
annual report on all the work the committee had been involved
with over the last year.
A total of 11 resolutions were submitted and debated with the
following being passed:
RESOLUTION 1 – TRANSGENDER MEMBERS’
AWARENESS DAY
This AGM of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) members
is delighted that so many members of the section who identify
as transgender/transsexual or transvestite are becoming more
self-assured and confident enough to confront head on the
issue of ”coming out” at work. We congratulate them and
wish to offer any further assistance we can to enable them to
continue the process with their respective employers. It is vital
that we as a union support and encourage our members in any
way we can, and the LGBT section has been able to provide
this support for many of our members.
We therefore request that the executive council organise, in
conjunction with the LGBT section, an awareness/networking
day for our trans members within 12 months of conference
2011.
REGION 10
RESOLUTION 2 – MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF THE LGBT
COMMUNITY
This national LGBT committee is frustrated at the way in which
the media portrays the LGBT community.
The media is a powerful tool; television, radio, newspapers and
magazines have the capacity to educate, inform and challenge
individuals, but they can also be damaging to the LGBT
community by perpetuating homophobic attitudes. The media
also plays a huge part in influencing public opinion towards our
community. It is all too easy to dismiss clichéd stereotypes as
inoffensive harmless fun, but stereotypes when they are the
only images portrayed are harmful and can encourage
victimisation of LGBT people.
This LGBT AGM calls on the executive council to work with
the TUC and affiliate trade unions who represent staff within
the media industry to seek an initiative to begin to address the
damaging and offensive way in which some of the media
consistently portray LGBT people.
REGION 8
RESOLUTION 3 – THE FIRE SERVICE EQUALITY
STRATEGY
October 2010 finally saw the Single Equality Act come into
law. The act consolidated equality law under one single act and
introduced a new public sector equality duty that includes
sexual orientation. The equality duty will take effect from April
2011.
Progress with equality and diversity in the fire and rescue
service has been problematic. Many members and officials of
the FBU have worked to improve our performance in this field
and gradually we have witnessed positive changes.
Within weeks of the general election we saw the new fire
minister announce that the fire service equality strategy was
scrapped. This has left the service in limbo without clear
direction on what is expected in the continued promotion of
equality and diversity.
This AGM of LGBT members calls on the general secretary to
raise this issue with the employers and fire minister to ensure
that progress in equality continues and that statutory duties are
monitored to ensure compliance.
REGION 9
116 FBU Annual Report 2011