THERE have been a number of important victories for lesbian and gay people at work over recent weeks. United Airlines, the largest airline in the US, has agreed to give the same benefits to the partners of lesbians and gay men as the spouses of married employees currently enjoy.
Closer to home, journalist Anthony O'Connor won damages from his employer and an unprecedented apology from his former employers after they admitted harassment and unfair dismissal in an out of court settlement. Mr O'Connor had been sacked after formally complaining that he had been subjected to homophobic abuse. Fierce debate has broken out amongst lesbians and gay men over news that the government is considering a draft code of good practice which would offer protection from discrimination in the workplace. The clear view of campaigners that anti-discrimination should have been enshrined in the legislation itself but this was not accepted by the government who refused to accept an amendment to the Employment Relations Bill to this effect. It is at this point that disagreements have arisen with the powerful Stonewall group drawing up a draft code of conduct while the Lesbian and Gay Employment Rights group (LAGER) fears that this will give the government the perfect excuse not to legislate at all. Its all very well for Angela Mason of Stonewall to insist that: "There is no question in my mind that a voluntary code of conduct is not enough to protect lesbians and gay men. There is an urgent need for legislation before the next election", but she doesn't answer LAGER's charge.
Given the record of this government on lesbian and gay rights -for example the lack of action to abolish Section 28 it seems that a little caution and a lot of campaigning would be well advised.
The TUC is also committed to campaigning for legislation and has published a Charter for Equality.
The TUC's policy officer for Lesbian and Gay rights, Peter Purton has write the employment minister Margaret Hodge making it clear that a code is not good enough.
While it seems very likely that this stance will be backed by the TUC Lesbian and Gay Committee it is important that the debate is taken up more widely across the unions. Protection for lesbian and gay workers against discrimination is a task for the whole movement.