How trade unionists built LGBT+ equality in Britain

We were there at the beginning.

We are here now.

And together, we are still building the future.

In June 1972, the first UK Gay Pride march set off from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park. Over a thousand people walked in defiance of hostile public attitudes, criminalisation and stigma. Two thousand police officers accompanied them. And among those marchers were trade unionists.

Not simply as supporters, but as organisers, campaigners and movement-builders. From the beginning, LGBT+ liberation in Britain has been bound up with the fight for dignity at work, fair pay, safe workplaces and collective power. The struggle for LGBT+ equality and the struggle for workers’ rights have never been separate – they are part of the same fight against exploitation, inequality and injustice. 

Organising for equality 

Many early trade union activists were part of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), whose unapologetic message – “Gay is good” – challenged the belief that homosexuality was shameful or pathological. Others worked through the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE), pressing for reform through institutions. 

By the early 1970s, National and Local Government Officers' Association 1 (NALGO) newsletters were already raising LGBT+ equality. In 1974, the union produced its first gay newsletter, which quickly became a formal group created to support members whose sexual orientation or gender identity fell outside society’s accepted norms – recognising that discrimination compounds alongside class, gender, race and disability, and that unions must organise on all fronts. 

From policy to the picket line 

In 1976, NALGO instructed negotiators to include sexual orientation within non-discrimination clauses in collective agreements and took unprecedented action to defend a member dismissed because he was gay. 

In 1975, social worker Ian Davies was sacked by Tower Hamlets Council, which claimed his sexuality posed a “jeopardy to the community”. An industrial tribunal ruled the dismissal unfair. When the council refused to reinstate him, his colleagues walked out. NALGO’s national executive backed the dispute – the first official strike in Britain over the sacking of a gay worker. The union won. 

By the end of the 1970s, a powerful pattern had been set: LGBT+ members organised, unions adopted policy, and unions took collective action – publicly and confidently – proving that equality is won through collective power. 

Standing firm in the 1980s 

The 1980s brought renewed challenges. Section 28 entrenched discrimination in law, while the AIDS crisis generated fear and misinformation. 

Through Trade Unions Against Section 28 (TUAS28), unions coordinated protest and lobbying. Public sector unions worked together to negotiate best practice on HIV and AIDS, producing guidance, newsletters and training when many employers were uncertain or unwilling to act. 

In 1985, following motions brought through the TUC’s democratic structures by NALGO and NAPO, TUC Congress adopted LGBT+ equality as official trade union policy – confirming that LGBT+ justice is a core part of the labour movement’s fight for equality, not a peripheral issue. 

Building lasting change 

In 1998, the TUC created its first dedicated LGBT+ role and held the first official TUC Lesbian and Gay Conference, establishing a coordinated national approach to campaigning and policy. 

In the years that followed, unions worked with Liberty and Stonewall to expose discrimination, secure employment protections, challenge unjust exemptions, win civil partnerships and marriage equality, and protect pension rights for same-sex couples. In 2003, employment discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation was finally outlawed. 

BUT the struggle continues – and so does our impact 

Today, LGBT+ workers face renewed and coordinated attacks. Far-right movements are using anti-LGBT+ narratives to scapegoat LGBT+ people – particularly trans and non-binary workers – while pressure grows to roll back inclusive policies and long-established LGBT+ charities and Pride organisations are being defunded. These attacks are inseparable from wider attempts to weaken workers’ rights, undermine public services and divide working-class communities. 

At TUC Congress 2025, unions unanimously carried Motion 07 – Active support for trans and non-binary workers, affirming that trans rights are human rights, that trans and non-binary people are entitled to live and work free from prejudice, and that discrimination reflects rigid gender conformity that ultimately oppresses all women. 

TUC research in 2019 shows that seven in ten LGBT+ workers have experienced sexual harassment at work. New 2024 research found that over half have experienced bullying or harassment in the last five years; one in five have faced verbal abuse; one in 20 have experienced physical violence, threats or intimidation; and more than a quarter are not open with anyone at work about who they are. 

The UK still does not have a fully inclusive ban on conversion practices, despite this being promised more than eight years ago. And with LGBT+ charities being defunding, LGBT+ vital support and advocacy infrastructure has been weakened. 

There is, however, new progress. The Labour government’s Employment Rights Act significantly strengthens employer duties against harassment and formally recognises trade union equality officers, giving LGBT+ workers stronger tools to challenge discrimination and embed equality at work. 

Alongside this, the TUC is leading the Trade Unions for Trans and Non-Binary Rights Alliance, bringing unions together to defend trans and non-binary workers, promote inclusive policies and push for lasting legal change. 

We know what has been won can be lost so we must, and will not, stop campaigning for LGBT+ rights.  

We need all trade union reps and members to continue to fight for equality.  

What reps can do now 

• Plan how you will use equality officer rights – including new statutory rights to be introduced under the Employment Rights Act - to embed LGBT+ equality in bargaining and organising
• Defend trans and non-binary members and challenge harassment and exclusion
• How to Be a Good Tran Ally at Work
• Supporting non-binary workers
• Transphobic hate incidents and crimes
• Promote inclusive policies on facilities, uniforms, language and records
• Support a fully inclusive ban on conversion practices
• Stand against far-right scapegoating
• Connect with the Trade Unions for Trans and Non-Binary Rights Alliance 

Because equality at work has never been a side issue. 

We were there at the beginning. 
We are here now. 
And together, we are still building the future. 

• 1 Now UNISON