Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

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Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

• David Joyce
• Policy Officer, Equality and Development, Irish
  Congress of Trade Unions

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WHAT IS EQUALITY?

• Workplace Equality can be defined in terms of
  organisations that
• Are free from discrimination, sexual harassment
  and harassment and victimisation, and are taking
  steps to prevent such experiences for employees
  and customers

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What do we really mean?
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The Case for Equality?

• Fulfils legal obligations.
• Increases the efficiency and effectiveness of
  your business.
• Saves your company time and money.
• Progresses social justice (Equality Fairness).

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Fundamental Rights

• Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
  at Work.
•  
• The right to form trade unions (freedom of
  association)
• The right to effective collective bargaining
  between workers and management
• Freedom from forced or compulsory labour
• An end to child labour
• Freedom from discrimination in the workplace.

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Equality Act 2004

• New Legislation to update two equality acts to
  bring us in line with a number of EC Directives
• Racial Equality (200/43/EC)
• Employment Equality (2000/78/EC disability,
  age, sexual orientation and religion)
• Gender Equality (2002/73/EC)

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Employment Equality Acts

• Promote Equality
• Prohibit discrimination
• Prohibit sexual harassment and harassment
• Prohibit victimisation
• Require appropriate measures for people with
  disability
• Allow positive action to ensure full equality in
  practice

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- Scope aspects of employment covered

• Discrimination with regard to
• access to employment,
• conditions of employment training and promotion
• Discrimination in collective agreements (Section
  9)
• Discrimination advertising (Section 10)
• Discrimination employment agencies (Section 12)
• Equal pay
• dismissal

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DISCRIMINATION 9 GROUNDSSection 6

• GENDER (man, woman or transsexual)
• MARITAL STATUS (single, married, separated,
  divorced or widowed)
• FAMILY STATUS (parent of person U18, resident
  primary carer, or parent of person with a
  disability)
• SEXUAL ORIENTATION (gay, lesbian, bisexual or
  heterosexual)
• RELIGION (different beliefs, background or none)
• AGE
• DISABILITY
• RACE (Race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic
  origin)
• MEMBERSHIP OF TRAVELLER COMMUNITY

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Statutory Bodies

• Equality Authority www.equality.ie
• combat discrimination in employment
• promotion of equality
• provide information to public
• monitor - Equality legislation - Maternity
  Protection Adoptive Leave Parental Leave

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REDRESS Sections 77-80 82-84

• Equality Tribunal
• Decision binding and enforceable through Circuit
  Court
• Appeal to the Labour Court (42 days)
• Can order equal pay arrears 3 years
• In other cases compensation up to 2 years or
  12,700 if not an employee
• Mediation all cases now initially

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Equality Tribunal 2007 www.equalitytribunal.ie

• Record number of claims, 36 up on 2006
• 607 cases closed during the year, up 13 on the
  previous year
• Employment Equality Highlights
•  44 Increase in Employment Equality claims in
  2007
• 106 increase in claims on the race ground
• 59 increase in claims on the disability ground
• 5 increase in claims on the gender ground
• 14 decrease in claims on the age ground

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Equality Tribunal ctd

• Employment cases - danger of backlog acting as
  disincentive to take case
• T 2016 A particular priority will be the
  removal of the current backlog of cases before
  the Equality Tribunal.
• Moving to Portarlington?

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Sexual Orientation Ground

• Gay
• Lesbian
• Bisexual
• Heterosexual
• Relevant to thousands of our members!
• Justification for treating workers side by side
  differently because of their sexual orientation?

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Discrimination

• Treatment of a person in a less favourable way
  than another person is, has been or would be
  treated in a comparable situation on any of the 9
  grounds
• Indirect
• By imputation
• By Association

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Experience of Discrimination on Sexual
Orientation Ground

• Overlooked for promotion
• Denied training
• Unfair selection for difficult tasks
• Name calling
• Butt of jokes
• Innuendo and verbal harassment
• Physical violence

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Lack of Recognition

• Relationships not recognised by the law
• Pay taxes, PRSI and pension, yet,
• cant avail of rights that other couples take
  for granted

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Workplace themes

• The Rights of Partners in Emergency Situations
• Taxation
• Pensions and Death in Service Benefits
• Social Welfare
• Immigration, Work Permits, Visa/Authorisation and
  Family Reunification

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The Rights of Partners in Emergency Situations

• Force Majeure Leave - Same sex couples were
  previously excluded
• Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2006 extended the
  force majeure provisions to include persons in a
  relationship of domestic dependency , including
  same-sex partners

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Death-in-Service and After Retirement Benefits
and Occupational Pensions

• mechanism through which people can establish the
  same rights, and importantly, discharge their
  same duties as other couples in terms of benefits
  arising to the surviving partner under death-in-
  service and after retirement schemes entitled
  to decide!
• Occupational pension schemes will be able to
  specify that the survivor's benefit is payable to
  the legal spouse only. However, if the scheme
  allows survivor's benefits to be paid to a
  partner who is not a spouse, then it must allow
  that payment to same sex partners. Congress
  welcomes this change to the legislation as an
  important step forward.
• further legislative work that is needed to change
  existing practice

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Social Welfare

• recognises only spouses and those living together
  as husband and wife and more recently opposite
  sex cohabiting couples
• same-sex cohabitees be regarded as being capable
  of cohabiting for the purposes of social welfare
• Social Welfare Act 2004 a step backwards
• objective, and reasonable justification?

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Taxation

• Marriage provides for a number of tax advantages
  that are not available to same sex couples
• married tax credit, entitlement to be treated
  jointly for the purpose of income tax, a home
  carers tax credit, a widowed parent tax credit
• same sex partnerships should be in a position to
  become entitled to the tax advantages accorded to
  married couples.

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IMMIGRATION

• recognises the rights of married couples where
  one of the couple is an Irish Citizen
• no such recognition is provided to same sex
  couples.
• rights to family reunification - non EEA person
  cannot apply to be joined by their same sex
  partner.
• incremental approach such as giving recognition
  to foreign registered same sex partnerships
  including same sex marriages that are conducted
  abroad could be further explored ?

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Congress and Equality

• Equality strategy seeks to ensure that Congress
  and affiliate trade unions mainstream equality
  as a factor in all of our activities, including
• Structures and decision making within our
  organisations
• Congress role in supporting affiliates
• Congress role in trying to influence the policy
  environment

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Congress and Equality ctd

• 5. Protection of the Rights of Cohabiting
  Couples
• The Irish Congress of Trade Unions calls on
  the Irish Government to immediately take steps to
  address the serious inequity of treatment of
  cohabiting couples, whether of same or opposite
  sex. The lack of legal recognition for such
  couples results in serious disadvantages for them
  across a wide range of areas, including
  employment, taxation, inheritance, pensions,
  social welfare and immigration. Government needs
  to act urgently to remedy these inequalities, to
  which trade unions have been pointing for many
  years. The recent publication of the Options
  Paper on Domestic Partnership together with the
  Law Reform Commission's Report on the Rights and
  Duties of Cohabitants, provide clear guidance on
  these matters and should be acted on as a matter
  of urgency.
• Executive Council
• 6.   Employment Equality Act
• Congress calls on the Minister for Justice,
  Equality and Law Reform to engage in a
  consultative process designed to effect the
  repeal of Section 37.1 of the Employment Equality
  Act, 1998.
• 
  Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland

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Fair Treatment of Same Sex and Cohabiting Couples

• Congress welcomes the proposals in the Heads of
  Bill for civil partnership recently published by
  the Government. For the first time, lesbian and
  gay relationships will be recognised, supported
  and protected by the State.
• Comprehensive civil partnership, as proposed in
  the Heads of Bill, is a major milestone towards
  equality. The Bill is a fundamental step forward
  towards the goal of equality for lesbian gay and
  bisexual couples. The provisions outlined will
  resolve many immediate and pressing issues faced
  by lesbian and gay couples, including critical
  areas such as health, immigration and financial
  matters. It also provides a platform for further
  progress.
• We look forward to the early passage of the Bill.

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Fair Treatment of Same Sex and Cohabiting Couples
ctd

• The proposals in the Heads of Bill however, do
  not provide for legal recognition of the many
  same-sex couples, particularly women, who are
  parenting children together, leaving these
  parents and their children outside the protection
  of the State. This is of critical importance to
  parents and their children and Congress urges the
  Government to bring forward proposals to address
  this legal gap.
• Congress also welcomes the public comments by the
  Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
  that this equivalence will be carried over to
  taxation and social welfare through associated
  changes in the Finance and Social Welfare Acts.  

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ETUC Extending Equality

• trade union actions to organise and promote equal
  rights, respect and dignity for workers
  regardless of their sexual orientation and gender
  identity

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Ten things unions can do to promote LGBT
equality in the workplace

• 1 Raise awareness in your trade union that sexual
  orientation is one of the nondiscrimination
• grounds protected under EU law, and that LGBT
  rights must therefore be
• explicitly addressed in the framework of their
  broader equality agenda. LGBT workers'
• rights must be recognized and defended as trade
  union rights.
• 2 Make sure that there is a clear commitment from
  the senior levels of your union on LGBT
• equality.
• 3 Draw up specific policies on LGBT workplace
  rights and ensure that LGBT issues are
• explicit and visible within your unions equality
  policies. This could include specific
• policies on addressing workplace bullying and
  harassment.
• 4 Make it a goal to organise and recruit LGBT
  people into your union. This also means
• increasing the visibility and participation of
  LGBT members at all levels of the union.
• 5 Set up a LGBT trade union network and group in
  your union to bring together LGBT
• members so that they can help the union to
  develop policies, procedures and practices on
• equality.

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10 things ctd..

• 6 Provide resources for a newsletter, email list
  and web site to raise awareness of your
• unions role in promoting LGBT equality. Hold
  seminars, workshops and conferences on
• LGBT issues to give visibility to your unions
  work in this area.
• 7 Mainstream LGBT equality issues into all areas
  of your unions work so that it is
• progressed through your decision-making bodies
  and in collective bargaining. Collective
• bargaining should also recognise the rights of
  same-sex partnerships vis-à-vis partner
• benefits, pensions, family leave/benefits etc.
• 8 Ensure that LGBT rights and equality are
  included in your unions education and training
• programmes. Ensure that trade union
  representatives and negotiators are trained on
• LGBT rights.
• 9 Make LGBT workplace issues a part of equality
  policies that can be discussed with
• employers. Improving the working lives of LGBT
  workers can only be achieved by working
• with employers to tackle discrimination and
  harassment in the workplace.
• 10 Work in partnership with LGBT community
  organisations and NGOs and hold joint
• campaigns and community based events.

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Make the Union Relevant

• general assumption that everyone is heterosexual
  unless they say otherwise. Many lesbians, gay men
  or bisexuals are forced to remain invisible at
  work. Several lesbian, gay and bisexual workers
  have gained confidence and support to come out
  through their involvement in their union
  structures but most lesbian and gay workers are
  not out.
• Unions should be aware that these members may be
  reluctant to affirm their identity in an
  environment where they cannot be certain that
  they will not experience harassment or other
  forms of discrimination at a personal or
  institutional level. This may well have happened
  in the past leading to their reluctance to be
  identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
• Unions must respect this, and it is essential
  that confidentiality is offered to those who want
  it and that adequate and relevant support are
  offered to those who may be coming out at work.

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Equality and Diversity Champions Challenge
Fund

• support individuals to implement initiatives
  through their unions or within their workplaces
  to promote equality, accommodate diversity, and
  prevent discrimination for employees and
  potential employees.

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Thanks

• David Joyce
• 01 889 7746
• david.joyce_at_ictu.ie