Going Global: International Labour and Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Dr. Gerald Hunt
Professor, Human Resources Management and Organizational Behaviour
Ted Rogers School of Management (3-092)
Ryerson University
350 Victoria Street
Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3 Canada
Tel: 416-979-5000 ext. 6839
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Abstract
This paper looks at the uptake of issues related to sexual orientation discrimination by the international wing of the labour movement. Many national union movements have been active on sexuality issues for several decades, and there is evidence that some of the larger global labour organizations nowacknowledge sexual minorities and the discriminatory problems they face in the workplace. Global unions representing teachers, public sector workers, media workers, and auto workers, are particularly engaged, and have moved beyond policy and rhetoric. Increasing numbers of the international federation agreements being signed by multinational corporations and global unions now include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination clauses. The International Labour Organization recognizes the problem of discrimination in publications and factsheets, but has not revised itsnon-discrimination Convention 111 to be inclusive of LGBT workers. These advances are recent, and it remains to be seen what the impact will be in cultural and political settings where homosexuality is outlawed or highly repressed. These developments represent an important new tool for activists fighting for LGBT equality rights at the global level.
Going Global: International Labour and Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Over the past several decades, labour movements in a number of countries have taken up equity issues related to sexual orientation discrimination. There are now establishedLGBT-labour alliances in countries such as Canada, the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands(Bielski Boris, 2010;Hunt, 1999;Hunt and Eaton, 2007; Krupat and McCreery, 2001; Colgan and Ledwith, 2002). These alliances have played an important role in advancingLGBT rights inside and outside of the workplace. Unions have helped to secure non-discrimination policies, supported grievances based on sexual orientation discrimination,fought for collective agreement language to equalize benefit coverage for workers in same-sex relationships, mounted educational programs to raise awareness, and undertaken broader political, legal and social advocacy. Labour’s engagement with sexual orientation issues has been uneven – more pronounced in developed, industrialized countries and in public sector unions – but advances toward a more inclusive agenda have been impressive (Colgan and Ledwith 2002). In Canada, for example, large public sector unions, along with the auto workers, and the communications workers, played a significant role not only in securing workplace rights, but in shifting the legal and constitutional scene through extensive lobbying and advocacy efforts (Hunt forthcoming).
The advances that have been secured for LGBT workers in some parts of the world (often achieved with the assistance and support of organized labour), stand in stark contrast to the inequalities that are still the norm in many other parts of the world. Throughout much of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Russia, homosexual acts are illegal, often with severe punishments. In Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Mauritania, Northern Nigeria, and Southern Somalia, homosexual acts can be punishable by death. What this means is that blatant discrimination against LGBT people, not least of which in the workplace, is the norm in many countries. As a result, many LGBT activists, including some working within the labour movement, have focused more of their attention and concern on the international scene.
In many of the countries with the weakest record on LGBT rights, national or regionally based labour movements areoften under developed, weak, co-opted by government, or corrupt. Consequently, it would be very surprising if national labour movements in these countries had sexual orientation discrimination on their radar in any significant way. However, there is reason to believe that cross-nation labour movements might be more responsive to issues raised by sexual minorities, and engaged in activities to address the discrimination they confront. First, given a growing league of national labour movements are engaged with sexual diversity issues, it is reasonable to think that some of these ideas have trickled up to the international level. Indeed, it is possible to imagine that national movements now exert pressure on their international counterparts to acknowledge sexual orientation discrimination and fight for its elimination. Second, the increased visibility of gays and lesbians around the world has resulted in a proliferation of national, and increasingly transnational, activist movements responding to the discrimination they face. Some of this activism is focused on workplace issues, implicating unions. Third, the expansion of forums for equity-seeking activists, including those groups focusing on sexual orientation and labour, has provided increased opportunities for international collaboration. The growth of vehicles for such linkage comes in part as a defensive response to the neo-liberal pressures of economic globalization, as well as from overlapping agendas and areas of concern. Such linkages benefit from enhanced political attention to human rights concerns at the international level. Fourth, the renewal of international labour solidarity in response to globalization has been accompanied by a resurgence and revitalization of the formal institutions that support it. Increasingly, these institutions declare a commitment to a broad equity agenda, which should include increased attention to sexual minorities.
This paperconsiders how widely and thoroughly there has in fact been recognition of sexual orientation discrimination among cross-national unions and international labour organisations. The specific lens for assessing international labour’s recognition of sexual orientation issues is an investigation of developments within three key international labour institutions, and nine sector-based global union confederations. Information was obtained through interviews with officials in the organisations, detailed analysis of organisational web sites, as well as content analysis of policy documents and publications produced by the organisations.
The Take-up of Sexual Diversity in International Labour Organizations
Over the past century various cross-border labour associations have emerged: some have evolved and prospered; others have faded from the scene. During the last couple of decadeshowever, economic globalization has accelerated thegrowth, relevance and importance of multi-nation labour institutions. At the present time, the largest and most influential international labour institutions are the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Labour Organisation, the European Trade Union Confederation, and nine sector-based global unions (see Table 1). These “globals” do not reflect the spontaneity of other forms of international labour cooperation, so visible in protests mobilized at major international gatherings of bankers and world leaders, but they are the strongest institutional embodiments of labour solidarity and cooperation. The globals are limited to the development of policy directives, delivery of educational programs, hosting conferences, lobbying governments, and attempting to sway their national membership to adopt common goals and initiatives. Nevertheless, they have always adopted policies and acted in ways that reflect the long-term potential for agreement across national and regional borders, and this makes them important and relevant players in the international political economy (Fairbrother and Hammer, 2005; Cotton and Gumbrell-McCormick, 2012; Papadakis, 2011; Waterman, 2005; Pries and Seeliger, 2013). Consequently, these they are important institutions for monitoring equity initiatives generally, and sexual orientation discrimination specifically. Although discrimination in the workplace has long been a major campaign drive for these “globals”, only recently, as we shall see, has sexual orientation surfaced as a specific concern.
Table 1 about here
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)was founded in November 2006. It merged former affiliates of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), along with several other small trade union groups that had no global affiliation. The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 308 national affiliates. The ICFTU was by far the largest organisation in the ITUC merger, and had taken a number of initiatives on sexual orientation before the merger. It was among the first international labour organisations to include lesbians and gays in its formal non-discrimination language, a step it took in 2000. The ITUC incorporated this non-discrimination provision in its founding constitution but has not taken many steps to tackle inequities based on sexual orientation beyond its formal endorsement, and co-operating with other globals. For example, at its 2010 Congress, the ITUC affirmed that sexual orientation discrimination was an affront to human rights, and called on its member trade unions to actively combat homophobia and condemn all forms of discrimination against LGBT workers. However, it did not map a strategy to ensure the implementation of the resolutions. The ITUC actively supports the efforts of global unions that are more active on sexual minority issues. It has also prioritized action on HIV/AIDS, and does reference sexual orientation discrimination as an issue that needs to be reckoned with in the drive to curb the spread of the disease. The ITUC has not directlyconfronted issues related to gender identify.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) was formed in 1919, and became the first specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946. It is a tripartite organisationwith 185 member states that bring together representatives from governments, employers and workers. Its primary role is to develop international labour standards that are endorsed by its members, and enforced by the ILO. It currently has 186 conventions that cover topics ranging from child labour to safety in mines. Convention 111 (Discrimination in Employment and Occupation) came into force in 1960, and specifies that “any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation” is unacceptable (ILO, 2013). Even though Convention 111 does not address or specify sexual orientation, sexuality has been a topic of discussion within the organisation. In a 2003 report, called “Time for Equity at Work,” the ILO included sexual orientation as a “new” source of discrimination. The issue was deemed to need further study, and referred to an expert committee (ILO, 2003). A follow-up report was issued in 2007and it outlined what the “experts” had found. This report listed in more detail the manifestations of sexual orientation discrimination, and provided a summary of countries that had banned such discrimination in the workplace (ILO, 2007). In this report there wasalso an acknowledgement that this type of discrimination affected not only individuals but workers in same-sex relationships, and highlighted the fact that same-sex partners were often denied workplace benefit packagesavailable to opposite sex partners. In the report there were30 references to sexual orientation: one measure that the topic was on the ILO’s radar screenmore than it had been in the past. A third equity report was issued in 2011, and this reportonce again highlighted and updated the issue of sexual orientation discrimination, but did not make any specific recommendations for change (ILO, 2011). None of the reports went so far as to suggest that Convention 111 be updated to include sexual orientation as a designated category in need of protection. One sign of movement however, was the publication in 2009 of a factsheet on eliminating discrimination in the workplace. This factsheet was made available to all members, and sexual orientation was specifically covered. The factsheet formally acknowledged sexual orientation as a significant source of bias in the workplace, and encouraged members to confront discrimination (ILO, 2009). The ILO does have a non-discrimination provisions for its own employees, and does offer workplace benefits to same-sex couples. ILO materials do not deal with issues related to gender identity.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)consists of 85 members from a total of 36 countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as 10 European Trade Union Federations. As such it is a large cross-nation union confederation, second in membership only to the ITUC. The ETUC formally included sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policies in 2000, and added gender identity in 2008. Prominently on its website, the ETUC indicates that it is at the “forefront in defending human rights, trade union rights and equality for all workers. This commitment includes equal treatment, respect and dignity for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and trangendered workers” (ETUC, 2013). Recognizing that this commitment involves more than policy directives, the ETUC has mounted ambitious plans for tackling sexual orientation discrimination. In 2008, it organized the first Europe-wide trade union conference on LGBT rights and subsequently published a report with the lengthy title: “Extending Equity - Trade Unions in Action! Organising and Promoting Equal Rights, Respect and Dignity for LGTB Workers”. The report was madeavailable in 22 European languages.Itincluded an exchange of best practices amongst members, and outlined ways for unions to promote equal rights, including collective bargaining strategies. It also encouraged its member unions to take more account of the ‘T” in LGBT, and offered ideasfor establishing linkages with NGOs in order to facilitate equality in the workplace and in wider society. Recently, the ETUC teamed with the international LGBT association to strategize about combating homophobia and transphobia in European schools.
Public Services International (PSI)is made up of national unions with workers in public services in 150 countries. It was the first of the global unions to tackle sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. It approved a comprehensive policy statement in 1993, pushed in part by delegations from Canada (especiallythe Canadian Labour Congress and the Canadian Union of Public Employees), Britain (in particular UNISON), the Netherlands (especially ABVAKABO), and the United States (notably the municipal workers’ union, AFSME). In 2005, a once/per/decade survey of equal opportunities conducted by PSI for the first time included sexual orientation in its examination of structures, policies, programs, and best practices.
Education International (EI)is the international labour confederation representing teachers’ unions from around the world. It took up the sexual orientation file shortly after PSI; not surprising, since teachers are an occupational group with a long history being fired for being openly gay or lesbian. In 1998, EI developed a wide-ranging policy statement on sexual orientation. This resolution indicated that sexual orientation bias was a violation of human rights and indicated its strong support for teachers to be open at work. The resolution called on its member unions to increase educational efforts and lobby their national government for reforms. Since that time, EI has undertaken a wide variety of educational activities. It has assisted several of its national unions in defending openly lesbian and gay teachers from harassment and dismissal, in some cases doing so in national contexts in which no legal protections were available. In 2001, it began publishing triennial reports on gay and lesbian educators, surveying their experiences across countries and chronicling cases of abuse. EI has issued formal letters to governments and other international organisations protesting rights violations, in cooperation with the relevant national affiliates.
EI and PSI have worked closely together to make sexual orientation discrimination a priority. Together they represent over 50 million workers, covering 950 different nationally-based unions. In 1999, PSI and EI jointly published Working for Lesbian and Gay Members, mapping out a comprehensive strategy for trade union action (updated in 2007). Five years later, an International LGBTForum was created with representation from national unions from both federations. The Forum was created to generate awareness of sexual diversity issues among EI and PSI members, to document cases of discrimination, to organize training sessions, and press for the inclusion of sexual diversity rights in international conventions and policies. It was also destined to serve as a vehicle for the development of an international network that could learn from the experiences of activists operating in very different local and national contexts. The first official meeting of the Forum was at Porto Alegre, Brazil, in July 2004, and produced a substantial declaration calling for more affirmative action at ILO, UNESCO, UN AIDS, governments, NGOs, as well as their own sponsoring confederations (EI and PSI). It expressed concern about the workplace discrimination that still went largely unrecognized in international and national policies, it called for equality in law and in access to public services, in relationship recognition, in the provision of support for young workers, and in respect to the specific needs of transgendered people (EI/PSI 2007). In follow-up to the Porto Alegre meetings, PSI and EI agreed to hold a joint LGBT forum at least once every three years as a pre-congress gathering, and meetings were held in Vienna in 2007 and in Cape Town in 2011. The 2011 Forum held discussions about how to implement better complaint procedures when a LGBT teacher experiences discrimination. These meetings also include representatives from the ITUC.
Union Network International (UNI)is the result of amalgamations between various global unions. It is the most diverse global union covering workers in sectors such as cleaning, media, arts, gaming, sports and tourism.Over the past decade, UNI has made equity initiatives a priority in almost all of it campaigns. It established an Equal Opportunity Department in 2008 with a mandate that included working with its member unions to improve collective bargaining language on equality clauses. Leaders at UNI indicate that sexual orientation discriminationhas been an equity category hard to convince membership to act on, and the one that has had the most pushback. As a result, UNI has developed educational programs to convince its member that sexual orientation is aserious problem worth pursuing. They have held training forums in four key locations (Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin American) on decent work with dignity, and these programs included information on sexual orientation. In 2008, UNI carried out a research project with nine large multinationals to determine the importance these corporations were giving to equality policies. This report indicated that all but three had non-discrimination policies in place that included sexual orientation. The information from this report is now being used in educational initiatives, and to provide illustrations of language that can be used when bargaining for similar provisions in other settings.