By Jan Baxter
Until 2013, I’d been a regular attendee at PCS Union conference, not least because I was Secretary of the union’s LGBT group, Proud, for about six years, and represented PCS on the TUC LGBT committee. I’ve also been a Branch Secretary and Regional Equality Officer, amongst other roles. So, my return to conference as a branch delegate in May 24 wasn’t my first rodeo.
Union conferences have everything from grandstanding bun fights to serious debate on home and international issues via a lot of “networking” and late nights. The votes cast provide a programme of work, and a clear idea of where the union stands on the issues discussed. Delegates represent their branch members, but many are also signed up to one of the political groupings which have their own committees, agenda, and pet campaigns.
For many years, Proud tried to win a motion for reserved seats on the National and Group executive committees. We had reserved seats for black members, so why not for us? It was more relevant after the Equality Act 2010 but there was steady pushback from all quarters every time. There was no appetite for LGBT representation beyond the lobbying arena.
How times have changed. Now, there is almost a desperation to be seen to promote all things Queer following a general rebranding of what’s considered cool on the left wing. I stood to speak against pro-TRA motions as the sole objector and faced the conference equivalent of a firing squad. I don’t exaggerate when I say that by the final session there were delegates crowding the stage with denunciations of Maoist proportions. It was surreal.
I opposed a motion calling for our National Executive to:
- Oppose any guidance on trans and nonbinary workers which would marginalise these workers and ensure that representatives from PCS Proud are involved in consultation in future Cabinet Office guidance and policy impacting LGBT+ workers
- Support our members in taking necessary industrial and legal action when confronted with any new anti-trans guidance
- Fight against gender-based violence and divide and rule policies wherever they emanate from, and to support protests on November 25 – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
- Mobilise our union to support the struggle for trans rights at protests and demonstrations.
I opposed another motion which included such gems as:
“Attacks on the bodily autonomy of Trans people foreshadows an attack on the bodily autonomy of women and girls as witnessed in the USA.
The Cass report robs neurodivergent people of their own agency”
And Biological reductionism is harmful to everyone, but especially women, girls, and the Trans community.”
These demands effectively represent a gagging order on democratic dissent and we’ll see PCS flags flying in counterdemonstrations against women gathering to assert the impact of all this ideology on our rights. To be clear, the union now encourages a union of mostly Civil Servants to contest the lawfully protected rights of some protected characteristic groups in favour of an ideology that is neither class-based, nor rooted in material reality.
Rhetoric in conference speeches is hardly unusual, but misleading members as to the facts to win arguments is reprehensible. PCS union website remains blithely inaccurate. These statements are from Proud for a post on Transgender Day of Remembrance:
“Indeed, trans people face far more violence, of all kinds, than any other group.”
“This year so far 350 trans people have been murdered, for no other reason than they are trans. More than one a day.”
None of them quotes a source or any other evidence. However, the Trans Respect Murder Monitoring1 site tells us that in the UK between 2008 – Sept 2024 13 trans people were murdered in total. Whilst that’s appalling, it’s not quite the leverage of the preferred data used.
PCS politics is currently broadly split between two left wing groupings, one of which is driving the Queer agenda whether members want it or no, and the other is running scared. I know this because people came up to me quietly after the ruck and said they agreed with the points I made BUT…. (insert excuses here), a pattern that continues long after conference. Be assured, there are many within the union desperate for some sanity to return as well as a focus on the issues members raise daily. In all the time I’ve been a representative no-one has ever asked me if we can do more for the Queer community, but countless members would like more help with health and disability issues. Of course, that involves more work than rainbows and endless special days/weeks/months but who’s counting
Transactivists carefully sprinkle a nod to “women’s issues” as above, whilst working to unpick the rights and protections women fought for over generations. What of the needs and rights of our Muslim female colleagues? They ask for their entitlement to single sex facilities for a variety of reasons, including privacy, dignity, and safety.
Trans ideology conflates the stigma faced by previous generations of Lesbians and Gays with a perceived “trans panic”, for which there is zero evidence if multiple TV shows and films are to be believed. Sneering at “biological reductionism” is also barely concealed contempt for the very real issues women and LGB members face, including our (and now eminent scientists as well as the State) concerns for vulnerable children being given untested drugs and irreversible treatments. As homosexuals we don’t exist if sex replaces gender, and same-sex attraction is now considered bigotry. The situation for lesbians, especially young lesbians, is even worse. Any complaints are met with the edict to re-educate yourself, Be Kind, and lose the “cotton ceiling”.
There are cracks appearing however. Young Queer activists prefaced every speech with a long list of their personality traits to rapt applause (individualism above collectivism anyone?) This over-reliance on personal angst is becoming old, especially as members count the cost of union subs over paying the heating bills.
We have a steady intake of younger workers, many of whom are fresh from a higher education cossetted by years of “no debate”, “cancel culture” and relatively little challenge to what the internet tells them. Some move from student politics to the workplace and readily gravitate to the union. To harness this enthusiasm they must gain a broader knowledge of the issues affecting members on a daily basis and it isn’t what pronouns to use. This needs solid work, and for committees to be representative of members, not ideology, especially in public service.
The trade unionists who didn’t want homosexuals getting too many executive seats haven’t had Damascene revelations that Queer politics is grand, even if it provides a useful appearance of relevance and ticks the right boxes. However, trade unionism built on identity politics is far from the solid ground of class analysis, pluralism, and collective bargaining. It’s a dangerous departure from the very reason trade unions exist and undermines our commitment to unity, independence and democracy.
Jan Baxter, Lesbian Gatekeeper
1 Trans Murder Monitoring – TvT
PCS union represents a civil service workforce where 54.5% are women2