A number of  trade unions representing workers across all sectors of the economy participated in the 2014 Dublin Pride Parade, which took place on Saturday, 28th June.

Among the unions taking part were: SIPTU, the PSEU, the TUI, the ASTI, the INTO, the CPSU, the NUJ, the IFUT, IMPACT and the Unite trade union. The 2014 Dublin Pride Festival has also seen Liberty Hall’s rooftop lit up in pride colours nightly, as an expression of solidarity with the LGBT community in Ireland.

According to Congress Equality Officer, David Joyce, this year’s Pride Parade saw the highest ever level of participation by trade unions.

“We urge LGBT people to continue to engage with their trade unions to promote LGBT issues. While much progress has been made, prejudice and ignorance continue to scar the lives of far too many people. We know that LGBT workers are more likely to face workplace bullying and discrimination, and that hate crime remains a huge problem. This is graphically illustrated by the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) recently launched STAD report which documents hate crimes against transgender people in Ireland.”

David Joyce also pointed out that the Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has agreed to actively campaign in support of same sex marriage in the upcoming referendum and reiterated its call for an early Referendum Commission to be established to inform the upcoming debate. 

He said Congress will continue to demand the deletion of Section 37.1 of the Employment Equality Act – a provision which has a chilling effect on LGBT workers in religious run institutions.