The union’s newly established LGBTQIA+ network met at Nerney’s Court in Dublin yesterday, Thursday 20th February.  While the network was formally launched in November, yesterday’s meeting was the first working meeting.  

The creation of the network resulted from a motion passed at Fórsa’s biennial conference in May 2024. Delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion proposed by the Galway Health and Local Government branch to establish a network to support all members and staff who are a member of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Rob Partridge (Galway Health and Local Government branch) was elected Chair of the LGBTQIA+ Network

Rob Partridge, who presented the motion at conference, was elected Chair of Fórsa’s LGBTQIA+ network. Rob said that LGBTQIA+ rights are workers’ rights, and trade unions have always been at the heart of fighting for better conditions and protections for all workers. “What this network aims to do is to make sure our voices are heard. And to build on the power of our union with its 89,000 members, to make sure our employers hear us too,” he emphasised.  

Rob added “Our community is very publicly under attack in the western world as we speak; it is a dark time for us. To see such solidarity is a much-needed reminder that our strength has always come from each other. Societies target us at different times in different ways, but we always come through it as a community. They are not going to win this time either. We are.” 

A recent survey of Fórsa members pointed to the ongoing and ever-increasing need for a network like this. 53% said they had experienced direct harassment as a result of their LGBTQIA+ identity, including: Verbal (52%), Physical (18%), Sexual (6%), Online trolling (18%), and Doxing (2%). 

79% have also experienced discrimination in the workplace because of their LGBTQIA+ identity.  

Ryan McKinney, the national secretary supporting the network, said the establishment of this crucial network in Fórsa displays the sheer power that a simple conference motion can have.

Ryan said: “If you are going through something or feel strongly about an issue, just know you are not alone. Make sure you use the democratic tools available to you and voice your concern. It can truly be surprising just how much support you can get once you do that – and the changes that can stem from your one act of courage.” 

Spanning back decades, the trade union movement has been central in the fight to secure LGBTQIA+ rights in Ireland. You can read more about that history in a recently published book by Kieran Rose Trade Union and LGBT Rights: A Personal History.

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