On June 26, 2024, the Council of Global Unions LGBTI Committee held a global webinar, “Forward Despite the Backlash,” uniting trade unionists and advocates to confront growing attacks on LGBTI rights. The event reaffirmed the labour movement’s commitment and successfully highlighted LGBTI rights as a fundamental trade union issue tied to freedom of association.
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Aisha Bahadur
On June 26, 2024, the Council of Global Unions LGBTI Coordinating Committee hosted a vital global webinar titled “Forward Despite the Backlash: LGBTI Rights and Freedom of Association.” This timely event brought together trade unionists, human rights experts, and LGBTI+ advocates from around the world to address the intensifying backlash against LGBTI rights and to reaffirm the labour movement’s commitment to defending these rights. A key objective — successfully achieved — was to raise awareness of LGBTI rights as a core trade union issue, firmly embedding them within the framework of labour rights and freedom of association.
Keynote speaker Professor Graeme Reid, the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, provided a sobering analysis of the global regression in LGBTI rights and called for stronger international solidarity to resist these pressures. Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, reinforced the message by highlighting how the erosion of democratic freedoms threatens the ability of marginalized communities, including LGBTI workers, to organize and advocate for their rights.
The panel featured powerful testimonies from trade union representatives across sectors and regions. Janina Henkes of the German Education Union addressed gender and labour intersections; Keturah Johnson from the Association of Flight Attendants shared her experiences as a queer woman of colour in union leadership; and Laya B. Ferrer from the Philippines focused on youth labour exploitation. Speakers from Bermuda, Zimbabwe, Brazil, and North America further enriched the discussion with their grassroots perspectives on organizing for LGBTI rights in increasingly hostile environments.
By amplifying LGBTI voices within trade unions and emphasizing the role of unions in protecting the rights of all workers, the webinar served as both a platform for advocacy and a strategic moment to integrate LGBTI rights into the broader labour agenda. Participants left the event with renewed urgency to fight discrimination, strengthen collective bargaining frameworks, and ensure safe, inclusive workplaces for LGBTI workers worldwide.