This website provides resources and information on equality for trade union reps and members and also for employers. If you would like to be added to our mailing list please see our Equality Reps Network page.

The Wales TUC takes on a broad remit to cover all aspects of equality, including migrant workers, child poverty, vulnerable workers and other social issues.

We aim to support unions, employers and employees to understand what rights and duties that people have in the workplace. We also provide training, resources, events and campaigns to raise awareness and provide support. Scroll down the page for events and updates.

Please keep on checking back as more resources will be added on a regular basis.

This website originated from the Equal at Work project which was a 2 year project, funded by BERR (formerly DTI), and run by the Wales TUC from June 2006 to July 2008. For more on the project please see the About Us page.

Bargaining for Equality course for shop stewards and equality reps

The bargaining for equality course supports all reps with understanding equality issues and how to bring equality into the mainstream bargaining and organising agenda. It provides all the tools needed to take the learning back to the workplace. The course aims to improve knowledge, skills and confidence of all reps, whether you usually deal with equality issues or not.

Aims of the course

• To enable reps to review some basic legal issues relating to equality and discrimination at work
• To help reps identify under-represented groups of members and understand the barriers preventing such groups from playing a wider role in the union
• help reps develop the knowledge and skills to incorporate equality issues into their collective bargaining with management
• enable reps to understand the concept of “mainstreaming” equality within the organisations they work for and their unions.
• To help reps plan how to build equality issues into their work as a rep back in the workplace

This free course is run as a weekend school to support reps to attend if facilities time is difficult to obtain. All accommodation and food is provided. There will be a charge for delegates who register but do not turn up and a full time official from your union will need to authorise your application form. Please note this is a Wales TUC event and priority will be given to applications from reps based within Wales.

Place: Dragon Hotel, Swansea
Dates: Friday 23rd April to Sunday 25th April
Times: Starting at 6pm Friday and finishing by 11.30am Sunday
Who is it for: Shop Stewards, Equality Reps, Health and Safety Reps and any other rep who would like to learn more about equality

For further information and an application form please contact Jo Rees at Wales TUC Cymru on 02920 34 7010 or email jrees@tuc.org.uk

The Wales TUC is pleased to announce the dates for this year’s equality conferences.

Please follow the links below for more information and contact your union’s regional office if you would like to attend as a delegate or submit motions to any of these conferences.

Challenging Racism Conference, Cardiff - 30th October. Click here for more info.

Women’s Conference, Bridgend - 18/19 November. Click here for more info.

LGBT Conference, Cardiff - 30th November. Click here for more info.

A pan equality conference funded by the Welsh Assembly Government will also be organised and more details provided shortly.

All people are welcome to come along to LGBT conference. Find out more by clicking on the flyer:

CHAPTER hosts the first Wales TUC LGBT conference on Friday and Saturday, February 27, 28. The two-day event will involve high level guest speakers, lively interactive workshops and a chance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to not only talk about the issues affecting their lives but also to have some fun!

There will also be screenings of films that have been chosen as winners in the annual Iris Prize Festival which is held in Cardiff every year organised by the Festivals Company, other gay films that have been shortlisted for international film festivals and the BBC Wales programme that follows Ian H Watkins as the places in South Wales that forged his childhood.

AN exhibition by NUJ photographers will be open during the course of the conference along with those submitted by LGBT people across Wales. Both have the theme of LGBT lives in Wales in 2009. There is a £100 prize for the winning submitted photography courtesy of NUJ Cymru Wales.
For more information on entering the competition click here.

Only one session of the conference will be restricted to official LGBT delegates from affiliated trade unions – all the other events and the films, exhibitions and other social events to be advertised at Chapter are open to all.

For more details visit:
LGBT Conference 2009

The Wales TUC is working with Nottingham University to roll out an Equality Reps Survey across Wales.

The survey aims to gather information on the type of issues that reps deal with, and the level of training and support that is in place for reps who deal with equalities issues. It also hopes to identify the barriers that prevent equality reps from carrying out their role effectively.

The survey can be filled in by any rep who deals with equalities issues, even if they are not an official equality rep.

Please download the survey here:
Equality Reps Survey (word doc)

Either email back to nhirst@tuc.org.uk
or print out and post to:

Wales TUC
FREEPOST SWC4648
Cardiff
CF11 9GY

All replies will be treated confidentially.

Replies should be received by April 30th. However, surveys returned after that date will still be useful. Everyone will receive a summary of the main findings and a full report.

Please advertise this widely. Thank you very much for your help. The information from the survey will support us all in our campaign for statutory rights and recognition for the important role that equalities reps play in our branches and workplaces.

More more information please contact Natasha Hirst on
nhirst@tuc.org.uk