Gethin Roberts

LGBTI rights are trade union rights!

Unionists from eight countries and representatives from LGBTI organizations met in Ankara this weekend for the Kaos GL symposium.

Source: Ömer Akpınar, “LGBTI rights are trade union rights!”, kaosGL.org, 16 December 2014, http://www.kaosgl.com/page.php?id=18255

The 3rd Symposium Against Discrimination that was organized by Kaos GL Association spread the message that “LGBTI rights are trade union rights!”

Activists joined in the budget protest on Saturday, mobilized by the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DISK) and the Confederation of Public Workers’ Union (KESK), asking for a “budget for people, rather than palaces.”

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“LGBTI people are subjected to self-censorship at workplace”

The 3rd Symposium against Discrimination was opened by Ulrike Lunacek, co-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBTI rights, via a video message.

Lunacek emphasized that the European Union’s chapters 23 and 24 should be opened in accession negotiations with Turkey, which focus on judiciary and fundamental rights, and justice, freedom and security.

Stating that laws are not enough to tackle discrimination, Lunacek stressed that LGBTI people are subjected to self-censorship in the workplace.

“How come a police officer can be fired based on his sexual orientation in 2014 in Turkey?” asked Lunacek, pointing at the importance of heterosexual allies in the fight for LGBTI equality. Below are some highlights from the sessions of the symposium.

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