Green Party LGBT News

Greens call on council to support LGBT education workers	20 March 2007
Summary The Green Party today called on education boss David Hawker to provide training to headteachers and governors on their responsibilities to protect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans education workers.

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The Green Party today called on education boss David Hawker to provide training to headteachers and governors on their responsibilities to protect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans education workers.

Nigel Tart, chair of the party's LGBT group, explained:

'Thanks to an EU Directive and a European Court victory, workers in the UK now enjoy protection from homophobic and transphobic discrimination and harassment. Yet most headteachers have had no training in how to support staff experiencing harassment.'

The Equal Opportunities Commission won a recent court case, which established the employer's duty to protect women workers from sexist and sexual harassment by customers and the public. Mr Tart saw this as a warning shot for schools:

'Surely it's only a matter of time before a similar case establishes protection against homophobic and transphobic abuse from 'customers' – including students. The council shouldn't wait for legislation or court cases, but should act now to protect its workers.'

Mr Tart also called on the council to start including LGBT questions in its equal opportunities monitoring of teacher recruitment.

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