Legal frameworks which prohibit discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity are imperative to ensuring the safety of workers everywhere.
The CGU LGBTI Committee have joined civil society groups from across the world to call for the renewal of this vital mandate.
“Trade unions across the world continue to advocate at all levels for LGBTI workers human rights everyday, everywhere. Fighting for safe workplaces and communities for all to live freely, without discrimination during this time in human history as the far-right wants to erase us based on sexual orientation and gender identity is of highest importance. The work of the UN needs to continue.”
Michele Kessler, Chair of the CGU LGBTI Committee
The Council of Global Unions (CGU) represents over 200 million workers worldwide. This joint statement was signed by the Global Unions affiliated to the CGU and it is crucial for us to encourage continued support for the renewal of the mandate within our local organisations and civil society.
Related Items
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
22 July 2026
Privatisation threatens young children’s rights: Unions and partners call for urgent public investment in early childhood education
Early childhood education (ECE) is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone of the right to education. Yet across the world, a widening gap between public commitments and public investment is allowing privatisation to prosper — often at the expense of children, families, and education workers.
Keeping education alive in exile: Palestinian teachers supported by global union solidarity
Solidarity and emergency support by Education International (EI) and its member organisations have made a concrete difference for Palestinian teachers displaced by war, enabling them to continue supporting students and upholding the right to education under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
A historic victory for workers—and for education unions worldwide
Today marks a historic victory for workers everywhere—and for education unions across the globe. The confirmation that the right to strike is protected under Convention No. 87 of the ILO affirms what education unions and Education International have long defended: freedom of association is meaningless without the power to act...
As EI continues to defend and promote democracy, we must not forget that the fight for LGBTI rights is inseparable from the wider struggle for democracy, it cannot function without the full protection of universal human rights for all workers, without exception.