LGBT workers still suffer from discrimination in the world of work and in the society due to their sexual orientation.

In times of Covid, as in other crises, these rights are even more under threat, due to lack of legislative protection and underrepresentation in workplaces and society in general.

The ETUC and its affiliates, with our Madrid declaration https://www.etuc.org/en/document/madrid-declaration-rights-lgbtqi-people-workplace, affirm that gender rights, including LGBT rights are human rights and trade union rights, and should not be undermined under any circumstance.

The ETUC calls on all EU member states to urgently ratify the Istanbul Convention. Promoted by the Council of Europe, the Istanbul Convention aims at preventing and combating gender-based violence especially but not only against women and is the most far-reaching international treaty to address this serious form of human rights violation.

Read the full statement here.