Exclusive:Employers have handled trans disputes ‘really badly’, says union boss, as Dr Beth Upton case row continues

Unison’s Christina McAnea said the union ‘would be happy to work with employers on this’

Employers have handled disputes involving transgender issues “really badly”, the general secretary of the UK’s largest trade union has said.

Unison’s Christina McAnea said unions have a responsibility “to try and make sure that we find a way through this” and she would be happy to work with organisations on the issue.

Speaking exclusively to The Scotsman, she referenced the need to ensure trans people are not discriminated against while also ensuring women with concerns are “listened to and heard”.

Nurse Sandie Peggie, centre, arrives at an employment tribunal in Dundee | Andrew Milligan / PA

It comes amid an ongoing employment tribunal involving NHS Fife that centres on a trans doctor's use of a female changing room.

Nurse Sandie Peggie was suspended from her work at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January last year after she objected to Dr Beth Upton, a trans woman, using the female changing room in the accident-and-emergency (A&E) department on Christmas Eve 2023.

She has lodged a claim against the Fife health board and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation.

Dr Beth Upton laves the hearing. Picture: John Devlin | John Devlin

Unison’s women’s conference, which was held in Edinburgh from Thursday until Saturday, backed a motion stating “trans women are women and trans men are men” and supporting the controversial policy of self identification.

The Scotsman asked Ms McAnea whether a woman should have a right to a single-sex space, such as a changing room, which excludes trans women or those born male.

She said: "I think it's hard to come down hard and fast on some of this. I’m not talking specifically about that case [NHS Fife]. But I’ve seen other cases - so far, I think the difficulty has been, I think employers, perhaps for good reasons, have handled these things really badly.

"I just cannot believe it's not within the grasp of managers in a big organisation to find a way through this that both satisfies the need to ensure that trans women aren't discriminated against, and ensures that the voices of women who have got concerns about some of these things are listened to and heard.”

Ms McAnea said the women’s conference had carried the motion “because they take the view that giving trans women rights doesn't take away rights from women”. She said: “That's not to say it's not legitimate to have a discussion when women raise issues about safety and single-sex spaces.

"But there's all these definitions about what does that mean that I think need to be discussed. And what is the actual problem we're trying to address?

"Is it a genuine problem? Is it something that people feel strongly about? And if it is, they're entitled to that position.

"As unions, we all have a responsibility to try and make sure that we find a way through this, where we ensure there is no discrimination - and whatever anybody might tell you, trans women are hugely discriminated against.

"I've got several friends through the union that in every aspect of their life, they can't walk out through the door without getting discriminated against, right up to violence against them. And that’s a reality.

"Equally, I know there are women in our union who feel strongly about ensuring that there is still a safe place for women, and as a women's organisation we would absolutely support that. I find it amazing that we can't find a way through this, and we would be happy to work with employers on this."

Ms McAnea said she did not know why “suddenly it's become such a massive issue”, adding: “We've been dealing with this in Unison for years."

She said: "None of us are defined by our genitals. We're all people and we all do things in a different way. It just feels that we're focusing on things that perhaps aren't necessarily a problem. But if they are a problem for some people, then let's deal with it."