Trade Union rainbow rights

Peter Purton

Peter Purton (UK, 1951) studied history in Oxford; he "came out" 1976 and immediately joined the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. He took part in a national campaign to defend the Gay News against attempts to criminalise it for "blasphemous libel". After this trial, he helped transform the campaign into the Gay Activists Alliance, setting up local groups around the country and taking up many issues.
After several jobs in the voluntary sector, he worked for the education union NATFHE in its equality department.
1981, Peter Purton joined the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights, became a member of its national committee 1982 and helped organise many campaigns, including campaigns to get the Labour Party to adopt LGBT equality policies - successfully, though it took many years.

In 1998, he was appointed the British Trade Union Confederation (TUC)'s disability and LGBT officer in 1998, a position he still holds.

In the LGBT half of his TUC job, Peter Purton helped achieve the removal of discriminatory laws and the establishment of equal rights under Labour governments 1997 - 2010, working through the TUC and its LGBT structures, and as co-chair of LCLGR (until 2005).
In Britain, he has coordinated trade union engagement with the (London) annual LGBT Pride festival, envouraging trade union support and involvement and promoting trade unionism to LGBT communities.
Peter Purton moved a resolution that committed the (then) largest British trade union (Transport and General Workers Union) to LGBT equality at its 1989 conference. He is also actively involved in his current union's LGBT structures (GMB).
Peter Purton worked with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to encourage promotion of LGBT equality work throughout the European trade union movement and has taken part in many international conferences.

At the Antwerp conference, Peter Purton participated in a panel discussion on the role of trade unions in achieving LGBT rights.