Union will continue to fight sexual orientation discrimination ruling

The lecturers' union NATFHE has vowed to fight on despite losing a High Court battle for a ruling that new equality regulations were flawed because they fail to protect lesbian and gay workers from discrimination by religious employers.

The High Court upheld the legality of the Government's 2003 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, refusing to condemn them as incompatible with European law, although it was said that the exemptions - which allow religious employers to discriminate -should be applied very narrowly, which may be of help in tribunal cases.

NATFHE was one of seven unions challenging the ruling, along with Amicus, Unison, PCS, RMT, NUT & NASUWT. The unions were also unsuccessful in challenging provisions that allow employers to exclude same-sex couples from pension and benefits rights enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. NATFHE had also challenged elements of the regulation which would allow colleges and universities to discriminate against lesbian and gay applicants for courses which would equip them to work in ‘faith colleges'.

NATFHE's Equality Official Kate Heasman said:

'We won't give up. We're going to carry on campaigning for a change in the law. This is a matter of natural justice. We think it's wrong that religious bodies should have the right to discriminate against lesbian, gay or bisexual staff and students.

'The same applies to pensions. Many of our lesbian and gay members have been paying for years into pension funds. Why shouldn't they have the right to pass on these benefits to their partners?

'Some of the worst workplace homophobia occurs in education. Judge Richards has turned down the opportunity to say that discrimination is wrong.

'It took sixteen years to beat Section 28, but we defeated that law in the end. We'll just have to do the same again.'