A life less ordinary

A young survivor of domestic violence was Margaret McKee’s first disciplinary case as a union rep. What happened with that case influenced the course of her union activity, indeed her whole life, and ultimately led to her being awarded the prestigious TUC Women’s Gold Badge this summer. So who is Margaret McKee, and what did she do to deserve the Gold Badge? Margaret has been a catering assistant at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for 37 years. On the day of her first disciplinary hearing as a rep, she was walking to the meeting with her young colleague.  The woman was about to face a panel including her manager, who was putting the case against her for frequent lateness. She was on her final warning. As they walked, the woman opened up to Margaret, telling her that her husband had been violent and that she had finally asked him to leave the house. But now she had to work two jobs to earn enough money to take care of her children. She was working in the hospital from 7am until 2pm, and then working for a taxi firm from 5pm until 2am. She was late because she was looking after her children, and she was exhausted. “Would you allow me to tell the panel this?” Margaret asked. The woman agreed. Margaret went in first and spoke to the panel. By the time the hearing began the panel had switched from being about to interrogate the woman to advising her manager on how best she could be supported. They changed her hours to allow her to keep her job and start later...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article Magazine domestic violence Northern Ireland presidential team vice president women members Source Type: news