Delegates stress their union ’ s role in fighting sexual harassment

Introducing a major debate around sexual harassment, Sarah Walsh from the young members’ forum applauded the #MeToo movement, but went on to point out that working-class women don’t have red carpet and the paparazzi to help them make their voices heard. What they do have, though, is their union. The motion called on the national women’s committee for research across the union on harassment in the workplace, with a toolkit to be produced to tackle it, linked to a campaign to the Call It Out! South East regional delegate Mary Moore pointed out that, while “anybody can find themselves the victim of sexual harassment, it’s statistically more likely to be a woman and even more so if you’re a young woman.’ She stressed the need to help educate employers in how to deal with the problem and particularly to create clear pathways that make it easier and clearly for women to know how to make complaints formally where necessary. Sharon told delegates that “the union really must be at the forefront of fighting harassment”, noting too that casual and precarious employment makes it harder for people to come forward and report problems, “because they’re afraid of losing their hours.” Alice Gregory Morris from the South East region comments on how the government had removed a part of the Equalities Act that gave protection to someone being harassed in the workplace by a third party (a client, for instance). “This affects every woman in a job”, she said. Contin...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News 2019 Women's Conference health and safety sexual harassment Source Type: news