Women's Views on News |
| TUC equality audit shows progress Posted: 07 Sep 2016 03:50 PM PDT
The TUC's Equality Audit for 2016 comes at a time when unions face an unpredictable and challenging climate for bargaining on equality. The economic recovery has been weak and uneven, with many of TUC members feeling the squeeze of stagnant wages, insecure work and continued inequality. And then there has been the impact of employment tribunal fees on access to justice for members facing discrimination at work. Following the referendum vote to leave the European Union, the unions will all be fighting to protect jobs, investment and rights at work and tackle racism in all its forms. But despite all of this, unions continue to make progress in bargaining for equality. Whether it is equal pay, flexible working, pensions or bullying and harassment, this report is full of examples of smart and effective bargaining for positive changes. And at the workplace level, reps are working day in and day out to tackle issues including disability and mental health, performance management inequality and work/life balance. The audit provides a rich resource of examples of the approaches unions have taken and the successes they have been able to achieve. Key findings show that over the past two years: Despite some improvements in the economic climate, 18 unions said that getting employers to address equality issues had become harder; only five said it had become easier. Almost a third of unions felt that employers' equality policies, or their implementation, had been diluted. Around one in six unions have provided advice to negotiators to help mitigate the impact of public spending cuts on equality. Equal pay remains the most common priority for unions. Bargaining for women is the area where most unions (56 per cent) have policies or guidance in place. Unions have had most success in negotiating equality policies in pay, with just over half reporting bargaining gains. Disability-related issues are by far the most common area (52 per cent) that workplace reps have tackled on behalf of members, with gender equality issues coming second (29 per cent). To read the full report, click here.  |
| Call for women’s rights care post Brexit Posted: 07 Sep 2016 03:25 PM PDT
Ten organisations have come together to challenge the government to make the UK the best place in the world to be a woman. Led by gender equality campaigning charity, the Fawcett Society, the 'Face Her Future' coalition is demanding that current rights are not weakened either directly or indirectly as a result of the Brexit negotiations. Campaigners argue that the government now faces a stark choice – to use the opportunity of leaving the European Union (EU), widely simply called Brexit, to achieve transformational change for women in the UK or to turn the clock back on equality. Women in the UK still face a gender pay gap of 19 per cent; 54,000 working mothers experience pregnancy discrimination every year, just 29 per cent of MPs are women; and 2 women each week die at the hands of a partner or ex-partner. The European Union’s regulations and cases won in the European Court have given women in the UK the right to equal pay for equal value, maternity rights, part-time workers' rights, pension entitlements and parental leave rights. And international co-operation throughout the EU has tackled female genital mutilation, human trafficking and developed strategies to combat violence against women. Key areas the ten organisations see as at risk: We may see a narrowing of the definition of sex discrimination or harassment; A cap on discrimination tribunal awards, reducing back pay compensation for equal pay claims; Exemptions for small or micro businesses, weakening protections for their employees; The introduction of qualifying periods for rights which are currently day one rights; Removing the entitlement to 90 per cent of pay for the first six weeks of maternity leave; and The weakening of part-time workers' rights, not giving them the same entitlements as full-time workers. Campaigners warn that these may all be at risk unless government makes women's rights and women's lives a key focus of the negotiations. They also argue that any economic downturn may hit women hardest. Previous welfare reforms and spending cuts have fallen disproportionately on women. In these circumstances they maintain, women's rights become vulnerable. As Sam Smethers, Fawcett’s chief executive, explained: "Brexit presents us with the opportunity to achieve a step change in women's lives. "We have to deliver a better future for women in the UK not turn the clock back. "As a first step government must guarantee that there will be no weakening of women's rights either directly or indirectly. "We have come together to form the 'Face Her Future' campaign to present a positive vision of what our society could be like. "We want to make the UK the best place to be a woman. "If we can no longer look to Europe to progress women's rights then we must do it for ourselves." This coalition is calling for: A guarantee that there will be no weakening of women's rights post-Brexit either directly or indirectly 'under cover' of Brexit. Maternity rights, part-time workers' rights and equal pay for work of equal value all derive from the EU; Women to be represented at every level of the negotiating process. The three cabinet ministers responsible for our Brexit negotiations (Davis, Fox and Johnson) are all men; Gender impact assessment of major spending decisions – we must ensure that women are not hit hardest by recession and austerity as they have been in the past; A strategic focus on ending violence against women and girls, including international co-operation to do so; Migrant workers from the EU who are already here to be allowed to remain; and Action to tackle racist abuse and hate crimes, including those disproportionately experienced by women. Organisations already signed up to be part of this #FaceHerFuture campaign include: Girlguiding UK; Women's Aid; Maternity Action; Fearless Futures; British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS); Tell MAMA; Coventry Women’s Voices; Equality Now; Rights of Women; the Fawcett Society; and the Latin American Women's Rights Service (LAWRS). For more information click here.  |
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