Inside
From Cameron to May: Resistance is needed
Social Work Watch 2016: Your experience is wanted
EU Vote: Migrant workers and jobs under threat?
City and County of Swansea
Review Stop Sexual Harassment More than half (52%) of women, and nearly two-thirds (63%) of women aged 18-24 years old, said they have experienced sexual harassment at work, according to a new research from the TUC in collaboration with the Everyday Sexism Project published recently.
circulating pornography, to inappropriate touching, hugging or kissing, or demands for sexual favours. In the vast majority of cases (88%), the perpetrator of the sexual harassment was male, and nearly one in five (17%) women reported that it was their line manager, or someone with direct authority over them.
The study is the largest of its kind for a generation and cited by leading academic Dr Jane Pillinger as one of the most extensive pieces of research on sexual harassment at work in Europe.
The survey, published in a joint report with the Everyday Sexism Project called Still just a bit of banter?, also finds that around four out of five (79%) women who said they experienced sexual harassment at work did not tell their employer about what was happening.
Unwelcome It was carried out by YouGov and is based on the opinion of women who are working or who have ever had a job, and were happy to be surveyed about this topic from an overall sample of British adults.
Of this group, some thought reporting it would impact negatively on their relationships at work (28%) or on their career prospects (15%), while others were too embarrassed to talk about it (20%) or felt they would not be believed or taken seriously (24%).
It reveals that of those surveyed: BME nearly one in three (32%) of women have been subject to unwelcome jokes of a sexual nature while at work more than one in four (28%) of women have been the subject of comments of a sexual nature about their body or clothes at work nearly a quarter (23%) of women have experienced unwanted touching – like a hand on the knee or lower back at work a fifth (20%) of women have experienced unwanted verbal sexual advances at work around one in eight (12%) women have experienced unwanted sexual touching or attempts to kiss them at work. Demands Sexual harassment at work can take many forms, from suggestive remarks, jokes about a colleague’s sex life,
The study is also the first to include the opinion of women who identify as black, minority and ethnic origin (BME) who say they have been harassed at work. More than half (52%) said they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “How many times do we still hear that sexual harassment in the workplace is just a bit of ‘banter’? Let’s be clear – sexual harassment is undermining, humiliating and can have a huge effect on mental health. Victims are often left feeling ashamed and frightened. It has no place in a modern workplace, or in wider society. Employers must be clear they have a zero tolerance attitude to sexual harassment and treat any complaint seriously. It’s a scandal that so few women feel their bosses are dealing with the issue properly.
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Public Service Not Private Profit
September2016
continued from front page Anyone worried about inappropriate behaviour at work should join a union to make sure they are protected and respected at work.” Laura Bates, founder of The Everyday Sexism Project, said: “Many people would like to think that workplace sexual harassment is a thing of the past. In reality, it is alive and well, and having a huge impact on tens of thousands of women’s lives.
In response to these findings, the Everyday Sexism Project has launched a new website, http://shoutingback.org.uk which brings together in one place for the first time information about legal rights, reporting options and available support for women experiencing workplace sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination and abuse. The TUC and the Everyday Sexism Project are also calling on the government to take action against sexual harassment and adopt a series of measures including:
“These findings reveal the shameful extent of the problem and the reality of the touching, unwanted advances, and inappropriate comments women find themselves confronted with while simply trying to do their jobs. “This is shameful behaviour that has no place in 2016 and employers need to take urgent action to tackle the problem.” Still just a bit of banter? is available at http://bit.ly/2bifniB Protection from sexual harassment- Know Your Rights booklet
reinstating provisions in the Equality Act which placed a duty on employers to protect workers from third party harassment – perpetrators of sexual harassment are often customers, clients or patients, who women working in sectors like retail, hospitality, healthcare, care and transport deal with on a daily basis. They currently have little protection from their employer when facing harassment, so reintroducing a duty on employers to act where an employee is being harassed by a third party would be an important step in tackling workplace sexual harassment. giving employment tribunals the power to make wider recommendations – employment tribunals used to have the power to make recommendations for the benefit of the wider workforce, not just the individual claimant, in relation to discrimination claims. In workplaces where a culture of harassment has been allowed to flourish or where organisations have failed to respond adequately to complaints of harassment, the power to make wider recommendations would be of great benefit. giving union equality reps full recognition and facility time. extending the full range of statutory employment rights to all workers, regardless of employment status or type of contract, to ensure that women on zero-hours contracts or agency workers are protected in the workplace.
http://bit.ly/2cJFmAS
STAND UP TO RACISM NATIONAL CONFERENCE
CONFRONTING THE RISE IN RACISM Saturday 8 October, 10.30am-4.30pm Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ
David Cameron has foll he is resigning as an M Cameron’s legacy can be
His gamble that the refer as an issue in British polit break-up of Britain as ca Wages
abolishing employment tribunal fees to give more people access to justice – it currently costs £1,200 to take a case to court.
http://bit.ly/2cxFkKy Tackling sexual harassment in the workplace - A TUC guide for trade union activists
From Ca
Speakers include:
Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party leader
Kate Osamor Labour MP for Edmonton
Owen Jones author and columnist
Kevin Courtney NUT acting general secretary
Diane Abbott shadow health secretary
Mark Serwotka
Claude Moraes Labour MEP for London
Sally Hunt UCU general secretary
Maurice Wren
Refugee Council chief executive
Talha Almad Muslim Council of Britain
Colette Levy
hidden child of Vichy France
PCS general secretary
Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu
Stand Up to Racism co-convenors
Cameron's “success” is th —a drop equalled only in NHS and other vital serv inaction over climate cha
The charity Oxfam recen richest 1 percent - 634,00 - 13 million people.
Theresa May also bega everyone, not just a privile even Margaret Thatcher Millionaires
We should not be surpris to stop them. Cameron g for Jeremy Corbyn is one The backing for the junio
The hundreds of thousan who agree with Corbyn’s and anger. Our union lea employers and the gover
Two immediate opportu Birmingham on 2 Octobe October (see below). Bey our jobs.
A major national conference organisations and activists from Europe. The conference will examine Britain and beyond such as the fight ag defending civil liberties and migrants Black Lives Matter movement in the U The humanitarian crisis in Europe wil of developing an action plan for activ campaign for more to be done for refu
At Teresa May's first Tory Party C People's Assembly will be holding demonstration to demand an altern We face insecure employment, low p services. There’s a growing housing biggest funding squeeze since it’s fou over-stretched. Local services have b are forced on councils.
Big business, corporations and the ric offshore tax havens, awarding thems blamed for problems they had no hand to tighten their belts.
ameron to May...
lowed his humiliating resignation as prime minister by announcing MP. Good riddance. For one Financial Times newspaper writer, “Mr e summed up in one word: Brexit”. Certainly it is his greatest failure.
rendum vote would quell Tory divisions and end the European Union tics spectacularly backfired. He may have also opened the path to the alls for a second Scottish independence vote start up again.
hat between 2007 and 2015 real wages in Britain fell by over 10 percent Greece. Cameron’s legacy is shattered lives, relentless attacks on the vices, deepening racism in order to divide opposition and reckless ange.
ntly underlined the staggering inequality in Britain. The wealth of the 00 people - is 20 times as much as the assets held by the poorest fifth
an as Tory leader by saying she wanted “a country that works for eged few”. But her grammer schools announcement went beyond what had proposed.
sed that the Tories act in the interests of the millionaires. The point is got away with murder, we must not let May do the same. The support e sure sign of how there could be much more resistance to the Tories. or doctors strikes is another.
nds of people who have joined the Labour Party, and the many more s policies who are not members, are a sign of increased radicalisation aders should build and encourage strikes against the attacks from the rnment.
unities for a fight are the People’s Assembly demonstration in er outside the Tory conference, and the Stand Up To Racism on 8 yond these events we also need a fight against all cuts and attacks on
bringing together speakers, m anti-racist campaigns across e the current struggle against racism in gainst Islamophobia and antisemitism, rights and building solidarity with the US. l also be discussed with the intention vists and organisations who want to ugees.
Conference as Prime Minister, The a major conference and a national native to ‘Austerity Britain’. pay, and a drive to privatise our public crisis, our NHS is going through the undation, and our Education system is been shut down as huge budget cuts
chest are squirrelling away money in selves bonuses, while immigrants are d in creating. And everyone else is told
Brexit & EU workers rights UNISON is launching a dedicated network to support the more than 67,000 members and their families who are EU citizens from outside the UK, in the wake of the referendum vote to leave the EU. The right of these members to live and work in the UK currently depends upon the country’s EU membership. UNISON has already held meetings and an internet seminar with its EU members and other migrants, to start identifying some of the issues they face. Roots The union has heard how many people have put down roots in the UK, with homes, family and children at school. But many no longer feel welcome and face an uncertain future. UNISON believes that migrants who come to this country should be allowed to remain on the basis of the rules in place when they arrive – and not find, as has happened far too frequently and with the Brexit decision, that the rules change once they are here. Brexit The union will be producing information for members from the EU and their families to reassure them of their rights in this country. A booklet, which the union has commissioned from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, will be launched online this month. And a UNISON EU network roadshow will be touring the regions in the autumn, when the union will be listening to the concerns of members and talking about how it can campaign for the right to remain. Any members who posts are EU funded, or if you are from inside or outside the EU, and are worried about your job or rights please contact the branch office.
Social Work Watch 2016 UNISON is teaming up with Community Care, the leading social care publisher, to shine a light on a typical working day in social work. We want to highlight the challenges and pressures you face – and celebrate the value and importance of the work you do. If you work in a social work team put Wednesday 21 September in your diary now. We will be asking you to fill in a survey telling us about what you did on that day. How many hours did you work? What kind of work did you do? How did your work make a difference to the lives of service users? And what impact did the day have on your own mental well-being?
YOUR UNION
All responses will be anonymous – you will not be identified. We will bring the findings to the public and policy makers to promote greater understanding of social work and step up the push for change. As an added incentive, those who complete the survey on or soon after 21 September will be able to enter a Community Care prize draw to win a free iPad Mini.
Contact us:
• To pre-register and get a survey reminder sent to you on the day, email socialwork@unison.co.uk with the words ‘Social Work Watch reminder’ in the subject. • Put the 21st of September in your diary. During the day, you may want to keep brief notes of your key activities and experiences Then at the end of the day, or very soon after, go to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ SocialWorkWatch2016 and complete the survey. • Tell your colleagues – we want mass participation in the second ever Social Work Watch! • Look out for the results – they’ll be publicised in the autumn along with ways for you to get involved in the campaign. • Follow us on twitter #SocialWorkWatch • Don’t forget to tell your colleagues to join UNISON at unison.org.uk/join
Thanks for your help with Social Work Watch!
Unison Office, Rm 153-G, The Guildhall, Swansea 01792 635271
unison@swansea.gov.uk
Branch Secretary: Mike Davies / Asst. Secretary: Andrea Thomas Unison has over 100 trained union reps throughout the council, schools and FE colleges. We will advise, support and represent you collectively and individually on issues from sickness, disciplinaries to legal matters inside and outside the workplace. If you need advice or representation please contact the Senior Steward(s) or Contact for your department below or go to your workplace steward. Alternatively please contact the branch office. SENIOR STEWARD SOCIAL SERVICES ALISON DAVIES 01792 636351 / 07941757853 SIMON JONES 637559/ 07858411470 DAVID WHITE 635180/ 07870465697 SENIOR STEWARD REGENERATION (OUTDOOR LEISURE) JOHN LLEWELLYN 07920560208 SENIOR STEWARD REGENERATION (INDOOR LEISURE) ROGER OWEN 07847942458
Sports & Social website: www.suss.me.uk
SENIOR STEWARDS ENVIRONMENT IAN ALEXANDER 07584505793 PAUL WATKINS (CLYDACH) 07572153750 PAT LOPEZ (CAVE ST) 07557560097 MARK OTTEN 07789485009 EDUCATION CONTACT JOHN AUSTIN 07796275039
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This newsletter is produced by the City and County of Swansea Unison Branch. Any letters, comments or suggestions for articles should be posted to the branch address or emailed to Unison@swansea.gov.uk. Correspondence is not guaranteed to be published and contents may not necessarily reflect Unison policy.