Stop this anguish call

Trade unions affirmed their commitment to a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment following an emergency motion at the TUC conference yesterday (September 11) which was unanimously carried. 

Congress applauded a new TUC report published last month showing that, far from being an evil consigned to the past, sexual harassment is still very much entrenched in workplaces — it is only now disguised as harmless ‘banter’. 

The report has found that two-thirds of young women have experienced harassment at work, and four out of five women who did experience harassment did not report it to their employer. Only 1 per cent confided in a union representative. 

The shocking realities of sexual harassment in the modern workplace which were unearthed by the TUC report has prompted trade unions to renew their commitment to stamping out harassment for good. 

The emergency motion called on Congress to maintain the momentum generated by the report and incorporate anti-sexual harassment work into the campaign to reach out to young workers in order to demonstrate the relevance of union support to the next generation. 

It also called on trade unions to partner with employer bodies on a new initiative to change behaviour at work and for more support to be given to unions to more effectively tackle sexual harassment in the workplace. 

Supporting the emergency motion was Unite delegate Mary Jo McReynolds who recounted having to represent a member and long-time friend as she took on a former employer after being sexually harassed as a young worker. 

She described the anguish she and her family were subject to as her harassment case went on. 

“What is happening in our society that this evil is still manifest?” McReynolds asked Congress. 

She explained how damaging sexual harassment can be in the long-term. 

“Wolf whistling, calling women ‘girl’, commenting on tattoos behind their neck is unacceptable,” McReynolds said. 

“Let’s get rid of this heinous crime for good.”