{"id":15547,"date":"2018-07-04T17:36:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T16:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15547"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:38","slug":"15547-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15547","title":{"rendered":"‘Strong – but not immune’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Unite delegates shared personal stories of their struggles in an emotionally charged debate about the importance of mental health in the workplace on Monday (July 2) at Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policy conference.
\nUnite Scotland delegate and mental health nurse James McGinn moved a composite calling on Unite to ensure every rep receives mental health training from day one, and that reps get the support they need when they shoulder the burden of helping colleagues who are mentally ill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McGinn asked delegates to raise their hands if they have ever supported a colleague who has struggled with a mental health problem. Reflecting statistics that show two-thirds of people will experience at least one episode of mental ill-health in their lifetimes, nearly every single delegate raised their hands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite leading from the front<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

McGinn said that he was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdelighted\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 that Unite has \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbeen leading from the front\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 in supporting members with mental health problems and highlighted the need for Unite to go even further and ensure the priority is both being there for members but also supporting reps \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwho are vulnerable to getting ill themselves.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking in support of the motion, Unite East Midlands delegate Amy Roe highlighted figures showing the vast majority of people will suffer from an undiagnosed mental health problem, and noted that according to the World Health Organisation, mental ill-health is the leading cause of disease worldwide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Scotland delegate and young member Erin McCauley, 20, gave a moving speech about her own struggles with depression and an eating disorder as she highlighted the mental health epidemic among young people who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve born the brunt of austerity and job insecurity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite London and Eastern delegate Andrew Kettlety (pictured), also speaking in support of the motion, shared his experience of supporting a colleague who died after struggling with alcohol addiction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kettlety said it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t until\u00c2\u00a0eight months after the funeral that his colleague\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death finally hit him \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he was watching television when he suddenly broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was lucky enough to get counseling but said access to help and education must be expanded to support reps and members alike.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m strong,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut I am not immune.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The composite was unanimously carried.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fringe debate<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

The debate continued on Wednesday (July 4) where Kettlety was among a panel of speakers at a policy conference fringe event about mental health at work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also on the panel was community mental health nurse Holly Roblin, who highlighted the increasing pressures on the job amid austerity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOften as mental health nurses we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the last people to recognise stress and mental health issues in ourselves,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite rep Paul Mooney from Glasgow highlighted the mental health first aid training he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s undertaken through Unite and the different initiatives he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s implemented at his workplace in construction \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a sector where stress and mental ill-health are common.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEveryone can have poor mental health at some point,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe training helps you to spot the signs.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mental health campaigner and author Natasha Devon, MBE, spoke on the panel about how her personal experience with panic disorder inspired her to educate people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in schools, workplaces and in the media \u00e2\u20ac\u201c about mental health.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She highlighted the role our social and cultural environment can play in damaging people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mental health \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a bullying boss, austerity cuts, and even the dog-eat-dog ideology of capitalism itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fringe, which was chaired by Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe, brought together dozens of delegates who also shared their personal stories and asked the panel questions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite education director Jim Mowatt explained that his department is now heading up a mental health taskforce as he pledged that Unite would be more ambitious in supporting members, colleagues and communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Concluding the fringe, Unite lead professional\u00c2\u00a0Dave Munday said the union must not lose sight of the bigger mental health picture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must recognise that the workplace itself can cause mental ill-health,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must recognise that role austerity plays and the damage it does to our citizens.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite delegates shared personal stories of their struggles in an emotionally charged debate about the importance of mental health in the workplace on Monday (July 2) at Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policy conference. Unite Scotland delegate and mental health nurse James McGinn moved a composite calling on Unite to ensure every rep receives mental health training from day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[404,957],"wps_subtitle":"Unite debates mental health at work ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15547"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15547"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26082,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15547\/revisions\/26082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}