{"id":17216,"date":"2019-02-07T14:49:20","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T14:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=17216"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:57:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:57:44","slug":"17216-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=17216","title":{"rendered":"‘Right thing to do’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity campaign is spreading like wildfire as more and more workplaces sign up to provide free sanitary products in toilets \u00e2\u20ac\u201c since its launch in September last year dozens of firms and organisations have committed to the initiative.<\/p>\n

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And now, the campaign is being\u00c2\u00a0rolled out globally after Rolls-Royce announced it would provide sanitary products at no cost in toilets across its operations in 50 countries around the world.<\/p>\n

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It all started when Unite convenor at Rolls-Royce Washington Gary Andrews spearheaded the initiative locally at the plant in Sunderland. Rolls-Royce Washington was the first to sign up to Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign in September.<\/p>\n

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\"Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Washington in Sunderland first to adopt Unite’s period dignity charter<\/p><\/div>\n

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Motivated by the success, Unite reps began raising the issue with senior management across Rolls-Royce \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and now thanks to the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign, Rolls-Royce staff throughout the world will have access to free sanitary products.<\/p>\n

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Gary told UniteLive that he was \u00e2\u20ac\u0098chuffed to bits\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 by the news that the initiative would be rolled out globally.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is fantastic news that Rolls-Royce will be giving its global backing to Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity campaign and be providing sanitary products in toilets across its operations around the world at no cost,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe started the campaign at Sunderland for the right reasons but never in my wildest dreams did I think this would become a worldwide policy for the company.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Gary noted that he was very proud about the unanimously positive reaction prompted by Rolls-Royce Washington first adopting Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity charter \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the enthusiasm in part was what motivated Rolls-Royce to go global.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen I approached the global HR manager to discuss rolling out the campaign nationally he agreed, but then later he came back to me and said, no, we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop nationally. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a global company so we should do this worldwide,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Gary explained.<\/p>\n

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While it is unprecedented for a global company to provide free sanitary products at all its facilities across the world, Gary said it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsimply the right thing to do\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn today’s world no woman should feel uncomfortable about their period. It has been a taboo subject for too many years,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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Just as Gary noted, Rolls-Royce itself also said that its decision to take up the campaign globally started from the \u00e2\u20ac\u015bpositive reaction\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 at its Washington site in Sunderland.<\/p>\n

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“We are focused on creating an inclusive environment for all of our employees to be at their best,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 a company spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

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\"(L-R)

(L-R) Unite Rolls-Royce convenor Gary Andrews and Unite regional officer Suzanne Reid<\/p><\/div>\n

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While Gary said he was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bproud as punch\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 about the campaign\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest achievement, he noted that it \u00e2\u20ac\u015bshould only be seen as the beginning\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI believe our period dignity campaign can be the light that sparks the fire \u00e2\u20ac\u201c free sanitary products should be standard in toilets everywhere — at local authorities, schools, large companies and more.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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He also hopes the success Unite has had with its period dignity campaign will push the government to once and for all end the so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTampon Tax\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, which Gary called a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bnational embarrassment\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt scandalous that in this day and age, we can buy cream cakes and not pay any VAT on them, but women can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy sanitary products without VAT because they are taxed as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098luxury item\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Gary hailed Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s role in advancing the period dignity campaign, which started as a local initiative in the North East Yorkshire and Humberside region, developed with the help of Unite regional officer Suzanne Reid, but is now a union-wide campaign.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPeriod dignity should be a crucial issue for trade unions because it is above all a workplace issue \u00e2\u20ac\u201c why should any of our members, more than half of whom are female, be made to feel uncomfortable at work because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been \u00e2\u20ac\u0098caught short\u00e2\u20ac\u2122?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhile I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m very proud of how supportive Rolls-Royce has been on this issue, providing free sanitary products at work is not something that employers will necessarily do on their own \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if we as trade unionists don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make them do it, no one else will.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite national officer for equalities Siobhan Endean praised Rolls-Royce for taking a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bprogressive step and leading the way in being the first global company to sign up to Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity charter.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHaving a period is a natural process that should never be a source of awkwardness,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite believes that by changing perceptions we can tackle some of the wider issues around periods.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe would urge other employers to follow Rolls-Royce\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lead in backing period dignity in the workplace.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity campaign is spreading like wildfire as more and more workplaces sign up to provide free sanitary products in toilets \u00e2\u20ac\u201c since its launch in September last year dozens of firms and organisations have committed to the initiative.   And now, the campaign is being\u00c2\u00a0rolled out globally after Rolls-Royce announced it would provide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1007,189],"wps_subtitle":"Period dignity goes global as Rolls-Royce adopts Unite charter worldwide","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17216"}],"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=17216"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25563,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17216\/revisions\/25563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}