{"id":17340,"date":"2019-02-15T14:46:24","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T14:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=17340"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:57:41","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:57:41","slug":"period-dignity-win-oyster-catchers-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=17340","title":{"rendered":"From multinational to local caf\u0102\u00a9"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Unite member Lily Chasteau, 24, knows that even in the 21st<\/sup> century, some topics of conversation are still considered off-limits.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA friend of mine started her period when we were 14 and she felt too afraid to talk to her step-mother about it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she recalls. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI remember giving her balled up tissues.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just the silence of teenagers that persists \u00e2\u20ac\u201c menstruation continues to be a taboo subject in homes, workplaces and schools up and down the country.<\/p>\n

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But Unite is hoping to break this silence through its period dignity campaign, which aims to persuade employers to offer free sanitary products in their women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and disabled toilets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite celebrated a major win last week, when Rolls-Royce agreed to sign up to the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity charter globally<\/a> so that now every one of its sites in 50 countries around the world will have toilets stocked with free pads and tampons.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Unite is winning period dignity for its members on a local level too \u00e2\u20ac\u201c most recently thanks to the efforts of young Lily, who works as a waitress in Teignmouth in Devon at the Oystercatcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cafe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lily \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who joined Unite only a year ago but has become actively involved in the union, most recently as vice chair of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s South West young members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 committee \u00e2\u20ac\u201c first heard about period poverty campaigns on social media.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was familiar with the issues surrounding lack of access to sanitary products for women and girls who cannot afford them,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen I attended a Unite young leadership conference, I learned about Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest period dignity campaign and thought it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that could be introduced in my workplace.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lily\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bosses at Oystercatcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Caf\u0102\u00a9 were immediately supportive of the campaign and now both staff and customers can avail themselves of free sanitary products in the cafe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s toilets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bStaff were really in favour of the idea, especially considering that the majority of my colleagues are women,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Lily said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Customers, too, have welcomed the initiative, even though, Lily explained, most of the caf\u0102\u00a9\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s female clientele are older and post-menopausal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe women who come in have said how great they think it is \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that they wish the campaign existed when they were younger. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even started conversations about the taboos surrounding menopause, too.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lily said she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thrilled by the success of the campaign at a growing number of workplaces, and believes trade unions such as Unite must take the lead on period dignity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAt heart, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a workplace issue because it affects half of the workforce. Anything that can make women feel more comfortable and more respected in the workplace is an initiative worth pursuing by Unite and other trade unions.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The most recent of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s period dignity campaign successes comes in time for the TUC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Heart Unions Week this week, which celebrates the role trade unions play in workplaces and their wider communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Lily, who lives in a community where a tourist-based economy means much of the available work is seasonal and so is often precarious, being part of a union is vital.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI live in an area where there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not enough work for young people to keep them here, so many of us end up leaving,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very tough to support a family on seasonal, flexible work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why being part of a union for young people like me is so important \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s power in numbers. It gives you that safety net so you feel secure in demanding better pay, terms and conditions. Being part of a community that faces the same issues as me makes me feel strong.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite member Lily Chasteau, 24, knows that even in the 21st century, some topics of conversation are still considered off-limits.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bA friend of mine started her period when we were 14 and she felt too afraid to talk to her step-mother about it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she recalls. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI remember giving her balled up tissues.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165   It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1007,189,635],"wps_subtitle":"Unite period dignity fight is for every workplace ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17340"}],"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=17340"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25521,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17340\/revisions\/25521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}