{"id":9838,"date":"2016-09-14T11:07:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T10:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=9838"},"modified":"2016-09-15T13:36:47","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T12:36:47","slug":"sisters-in-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=9838","title":{"rendered":"Sisters in struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pernicious Trade Union Act, while an attack on all working people, will disproportionately impact on women.<\/p>\n

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That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Congress carried a motion yesterday (September 12) that called on the movement to ensure that women play a central role in trade unions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fight against the Act.<\/p>\n

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Unite delegate Ruth Hayes, moving the motion, outlined the specific issues women face.<\/p>\n

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She noted that the Act will have a particular impact on women in important public services such as education, whose \u00e2\u20ac\u015bright to organise and strike is undermined.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAttacks on facility time will make it harder for women to play a full role within their union, as many continue to have a double shift of paid work and domestic responsibilities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Hayes added, highlighting the fact that even the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own equality assessment recognises that the Act will particularly impact on women.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to ensure that women are centrally involved in the struggle to overturn [the Act],\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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Hayes noted also that the Trade Union Act isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the only policy that disproportionately hits women.<\/p>\n

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Reduction in qualifying periods for workplace rights, introduction of tribunal fees and the cutting of legal aid for employment issues and the nurturing of a growth in insecure work are all among Tory measures that are harming women in particular and are contributing to the shocking rise in maternity discrimination.<\/p>\n

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Women also face sexual harassment in and out of the workplace and will also face other issues because of their age, disability, ethnicity and faith.<\/p>\n

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Hayes argued that we can only fight these issues by \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcollective action as trades unionists\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bContrary to the popular stereotype, more than half of union members are women, many of us working in public services and are in low paid and part time work,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnionised workplaces deliver for women \u00e2\u20ac\u201c on flexible working, on maternity pay, on dignity at work,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Hayes added.\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe ILO and European Commission have found that greater collective bargaining leads to a lower gender pay gap.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Urging Congress to the support the motion, she noted that women are not the passive recipients of trade unionism.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are the activists, the organisers and the leaders of strike action,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt will take more than a Trade Union Act to break the spirit of our sisters in struggle.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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