Composite H (covering Motions 53, 54, 56 & 85)
Preventing & Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
“That this Congress commends the work that the STUC women’s committee have been undertaking on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and on their reports, Silence is Compliance and Still Silent.
“Congress welcomes the new legal duty requiring employers to prevent sexual harassment from arising in the workplace and agrees that the exposure of McDonalds in the last 2 years, and its failure to deal with sexual harassment and violence, shows the urgent need for legislation to protect workers from this toxic behaviour.
“Congress acknowledges the need to continue to give the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace a high priority, recognising that sexual harassment is a form of violence against women and girls, and to share best practice.
“Congress recognises the need to work with affiliates and employers to build a broad understanding of what sexual harassment is, the traumatic impact it has on those who experience it, and on society more generally, the scale of the problem, and it’s causes – so that we can reduce and prevent the harms together.
“We also need to recognise, from numerous reports across the UK’s trade unions, that sexual and sexist harassment is just as prevalent in our own organisations as it is in the employers we work with.
“Congress calls on the General Council to work with the BFAWU and the TUC on a campaign to bring into legislation a new requirement for reporting cases of sexual harassment and violence similar to reporting accidents in the workplace (RIDDOR) and to lobby the UK government to create and resource a new, cross-cooperation panel to overview sexual harassment in the workplace between TUC, EHRC and HSE.
“Congress agrees that the campaign should call for:
- a reporting line which takes anonymised details of the incident and forwards the complaint to employers and generates a reference number;
- a structure so that the anonymised complaint becomes reportable and part of a company’s reporting requirements until both parties agree that the situation has been resolved satisfactorily, without forced NDAs;
- the ability to remove the 3-month less one day rule for such issues, recognising that these cases are often not reported for some time due to fear or some other substantial reason;
- structures so that trade unions are consulted in such cases and that any agreements with employers include representation through the members union or TUC-appointed facilitator;
- structures to enable workers not represented by trade unions to be supported in a similar way;
- a training programme agreed via the Tripartite for union reps and workers;
- mandatory education programs: implement educational initiatives aimed at men to promote respectful behaviour and understanding of sexual harassment;
- comprehensive training: require employers to provide regular, thorough training on sexual harassment prevention and response; and
- active policy management: ensure employers are held accountable for actively managing and enforcing anti-harassment policies, with regular reviews and updates.
“Congress calls on the STUC General Council to make this a campaign priority and to coordinate amongst unions the sharing of policies and of training packages and to lead from the top by demonstrating training on prevention of sexual harassment being a key part of the new general council induction process.”
Mover: Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Seconder: Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union?
Supporting: Aegis the Union
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