UNISON Scotland Women's Conference: Forms now online

Forms are now online for the Women's Conference/AGM on 10 October in Dundee. Deadline is 14 September. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/women/index.html

Change society so women can live free from violence

#stuc15 Gender equality is at the root of violence against women and girls and the STUC will campaign to keep this issue at the heart of the agenda for all public bodies in Scotland. Delegates commended the Scottish Government’s “Equally Safe” strategy and the STUC pledged to lend its full support to groups campaigning to build a Scotland free from violence against women and girls.

Supporting the FBU motion, UNISON’s Helen Duddy told delegates that UNISON has campaigned against violence against women for many years, developing workplace policies to support women experiencing domestic abuse.

Scrap plans for new women’s prison, urges UNISON Scotland

Tuesday 13 January 2015

UNISON Scotland, the public services union with many members working in Criminal Justice services has urged the Scottish Government to scrap their plans to build a new Women’s prison.

The union has written to Justice Secretary Michael Matheson saying that a tendering exercise for the construction of a new jail near Greenock should be halted.

The plans go against expert opinion and are at odds with the Scottish Government’s declared policy of reducing the number of women in prison. A new prison of this size is also against the recommendations of the Commission on Women’s Offending.

Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convener of UNISON Scotland, and Chair of the union’s Social work Issues Group said: 

“Prison is a very expensive way of not solving problems. Committing large sums of money to expanding prison capacity is to spend money on failure.

"Far better than spending some £60m on a new institution, with associated running costs, would be investment in the services which can help tackle the root causes of women’s offending – poverty, substance and alcohol misuse, mental health problems, histories of domestic and sexual abuse.

"Spending which attempts to tackle with these represents a far better use of public resource in a time of acute pressures on public spending."

ENDS 

Note to editors: UNISON ebrief on Women Offenders

http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/
e-briefing_WomenOffenders_Jan2015.pdf

'Pay up now' - UNISON demands North Lanarkshire council stops stalling on equal pay claims

Date: Friday 23 May 2014

UNISON Branch to take to streets to pressure council into fairness

UNISON North Lanarkshire is stepping up the pressure on North Lanarkshire Council in the union’s long running campaign to end the unfair treatment of low paid women. UNISON is demanding the Council settle their many outstanding equal pay claims. As well as continuing to use  internal council procedures UNISON is planning to campaign publicly with  leaflets and ad trailers.

The Council has conceded that many of the 1200 equal pay claims that UNISON has brought will be settled.  The Council has had little choice in this after admitting that it had destroyed records, altered results of assessments, and its job evaluations were not reliable

John Mooney, UNISON Branch Secretary said:

“NLC cannot continue to dodge the issue of equal pay. We have been clear all along that the Employment Tribunal claims we have lodged will prove to be successful. We call on NLC to do the right thing and settle all cases now. For an employer to purposely change job scores which lowered pay rates and to admit that they have destroyed the paperwork is astonishing and UNISON demand to know who sanctioned such disgusting behaviour.”

One of the predominant groups affected are Home Support Workers and Mooney said:

 “Home Support Workers receive poor pay for doing an extremely demanding and responsible job. They are charged with looking after our elderly and vulnerable people, but who has looked out for them? Certainly not NLC who deliberately paid lower wages than these workers deserved. 

Home Support Workers have died waiting for the Council to give them what they should rightfully have earned. UNISON has again asked the Council to hear the grievances of this group of workers and settle the matter once and for all.” 

“Despite owning up to deliberately keeping low paid workers on low pay with no justification. North Lanarkshire Council remain at Employment Tribunal spending thousands of pounds of Council Tax tax payers money defending their actions. The Council needs to face up to its responsibility to its workforce and the people of North Lanarkshire and end this charade now” 

UNISON supporting Take One Action! Film Festival

UNISON is once again supporting the Take One Action! Film Festival which runs from 27th September until 12th October.

Take One Action – Scotland’s global change film festival - spotlights stories that connect us across the planet: from the Occupy movement to climate change, women’s global empowerment, fracking, international development and more.

The full festival programme can be found at: www.takeoneaction.org.uk/events/festival/ .

Although the festival is focused on Edinburgh and Glasgow, we are bringing screenings to Dundee and Inverness and in the spring of next year a selection of films from the festival will tour Scotland. Please circulate this information to your contacts.

Silent epidemic of discrimination against working mothers

UNISON is calling for “a cultural shift” to end discrimination against pregnant women and mothers returning to work.  The union, which has 1m women in membership, called it a disgrace that a new survey (see BBC report) has found that more than one in four mothers feel discriminated against.

This survey shows the slow rate of progress since 2005 when the Equal Opportunities Inquiry into Pregnancy Discrimination found that each year 45% of working women
experienced pregnancy discrimination.

Karen Jennings, Assistant General Secretary of UNISON, said:

“It is a disgrace that in 2013 women should still be missing out on promotion or treated as second class workers.

“This research shows that the Equality Act is failing working mothers as thousands of women continue to suffer in silence while bosses discriminate in the shadows.

“Many women feel pressured into returning to work before they are ready, to try and protect their position in the workplace.  This is a growing problem with employers targeting women returners for redundancy selection, despite the legislation.

“Unless there is a wholesale cultural shift across workplaces this silent epidemic is only going to get worse.  The introduction of tribunal fees is making it more difficult for women to challenge discrimination by employers, coupled with rampant cuts to employment rights.”

“UNISON is continuing its case for a Judicial Review into fees for employment tribunals and has also vowed to cover the cost for its members.”

ENDS


See this news release on the UK website

UNEMPLOYMENT – UNISON & STUC RESPONSES

Commenting on the unemployment figures, which show that long-term unemployment has reached a 17-year high, Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:

“Every job lost is a personal tragedy and the government has to do more to tackle the persistent jobs crisis.

"Stopping the slew of job losses from the public sector and giving Britain a pay rise to get people spending is what our economy needs to recover.”

ENDS
 

Regional unemployment between March and May

UNISON women's equal pay success making the news - and winning support

#JoinUNISON www.joinunison.org #equalpay

A strong editorial in today's Herald newspaper criticised Dumfries & Galloway council's "grudging statement" on UNISON's equal pay victory.

It said the council's apparent stance is exactly what led to the Equal Pay Act in the first place, following the 1968 case of the Ford women machinists.

The similarities with the Ford women in Dumfries led to a situation where "a nursery assistant could look out of the window at a groundsman mowing the grass and know he was entitled to extra benefits and pay while she was not. That could not be fair."

The editorial concludes that it would be entirely wrong for Scottish councils to "perpetuate inequalities that should have been erased from the workplace 40 years ago."

Here's a few more links to coverage of UNISON's historic Supreme Court equal pay victory.

UNISON wins historic equal pay case worth millions of pounds for members

Elaine North, centre, and Mike Kirby, left of Elaine,
filmed by TV crews as they heard the news from the court today

#EqualPay

Nearly two thousand women members of UNISON are celebrating a historic equal pay victory today.

They have finally demolished the long-running defence by Scottish councils of paying men discriminatory bonuses that are denied to women.

 The UNISON Scotland members can expect to share in an estimated nearly £12 million in compensation after the UK Supreme Court today handed down judgment in their favour in the seven-year case of North & Others v Dumfries and Galloway Council.

 Having conceded that council bonuses were discriminatory, more than 20 Scottish councils joined Dumfries in arguing that women should only get equal pay compensation if they worked at the same location as their male comparators.

 UNISON had appealed after the Court of Session said the 251 classroom assistants, support for learning assistants and nursery nurses in Dumfries were not able to compare themselves with groundsmen, refuse collectors and drivers and leisure attendants who received bonuses, but were based at depots, not in the women’s schools.

Today’s judgment overturns that decision, saying that UK equal pay law which allows a woman to compare herself with a man “in the same employment” does apply, even though the women worked at different ‘establishments’.

Welcome for MSPs' call for statutory right to childcare

UNISON Equalities Officer Eileen Dinning today welcomed a report by MSPs calling for a timetable for a statutory right to childcare.

The Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee said the move, along with more flexible working patterns, could transform women's access to work.

Eileen, chair of the STUC Women's Committee, said: "We welcome the committee's report as it reinforces our experience of the obstacles women face in the workplace.

"We have long argued for free and universal childcare and we hope this is the first step to achieving that goal."

Free childcare good for families and for public finances - STUC Women's Committee

 8 May 2013

STUC Women’s Committee on Scottish Parliament Childcare Debate

Speaking prior to this afternoons debate on Childcare in the Scottish Parliament, Eileen Dinning (UNISON), the Chair of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) Women’s Committee, said

“Free childcare would boost the economy and support families to lift them out of poverty, as evidenced by the report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) ‘Making the Case for Universal Childcare’. 

 

"Making childcare free at the point of use would be good for families and for public finances as universal childcare would bring a net return to the government of £20,050 over four years for every woman who returned to work after one year of maternity leave.”

 

ENDS

S4M-06475 Hugh Henry: Childcare—That the Parliament agrees that good quality, affordable childcare is essential to support hard-working families; welcomes the proposed extension of fully-funded early years provision to 600 hours and believes that it is essential that this has a clear educational underpinning; notes the financial and logistical challenges of extending childcare across Scotland and believes that all parties should work to reach a consensus on delivery, availability, affordability and financing of a comprehensive childcare strategy, and believes that a Scottish childcare commission with all-party support should be established to investigate and make recommendations on the expansion of affordable quality childcare across Scotland.

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendment

S4M-06475.1 Aileen Campbell: Childcare—As an amendment to motion S4M-06475 in the name of Hugh Henry (Childcare), leave out from third “and believes” to end and insert “; also notes the work of the Early Years Taskforce, which brings together practitioners, professionals and politicians from different parties to inform the strategic development of early years policy, including early learning and childcare; further notes the Scottish Government’s commitment to legislate via the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill to introduce flexibility into childcare provision and the help that this will provide in matching childcare to the circumstances of individual families, and further welcomes the forthcoming work by the Council of Economic Advisers to look at the best models of delivery and funding for Scotland and the associated economic and social impact of moving to the levels of support for childcare that is commonplace in other European countries

See STUC website

.

Women’s equality at work no better than when Scottish Parliament opened in 1999

25 April 2013

UNISON today provided damning evidence to MSPs that major obstacles remain to women achieving equality in the workplace and that low paid women deserve action not more words.

Equalities Officer Eileen Dinning told the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee in written evidence that if anything women’s position in employment has worsened since the Parliament opened in 1999.

She welcomed the Committee’s Inquiry into Women and Work and called on members to use their “power and influence to effect change and convert the rhetoric of equality into money for underpaid women.”

Eileen, who is chair of the STUC Women’s Committee, said after the meeting: “As recognised by the Scottish Government and many economists, women’s participation in the labour market contributes significantly to the Scottish economy.

“But we are making the same points today about the obstacles to women’s participation as we were when the Parliament opened. Women across Scotland need MSPs to stop talking and deliver on equality in the workplace.”

UNISON’s evidence listed a six point plan including: ensuring all public authorities meet equal pay obligations, free and comprehensive childcare; addressing health problems women face around shift working and ensuring employers carry out equality impact assessments on proposed changes to terms and conditions to avoid further discrimination against low paid women.

Eileen told MSPs that free and comprehensive childcare is essential in modern Scottish society. Flexible working is not just about meeting caring responsibilities but about a better work and home life for everyone. Free childcare should be provided in the way we provide primary and secondary education.

She added:  “The STUC is increasingly concerned about the growth of zero hours contracts and the casualisation of the workforce. Zero hours contracts are not about flexible working. Flexible working should be negotiated and agreed. Zero hours contracts show a total lack of commitment on the part of the employers.”

And on equal pay, Eileen said: “Equal pay audits should be compulsory. Employment tribunals on equal pay are still costing the public purse millions of pounds. This could be avoided if reporting and auditing is built in from the beginning.”

 

ENDS

 

Notes to editors:

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing 160,000 members working in the public sector in Scotland - including all of Scotland's local authorities. More than 70% of our members are women; many are low paid or work part time.

2. UNISON’s evidence to the Equal Opportunities Committee is online at www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_EqualOpportunitiesCommittee/Papers_18_April.pdf

 

3. UNISON says that the following steps are required to address the current imbalance that continues to discriminate against women in the workplace and in accessing the labour market:-

·         Establish through comprehensive research the current obstacles to flexible working;

·         Free and comprehensive childcare;

·         Addressing the universal health concerns relating to women and shift working;

·         Take steps to ensure that ALL public authorities meet their obligations under the Equal Pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010;

·         Take steps to ensure that all public authorities have in place robust recording systems in order to fulfil their obligations under the The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 No. 162.

·         Call for employers to equality impact assess proposed changes to terms and conditions and avoid further discriminating against low paid women.

 

Anne Johnstone, in The Herald, says: "It's hard to imagine a more effective way of getting women back to work than free childcare." www.heraldscotland.com/comment/columnists/theres-a-lot-to-do-to-get-women-back-to-work.20903557

.

 

Women taking brunt of cuts in public sector - casualisation hitting hard

24 April 2013


UNISON's Equalities Officer Eileen Dinning hit out today at the casualisation of the female workforce in Scotland.





Interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland's Newsdrive, Eileen was commenting on new research in a Fawcett Society report .

This showed (as reported in the Scotsman here) that women have borne the brunt of cuts to public sector jobs.

The study warned that the number of women out of work is hitting a 25 year high. And it says the labour market will be characterised by "persistent and rising levels" of female unemployment, worsening pay and a widening of the gender pay gap.

Eileen, chair of the STUC women's committee, told BBC Radio Scotland that there is a major problem with an increasing number of part-time jobs, and women in zero hours contracts in the private sector, with underemployment having "a huge impact on economic activity".

She said that women's earnings are essential, but the pay gender gap persists and that the results of an STUC employment summit with the Scottish Government last year showed an increasing casualisation of the workforce.

One policy proposal from trade unions is for the Scottish Government to use the Procurement Reform Bill to ensure that public contracts have clauses that protect employment rights and extend payment of the Living Wage, both of which would help women in the jobs market.

The full interview is online here (just after 1hr 21 mins)

Eileen is giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee on Thursday 25 April.

UNISON’s evidence to the Committee says that the following steps are required to address the current imbalance that continues to discriminate against women in the workplace and in accessing the labour market:

·   Establish through comprehensive research the current obstacles to flexible working;

·   Free and comprehensive childcare;

·   Addressing the universal health concerns relating to women and shift working;

·   Take steps to ensure that ALL public authorities meet their obligations under the Equal Pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010;

·   Take steps to ensure that all public authorities have in place robust recording systems in order to fulfil their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 No. 162;

·   Call for employers to equality impact assess proposed changes to terms and conditions and avoid further discriminating against low paid women.

.

Women and work – STUC demands good quality jobs, not zero hours and less pay

 

#stuc13 17 April 2013

 

UNISON's Equalities Officer Eileen Dinning, highlighted the pressures on women in the workforce in her speech to STUC Congress today.

 

Eileen, in her role as chair of the STUC Women's Committee, said: "Women are struggling under the Coalition Government’s austerity programme.

 

"According to the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study zero hours contracts are on the increase. Thousands more workers are now in jobs without any guarantee of regular hours or regular wages. More than half of these are women.

"Tackling child poverty means tackling women’s poverty. The STUC Women’s Committee will continue to argue for secure well paid employment for all.

"Women are present in increasing numbers in our conferences and in the trade union movement. We will speak up for them, and give them hope for the future.”

 

 

Her full speech is below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFERENCE, THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU ON BEHALF OF THE STUC WOMEN’S COMMITTEE.

I AM NOT SURE HOW MUCH HAS BEEN SAID TODAY ABOUT THATCHER.

BUT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DROSS SPOKEN LAST WEEK ABOUT HER.

THE NOTION SHE WAS A ROLE MODEL FOR WOMEN WAS DELUSIONAL.

SUCH A SUGGESTION IS DELUSIONAL.

SHE CREATED NO POSITIVE CHANGE FOR WOMEN.

SHE HAD THE ACCIDENT OF BEING BORN FEMALE – NOTHING MORE.

AS BEA CAMPBELL STATED.... "SHE HAS NOT FEMINISED POLITICS BUT HAS OFFERED FEMININE ENDORSEMENT FOR PATRIARCHAL POWER."

AND THOSE PATRIARCHS ARE CARRYING ON HER WORK WITH OBSCENE ENTHUSIASM.

IF SHE DID ANYTHING POSITIVE IT’S TO BE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF HOW IMPORTANT THE TU MOVEMENT IS TO WOMEN.

SCOTTISH TUC REPRESENTS OVER 300,000 TRADE UNION WOMEN IN SCOTLAND.

INCREASINGLY, WOMEN ARE THE MAJORITY IN MANY OF OUR AFFILIATES. IN SOME CASES 60 – 70%.

MAJORITY ARE LOW PAID.

MANY ARE STRUGGLING UNDER THIS GOVERNENT’S AUSTERITY PROGRAMME.

OR LET’S CALL IT WHAT IT REALLY IS – A DIRECT ATTACK ON THE POOR, A PROTECTION RACKET FOR THE RICH AND OUTRIGHT CONTEMPT FOR WORKING PEOPLE.

AND IF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT WANT TO HELP MITIGATE THE WORST ASPECTS OF THE BEDROOM TAX, THEN MAKE THE CHANGES TO LEGISLATION THAT WILL PREVENT UNNECESSARY EVICTIONS THAT WILL DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT ON WOMEN, CHILDREN AND THE DISABLED.

WITH THAT BEING THE BACKGROUND THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE WORK PLAN FOR 2013 NEEDED TO REFLECT THESE CHALLENGES.

THE THEMES WITHIN WHICH THE COMMITTEE IS WORKING ARE:

ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT


INCREASING WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION AND PARTICIPATION


EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING


SOCIAL JUSTICE


HEALTH


COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN


INTERNATIONAL ISSUES.

OUR PRIORITIES FOCUS ON:

ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT


INCREASING WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION AND PARTICIPATION

THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE OTHER ISSUES ARE ANY LESS IMPORTANT BUT WE NEED TO BE CLEAR THAT WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT IS CRUCIAL AND THAT WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION CAN PLAY A BIG PART IN MAKING THAT A REALITY.

LAST YEAR, AND WORKING WITH THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, WE PARTICIPATED IN A SUCCESSFUL WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT SUMMIT.

SOME OF THE PRIORITIES TO BE PROGRESSED TOGETHER FOLLOWING THE SUMMIT ARE:

STATE FUNDED CHILDCARE PROVISION, INCLUDING INVESTING IN THE WORKFORCE IN THE SECTOR;


CHALLENGING THE INCREASED CASUALISATION OF THE LABOUR MARKET;


EXPERIENCE AND CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN OVER 50 IN THE LABOUR MARKET;


AND PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN ALL SECTORS.

ACCORDING TO 2011 WORKPLACE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS STUDY, ZERO HOURS CONTRACT ARE ON THE RISE AND THIS FOLLOWS A SURGE IN THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES CONTRACTED OUT TO PRIVATE PROVIDERS.

FIGURES BY THE ONS FOUND THAT THE NUMBER OF WORKER IN JOBS WITHOUT ANY GUARANTEE OF REGULAR HOURS OR PAY REACHED 200,000 IN THE FINAL QUATER OF 2012 – 40,000 MORE THAN THE SAME QUARTER IN 2011.

A BREAKDOWN SHOWS 52% ARE WOMEN AND 48% ARE MEN.

THAT IS WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT ENSURES THAT THE PROCUREMENT REFORM BILL SHOULD BE USED TO PROMOTE :-

LABOUR RIGHTS AND WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS


A POSITIVE EMPLOYMENT AGENDA


THE SCOTTISH LIVING WAGE - BOTH FOR DIRECTLY EMPLOYED STAFF AND FOR

EMPLOYEES WORKING FOR CONTRACTORS

IN RESPECT OF INCREASING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC LIFE, WE ARE PUTTING THE 50/50 CAMPAIGN BACK ON THE AGENDA THROUGH BUILDING LINKS WITH PARLIAMENTARIANS, WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS, AND SCOTTISH CIVIC SOCIETY, IN PARTICULAR CAMPAIGNING FOR INCLUSION OF COMMITMENTS ON WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION DURING THE DEBATE ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE.

OUR OTHER PRIORITIES – WHICH ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT AND PUBLIC LIFE – WE ARE PURSUING THE GOAL OF FREE SCHOOL MEALS; WORKING TO ENSURE THAT WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS FEEL SUPPORTED AND CONTINUING TO GIVE PRIORITY TO THE CAMPAIGN OF COMBATTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

LAST MONTH WE ATTENDED THE SCOTTISH WOMEN’S CONVENTION’S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY EVENT IN THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT.

THE THEME WAS WOMEN OF INFLUENCE.

WE LISTENED TO WOMEN POLITICIANS FROM MOST POLITICAL PARTIES HIGHLIGHTING THE VERY ISSUES WE SPEAK ABOUT EVERY YEAR.

CHILDCARE,


LIVING WAGE,


FLEXIBLE WORKING,


EQUAL PAY.

　

WE MADE THE POINT THAT YOU CANNOT INFLUENCE IF YOU DON’T HAVE FINANCIAL CLOUT.

WE TOLD THEM – YOU WANT EQUAL PAY ?

TELL PUBLIC AUTHORITIES TO STOP FIGHTING CLAIMS AND TRYING TO DEFEND THE INDEFENSIBLE.

　

WE ALSO TOLD THEM – IF YOU DON’T DEAL WITH WOMEN’S POVERTY – YOU WON’T DEAL WITH CHILD POVERTY.

CONGRESS, WE ARE WITNESSING AN INCREASINGLY FEMALE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT.

WE NEED TO RESPOND TO THAT AND GIVE WOMEN HOPE AND RAISE THEIR EXPECTATIONS.

THAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WHOLE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT.

TWO YEARS AGO THE STUC WOMEN’S COMMITTEE MEMBERS, PAST AND PRESENT, EMBARKED ON A PROJECT TO CELEBRATE AND HIGHLIGHT THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN IN THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT.

THAT ACTIVITY AND THE CONTRIBUTION MADE BY THESE WOMEN HAS LED TO CHANGES IN THE WAY SCOTLAND IS GOVERNED.

IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE A GLOSSY PUBLICATION THAT WOULD GATHER DUST.

RATHER, IT WILL BE A CAMPAIGNING AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE THAT WILL HOPEFULLY INSPIRE OTHER WOMEN TO RECORD THEIR OWN CONTRIBUTION.

I WANT TO THANK THE WOMEN WHO GAVE UP SO MUCH OF THEIR TIME TO MAKE THIS BOOK A REALITY.

SO I HOPE YOU’LL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COPY OF OUR BOOK ‘INSPIRING WOMEN’ BEFORE CONFERENCE FINISHES TOMORROW.

　

FINALLY, AS CHAIR OF THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE, I WANT TO THANK ANN HENDERSON, OUR SECRETARY, AND THE STAFF AT THE STUC, WHO GO MORE THAN THE EXTRA MILE FOR US, AS WELL THE REST OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND ADVICE.

　

CONFERENCE, I HOPE THE REMAINDER OF YOUR SESSIONS ARE SUCCESSFUL AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

THANK YOU.

　

　

.

 

#TUCWomen13 STUC Women's Cttee: Women's employment crucial

15 March 2013

Addressing the Annual TUC Women’s Conference in London today, Eileen Dinning, UNISON and Chair of the STUC Women’s Committee, said:

“The Scottish TUC represents over 300,000 trade union women in Scotland.

"Increasingly, women are the majority in many of our affiliates, in some cases 60-70%. The majority are low paid. Many are struggling under this Government’s austerity programme, or let’s call it what it really is – a direct attack on the poor, a protection racket for the rich and outright contempt for working people.

"We need to be clear that women’s employment is crucial and that women’s representation can play a big part in making that a reality. Last year, and working with the Scottish Government, we participated in a successful Women’s Employment Summit. This flagged up the priorities that we all should share. We want to see real investment in state-funded childcare provision, including investing in the workforce in the sector; a Government that will challenge the increased casualisation of the labour market; and we will work with the TUC in highlighting the experiences and challenges for women over 50 in the labour market.

"We are witnessing an increasingly female dominated trade union movement. We need to respond to that and give women hope.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

1. TUC Women’s Conference brings together 240 delegates from all over the UK, from every sector. This is the final day of the Conference.
2. http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-22006-f0.cfm Today’s focus is on women over 50 in the labour market.
3. Eileen Dinning is Chair of the STUC Women’s Committee, and UNISON Scotland’s Equality Officer. Contacte.dinning@unison.co.uk
4. For more information contact Ann Henderson, Assistant Secretary, and Secretary to the STUC Women’s Committee, on 0141 337 8100.

#IWDjoinaunion STUC: A woman’s place is in her union

8 March 2013

To mark International Women’s Day, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is calling on all its affiliated unions to highlight the work that they do to protect women’s rights in the workplace.

Women are facing changes in equality laws, pregnancy discrimination, reduced hours, and losses of childcare services in every local area. Applications for flexible working are not being considered, provisions for good health and safety at work are under-resourced, and training and education opportunities have been reduced.

Agnes Tolmie UNITE, STUC President, said

‘Trade unions have an essential role to play in speaking up for, and negotiating on behalf of, women at work.

Problems that appear to be individual can often be resolved through collective bargaining.

Our shop stewards and workplace reps bring a wealth of experience and speak up daily for women’s rights.

Our message for International Women’s Day is ‘A woman’s place is in her union’ and we look forward to working alongside all those who are committed to the fight for equality’

.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – TIME TO TURN THE TIDE FOR UK WOMEN

8 March 2013

The government should use International Women’s Day as an opportunity to start undoing the damage its austerity measures have had on women in the UK, UNISON said today.

The social and economic position of women in the UK has been dramatically eroded since the coalition came into power, and UNISON said it was time for the tide to turn.

Through its own education services, UNISON has been working hard to help people develop the skills to make them stand out in the workforce, and this has had a significant impact on a number of its women members.

The free Return to Learn scheme is designed to help workers develop their skills and boost confidence in key areas including writing; investigating and research; analysing and problem solving; and working with numbers. This, and the union’s unique Women’s Lives course are changing the lives of workers – male and female – in their thousands.

Nearly 15,000 UNISON members have benefited from its learning programmes since April 2012, including nearly 5,000 learners at further education level, and nearly 1,400 CPD learners. Return to Learn and Women’s Lives have been helping people enhance their skills and learning for 25 years.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:“This International Women’s Day the government should be turning its attention to undoing the enormous damage they’ve done to women’s lives since they came into power.

“Women have borne the brunt of the government’s austerity measures: they’ve been hit hardest by recession, by government benefit cuts and, thanks to this government’s ideology-driven attacks to our public services, have seen record unemployment.

“It’s time for the tide to turn; let’s celebrate the enormous achievements made by women every day, but let’s do so knowing that there is so much more than can be done in the UK to improve the lives of women. This starts with the government, and it must act now.”


Dawn Wilson, a retired Homecare Assistant, took both the Return to Learn and Women’s Lives courses in her early 50’s, and said they gave her to confidence to get back into learning. She is currently undertaking both a creative writing, and a digital photo-editing course through the University of the Third Age. She said:
“My main motivation for getting back into education was to be able to write my life story for my grandchildren. So much has changed in my lifetime; they can’t grasp that when I was young we didn’t have a phone, let alone a mobile! But there is so much more to it; the UNISON courses gave me the confidence to keep learning and prevented me from being isolated. I’m still making new friends, which is important after the loss of my husband.

“Teaching was so much more formal when I was at school; you were basically frightened of your teachers, and you felt like you were in education, but not being taught. When I heard about the Return to Learn and Women’s Lives courses, I thought ‘go for it’. The tutors were brilliant and, unlike when I was at school, were really supportive, and patient, and understanding of any difficulties you might have. So were the other women on my course; four of us still meet once a month for a coffee, or to go to the theatre. They’ve been supportive personally, as well as in education.

“After the UNISON courses I went on to do an NVQ; using what I learned to help organise my coursework, and the best way carry out case studies.

“UNISON’s courses helped in my work, too. The biggest thing is confidence. When you have meetings with work, you feel like you can speak up, and that what you’re going to say is appropriate. The courses helped me to think out of the box, and to be confident enough to give a different view if everyone around the table is fixed on something that seems wrong to you.

“The women I met at UNISON were a lifesaver for me. They were not pushy – the courses are not recruiting shop stewards, they’re about improving your life, and building your confidence. I would definitely recommend them.”

See this press release on the UNISON UK website
.

STUC on Labour Market Statistics

Wed 12 Dec 2012
 

Speaking after the release of the latest labour market statistics for Scotland, Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary said:

'Despite the large fall in unemployment today's statistics provide no cause for complacency. The fall in unemployment is attributable to people leaving the workforce, not entering jobs. This process is particularly severe for women; there are now 50,000 more economically inactive women than this time last year. The STUC believes the labour market will remain weak through 2013 and beyond'.

.

Massive human, social and economic costs: STUC on Scottish unemployment

Wed 14 Nov 2012

Commenting on the publication today of the latest official labour market statistics for Scotland, Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary said:

“Today’s figures bring yet more miserable news for Scotland. The small rise in unemployment is perhaps not as worrying as the very significant fall in employment.

“It is a particular concern that so many women in particular seem to be leaving the labour force altogether as the prospect of finding decent work becomes ever more remote. Rapidly increasing very long-term unemployment, particularly amongst young people, will saddle Scotland with massive human, social and economic costs for the foreseeable future.

“It is to be expected that the UK figures will be seized on by the Chancellor as evidence of the success of the coalition’s economic strategy. However, any fair assessment must surely conclude that a stagnant economy increasingly characterised by low wage, insecure, part-time, temporary and self-employment represents pretty poor validation of the austerity agenda.

“Therefore it is essential that the autumn statement must include substantial new measures to embed recovery and grow good jobs. However it is probably best not to hold our breaths in anticipation”.

ENDS

STUC news release:
http://www.stuc.org.uk/news/983/stuc-on-labour-market-statistics


.

Enough is enough - the battle for decent pensions for women

#undc12 Local Government delegates heard that women are at greater risk than men of pensioner poverty with around half of all women unable to make adequate pension provision for their future. For full report see http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/conf2012/lgstory1.htm