UK: Unions join forces to fight abuse at work

Collective bargaining from trade unions can play a key role in tackling violence against women, campaigners have said, but they add the government must also take action. Delegates at the TUC women's conference heard how Britain has some of the highest levels of workplace violence against women in Europe. Dr Jane Pillinger said that abuse of women must be incorporated into existing equalities policies. "When this issue is recognised in government legislation, it will make it much easier to use collective bargaining power," Dr Pillinger said. She suggested that Britain should look to the example set by Denmark, where a joint task force made up of trade unions is a model for collective bargaining agreements in tackling violence against women in the workplace. "Everyone thought that the problem had been solved," Ms Pillinger said, "when actually it has got worse."  A Morning Star report of the TUC event said women are particularly affected in service industries like retail, as well as health and transport. It said the TUC, alongside public sector union UNISON and shopworkers' union Usdaw has drawn up model policies but they argue that more must be done from the top first. Usdaw's Elizabeth Williams said: "Union workers need to be active politically to hold the Tory government to account, and they need to be active in the workplace supporting women members, and on the campaigning front — understanding that it is a trade union issue." Read more: TUC head Frances O'Grady speech to the TUC women's conference. Morning Star. TUC guide to reporting workplace violence. Source: Risks 79

 Source ACTU OHS Rep Bulletin 22/3/2017  http://www.actu.org.au/