Unions & Equalities

The real story of Made in Dagenham

In June 1968 women sewing machinists in the Ford car plant in Dagenham took a stand for equal pay in a strike that stopped production for three weeks. They succeeded in getting abolished their lower “women’s rate” of pay and precipitated wider action: there were other equal pay strikes that year and the National Joint Action Campaign Committee for Women’s Equal Rights (NJACCWER) was formed by women trade unionists, who organised a demonstration for equal pay in 1969. Without the Ford women, there would have been no Equal Pay Act of 1970. Equal Pay Act of 1970 Equal pay had been a confused...

NUT Left Abstain on Homophobia

For the first time in its history, the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers debated a motion submitted by LGBT teachers from their own conference. The motion, entitled "International Homophobia and Transphobia" condemned the current levels of anti-LGBT bigotry in Britain and the rising tide of militant right-wing attacks on LGBT people and Pride demonstrations around the world. Poland, Russia, Israel and Iran were among the places singled out for mention. Tim Lucas and Claire Jenkins from the NUT LGBT Working Party proposed and seconded the motion and a number of delegates...

A Union Women's Newsletter: Is It Divisive?

At yesterday's RMT Regional Council, our new women's newsletter had its first outing, with 500 copies distributed amongst delegates. Mostly, it was well-received, welcomed by both women and (most) men, who expect it to go down very well in the workplaces.

I say "most" because in the bar afterwards...

A strategy for equal pay for women

The Women and Work Commission was New Labour's attempt to address the embarrassment and injustice of the enduring gender pay gap. But its report was woeful, in great part blaming women and girls for going into low-paid jobs and men and boys for renouncing those jobs for better-paid work. Bastards...

RMT Women's Newsletter: 'Time Of The Month'

I have just finished laying out the new women's newsletter for RMT's London Transport region, amusingly entitled 'Time Of The Month'. It was put together by our regional Women's Officer, Jackie Darby, and myself - with contributions from several other women members.

It's attached for your perusal...

Women's TUC: Sweatshop Labour policy

The TUC has still not deemed to post on its website the resolutions passed at Women's Conference over a month ago. Instead, we get a decidedly unhelpful "no documents available".

I'm not going to do their job for them and post the whole lot, but I am posting the resolution on sweatshop labour, that...

Gender Equality Duty

Under new legislation, the Gender Equality Duty comes into force on 6th April (this Friday). It compels all public authorities to promote gender equality and eliminate sex discrimination. The theory goes that instead of depending on individuals making complaints about sex discrimination, the duty...

TUC Women's Conference 2007

A blow-by-blow blog of TUC Women's Conference, which met in Scarborough on 14-16 March, by RMT delegate Janine Booth. TUC Women's Conference: Day One TUC Women Discuss Abortion Rights Women Fight Back Against TUC Childcare Sell-Out John McDonnell, Sexual Harassment, Sweatshops, Women's Representation and more Does Anyone Know Where The March Is? Trident: Taking The TUC Tops To Task Lone Working, Single Parents, TUC Women's Committee election

Trident: Taking The TUC Tops To Task

This morning, we were treated to an address by TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. There are various little things he said that I could pick on and slag off, but I won't, because it was the overall message that bugged me. Basically, after listing the Labour government's bountiful gifts to workers...

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