How are unions putting their own houses in order?

In February 2023, the trade union movement was once again rocked by the findings of an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment, this time at the TSSA transport union. Helena Kennedy KC found that there had been sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying within the union and that “leadership and culture has enabled these behaviours through wilful blindness, power hoarding and poor practices”. In her address to the 2022 TUC Congress, TUC president Sue Ferns made clear that sexual harassment is never acceptable, including in the trade union movement.

An October 2022 update from the TUC executive council working group committee on tackling and preventing sexual harassment in the union movement says unions must lead by example in addressing cultures of misogyny, sexism and discrimination. This chapter summarises recent allegations of sexual harassment within the union movement, the investigations into these allegations, and examines how the TUC and unions movement are working to stamp out sexual harassment within their ranks.