More women USRs key to wider proportionality push

Telecoms & Financial Services April 13 2022

The pivotal role that women USRs can play in the struggle for genuine diversity in the workplace was highlighted in a recent presentation to the union’s Telecoms & Financial Services constituency’s current male dominated USR ranks by a keynote speaker from the influential National Hazards Campaign.

Janet Newsham, who coordinates the work of the Greater Manchester Hazards Centre, explained how well-intentioned efforts by traditionally male dominated employers to employ more women frequently go awry because failures to take on board some of the fundamental requirements of their new female recruits.

These range from the lack  proper welfare facilities –  including separate women’s toilets , changing rooms and showering facilities – right the way through to uniform and protective clothing blunders that would have been immediately obvious to any female USR.

“Many women and some men have been exposed to unnecessary risks in our workplaces because of PPE designed to fit the average man and not shaped to women’s or non-average men’s bodies,” she began.

Moving on to widespread ignorance of  women’s health issues, including menstruation and the menopause, Janet continues: “The menopause is a natural phenomenon in all women’s  lives, and one that for some will lead them to leave work or be dismissed when relatively simple adjustments that take into account the debilitating symptoms of menopause – like uniforms made of natural fibres that are lighter or more flexible working patterns – can ensure that all women can stay in work until they want to retire.

“Sympathetic and trained safety reps, with many more women, will help stop women being excluded from the workplace – but these issues fail to get on the agenda unless there are women who understand.

“In some call centres there have been l cases of women being told they have to hold up red cards to show they are menstruating so they get additional toilet time before they are disciplined, or where, left without other staff to relieve them they end up bleeding through their clothes because they aren’t able to leave their workstation to change their sanitary products.”

CWU national officer Dave Jukes concludes: “The role of the USR is just so valuable to our members, but I don’t think that message gets through enough, because what they do is largely unseen, and much of it is about prevention and you can’t really measure how many accidents you have prevented.

“We need to make the CWU as reflective as possible of its membership, and at the moment we are focussing on USRs because so many of the people currently conducting that role are white middle aged men.

“I’m not saying that detracts from the excellent work they are doing – because it doesn’t – but the simple truth is that we can only benefit from encouraging the widest possible diversity in terms of recruitment into a role that I’m sure would be as rewarding for large numbers of women as it clearly is to men.