More than half of women working at Britain’s largest union have been subjected to bullying and harassment at work, a leaked internal study shows.
The 39-page research titled Women Officers in Unite, focused on the treatment and working conditions of Unite’s 74 female representatives, who support the union’s members and elected shop stewards on shop floors and in offices.
Nearly 40 percent of the female workers said sharing working concerns with the union and their colleagues is usually viewed as a weakness.
According to the report, which was commissioned by Unite’s Officers National Committee (ONC) in February and presented to senior management in May, a quarter of the female workers were not satisfied with the union’s handling of abuse claims.
One of the women told the interviewers that she was “sexually assaulted” by a senior officer in the past.
“The old-boys network is alive and kicking unfortunately in Unite, where it is who you know…