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Tory’s TU Watchdog Forces Musicians Union To Reinstate Sexual Harasser

A member of the Musician’s Union who was found guilty of sexual harassment and expelled, took the Union to the Government’s TU Ombudsman – Certification Officer – on the grounds that the Trade Union had broken it’s own rules.

Despite this not being the case, the Union was not only forced to reinstate the individual concerned, but to add the person to a list of ‘preferred suppliers’!

The decision has been criticised because of  a very unfair interpretation of the Musician Union’s rule that say that a compliant made within 28 days of the event shall be investigated to determine if charges should be brought against the perpetrator of the offence.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady covered this injustice in her blog for the TUC website earlier this month, in which she asks:

“Why on earth would a government trade union watchdog block a union’s sensible action to stand up for women members and stop sexual harassment?”

She adds:

“Two years ago, the TUC published research finding that more than half of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

For women aged 16 to 24 years old the figure was even higher, with nearly two-thirds reporting incidents ranging from inappropriate comments to sexual assault.

While some people were shocked by the findings, many women were only too aware of how it matched their own experiences.”

You can read her full blog on the TUC’s website

Download the TUC Report into sexual harassment from the Unionsafety E-Library using search word 'sexual'.

Source: TUC

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