- Conference
- 2025 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 18 October 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the rise of the far right, and the planned protests taking place at the end of October, presents a health and safety risk to Black Workers, in particular Black women in the workplace.
Misogynoir is used to describe the discrimination against those who have the intersection of being Black and a woman. During periods of heightened racial tension, Black women face unprecedented risks travelling to and from work, when lone working and within workplaces. There have been several reports of Black UNISON women being targeted by fascists as they travel to work. The threat of violence is real and far too common. The presence of psychologically unsafe work environments is real. This is racism, but it also contains threat and risk, and it is a Health & Safety matter.
During the previous riots, UNISON Scotland produced a Black Worker safety action pack. The packs were sent to every branch in Scotland and workshops were delivered on how to utilise them. The pack included key actions that every branch and steward needed to undertake or call on employers undertake. These included:
• Asking branches to start allyship sign ups to show solidarity to Black workers.
• Asking branches to reach out to Black workers to let them know they are not alone and the branch can help raise concerns about safety with employers.
• Ensuring employers conduct proper risk assessments, which take all concerns seriously and properly mitigate risks.
• Asking employers to create safe spaces at work for people to talk about how this is affecting them (a good space for allies to learn how to support Black workers)
• Asking employers to issue statements to reassure Black workers on how they will keep them safe.
Conference calls upon National Women’s Committee to work with:
• National Black Members Committee to host webinars aimed at branches providing advice on how best to support Black women members
• regional women’s committees to encourage branches to be proactive in working with their employers to help keep Black women safe during times of heightened racial tension.
Submitted by the Scottish Women’s Committee