Two-thirds of Usdaw members are covered by agreements which improve the rights of parents and carers, argues Usdaw general secretary John Hannett
Work-life balance issues have traditionally been regarded by many in the trade union movement as peripheral – a matter for individual representation rather than national level campaigning and bargaining. This reflected a view that female part-time workers, who make up a majority of Usdaw’s membership, were secondary workers whose interests were unimportant.
In 2006 Usdaw launched a ‘Supporting Parents and Carers’ campaign, reflecting the fact that over eight out of 10 Usdaw members are juggling work with looking after someone, and are essential to our workforces and society.
Usdaw’s campaign offered collective solutions to the often daily struggles of members to juggle work and family life. The campaign was important in elevating the importance of the issues facing women part-time workers not just within the trade union movement but with employers and government too.
Influencing the approach employers took to managing work-life balance issues was a key part of our approach. In the early days of the campaign, members needing time off when a child was ill or wanting to rearrange a shift to fit round a parent’s hospital appointment would all too often be told ‘it is not my problem’.
As well as improving rights through collective bargaining – two-thirds of our members are covered by agreements that have been improved as a result of the campaign – we have been able to influence the approach managers take to these issues. Our campaign puts the onus on the employer to do the right thing.
The campaign has evolved and adapted over the last 11 years in response to the different challenges working parents and carers face and to the changing industrial relations and political climate.
In the early days of the campaign, a positive industrial relations climate and a Labour government committed to supporting working families enabled us to strike an optimistic note. We promoted tax credits, the health in pregnancy grant and rights to flexible working.
But we have had to adapt to a very different set of circumstances – a government hostile to unions, savage cuts to social security support and employment rights and an industrial relations climate that has seen too many employers on the offensive. Our campaigning model has adapted to reflect this shift.
Cuts to social care budgets, and freezes and cuts to in-work benefits have hit our members hard. Four out of five of our members who have been affected by changes to carers’ benefits are worse off because of them; 90 per cent of those who have seen changes to support services say this has made things harder. Responsibility for caring for children and the elderly has been shifted from society back into the home.
This year’s campaign day on Wednesday 17 May is called ‘Difficult Balancing Act?’ and will see activity in hundreds of Usdaw organised workplaces across the United Kingdom. Our members know we are on their side, but managers must understand the pressures the staff are under to get the best for both employer and employee.
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John Hannett is general secretary of Usdaw. He tweets at @JohnHannett
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