An Opportunity for Feminists to Speak Out

by Les May

TODAY the ‘i’ newspaper carried an item which read;

‘Cleaners at HM Revenue and Customs offices are to stage a 48 hour strike.  Members of the Public and Commercial Services union at ISS in Bootle and Liverpool will walk out on 15 and 16 July.  The union wants a £10 an hour minimum and terms and conditions equivalent to other HMRC staff’. (my emphasis)

Many feminists focus only upon any differences in the pay received by men and women.   They want those to be removed but the hierarchies within groups to remain.  That includes hierarchical differences in terms and conditions.

What the cleaners are looking for is equivalence with HMRC staff in the terms of leave and sick pay.   No doubt many of them will be women, perhaps a majority. Is this going to be another case like that of Asia Bibi where the usually vocal feminists remain silent?

https://www.pcs.org.uk/news/iss-cleaners-vote-for-strike-action

I would like to see it mandatory for all employees of a company or organisation to have the same terms and conditions of employment.   If more unions press for this the Labour party may be persuaded to adopt it as something to appear in the next manifesto.

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