Category: low-paid women

Opinion: Why the fight for Waspi pension justice is far from over

By UNISON’s senior national equality officer Josie Irwin

A whole generation of women has been badly let down by politicians.

Changes to pension law in 1995 and 2011 delayed the state pension age for 1950s-born women by up to six years. Many received information about the change with just one year’s notice. Some received no notification. An estimated 3.8 million women waited up to six years longer to receive the state pension.

Last Thursday (23 March), the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman reported that the Department of Work and Pensions had failed to communicate the changes adequately and recommended that Parliament should make things right by providing compensation of amounts between £1,000 and £2,900.

Is £3,000 enough? It seems a paltry sum given the dire financial straits that many of these women are in through no fault of their own. They were caught by surprise, their plans for retirement thrown into disarray with no time for them to make alternative arrangements.

Denied their state pension at age 60, some were forced to look for work again to make ends meet, but struggled to get jobs because of their age, physical or mental health issues, or because they had caring commitments. Others had to dig into the savings they had intended to use to ensure their retirement was comfortable.

Women who were in low-paid jobs – cleaners, teaching assistants, school administrators, cooks and catering staff, nurses and receptionists, or took time out to care for children – have been particularly badly affected.

Financial hardship has been made so much worse by the cost of living crisis, compelling some women to choose between buying food or paying for heating. Some have had to sell their homes to survive and have endured appalling poverty.

UNISON was the first union to support the cause of pension justice for 1950s-born women and is supporting thousands of women with individual claims for compensation as well as campaigning alongside women in the Waspi campaign for justice and lobbying parliamentarians.

Despite the damning ombudsman’s report, Waspiwomen still face hurdles however. So far, neither the Conservatives nor Labour have committed to paying the compensation.

Additionally, some print and social media commentators are questioning whether “these women have really been so hard done by?” They infer that, “as women have greater life expectancy than men and typically collect the state pension for longer”, they shouldn’t receive compensation.

Others talk about “the gold-plated final salary pensions” many will have been able to draw on. They mention welfare benefits that those who were unable to work would have been able to draw on.

Some financial experts – mainly but not exclusively male – are condescending, stating that the Waspi women should have known about the change, with an unspoken question being: ‘How could they have been so stupid?’ There is also a hint that the Waspi women are ‘greedy’ for wanting compensation that could run into billions.

This is despite the ombudsman highlighting that the Department of Work and Pensions failed to act on its own survey findings from around 2004, which showed that 1950s-born women still thought they would receive their state pension at 60.

The lack of sympathy toward the Waspi women and hostility from some quarters is shocking but not surprising. Society continues to undervalue the work that women do and takes their contribution for granted.

Our campaign is far from over. UNISON supports Waspi’s call for an urgent vote in Parliament on compensation. We will continue to speak out, about both the failure to communicate the change and the resulting hardship for so many women. 1950s women need swift action, not more excuses.

The article Opinion: Why the fight for Waspi pension justice is far from over first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Opinion: Why the fight for Waspi pension justice is far from over

By UNISON’s senior national equality officer Josie Irwin

A whole generation of women has been badly let down by politicians.

Changes to pension law in 1995 and 2011 delayed the state pension age for 1950s-born women by up to six years. Many received information about the change with just one year’s notice. Some received no notification. An estimated 3.8 million women waited up to six years longer to receive the state pension.

Last Thursday (23 March), the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman reported that the Department of Work and Pensions had failed to communicate the changes adequately and recommended that Parliament should make things right by providing compensation of amounts between £1,000 and £2,900.

Is £3,000 enough? It seems a paltry sum given the dire financial straits that many of these women are in through no fault of their own. They were caught by surprise, their plans for retirement thrown into disarray with no time for them to make alternative arrangements.

Denied their state pension at age 60, some were forced to look for work again to make ends meet, but struggled to get jobs because of their age, physical or mental health issues, or because they had caring commitments. Others had to dig into the savings they had intended to use to ensure their retirement was comfortable.

Women who were in low-paid jobs – cleaners, teaching assistants, school administrators, cooks and catering staff, nurses and receptionists, or took time out to care for children – have been particularly badly affected.

Financial hardship has been made so much worse by the cost of living crisis, compelling some women to choose between buying food or paying for heating. Some have had to sell their homes to survive and have endured appalling poverty.

UNISON was the first union to support the cause of pension justice for 1950s-born women and is supporting thousands of women with individual claims for compensation as well as campaigning alongside women in the Waspi campaign for justice and lobbying parliamentarians.

Despite the damning ombudsman’s report, Waspiwomen still face hurdles however. So far, neither the Conservatives nor Labour have committed to paying the compensation.

Additionally, some print and social media commentators are questioning whether “these women have really been so hard done by?” They infer that, “as women have greater life expectancy than men and typically collect the state pension for longer”, they shouldn’t receive compensation.

Others talk about “the gold-plated final salary pensions” many will have been able to draw on. They mention welfare benefits that those who were unable to work would have been able to draw on.

Some financial experts – mainly but not exclusively male – are condescending, stating that the Waspi women should have known about the change, with an unspoken question being: ‘How could they have been so stupid?’ There is also a hint that the Waspi women are ‘greedy’ for wanting compensation that could run into billions.

This is despite the ombudsman highlighting that the Department of Work and Pensions failed to act on its own survey findings from around 2004, which showed that 1950s-born women still thought they would receive their state pension at 60.

The lack of sympathy toward the Waspi women and hostility from some quarters is shocking but not surprising. Society continues to undervalue the work that women do and takes their contribution for granted.

Our campaign is far from over. UNISON supports Waspi’s call for an urgent vote in Parliament on compensation. We will continue to speak out, about both the failure to communicate the change and the resulting hardship for so many women. 1950s women need swift action, not more excuses.

The article Opinion: Why the fight for Waspi pension justice is far from over first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Survey reveals impact on families of low maternity pay

The cost of living crisis is affecting women and babies living on low levels of maternity pay and benefits, and affecting their health and wellbeing, warns national charity, Maternity Action, in its new report, A Perfect Storm, launched today.

A survey of 1,394 mothers who had taken maternity leave at some point between January 2021 and December 2022 reported that, while on leave:

  •     half (49%) were buying less healthy food and one quarter had gone without food to feed their children
  •     71% worried ‘a lot’ about money during pregnancy or maternity leave, an increase from 64% in an equivalent 2022 survey
  •     60% of respondents had relied on a credit card or borrowed money to make ends meet, up from 51% in 2022
  •     58% also returned to work before they were fully recovered from the birth due to financial pressures

The report outlines how criteria for maternity pay unfairly excludes many women in insecure work, women whose pregnancies were unplanned or unexpected or who have had periods of illness. It also states that many women are going back to work sooner than they’d want due to maternity pay being too low.

One mother taking part in the research said: “I had to go back to work when my baby was only three months old. I am still at work now because we couldn’t afford to live, we had to take a £5,000 loan to keep us afloat for those three months because maternity pay wasn’t enough.

“In the end, despite the fact that I couldn’t afford it, I went onto statutory maternity and got 12 months with the baby. We literally food banked it. We survived that way.”

UNISON national women’s officer Bukky Akinwale said: “Everyone is feeling the impact of escalating costs of living, but it’s hitting new families particularly hard. The failure of maternity pay to keep up with increasing costs of living is driving many pregnant workers and new mothers into severe financial hardship.

“As a union with predominantly women members – over one million of them – raising awareness of the issues faced by pregnant workers, new mothers and families, protecting their rights and campaigning for change is an important part of our work.”

The report makes recommendations to the government on how to better support pregnant women, new mothers, babies and their families, including:

  •     criteria should be changed so that more women who have zero-hours contracts can quality for statutory maternity pay 
  •     statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance should be raised to at least the level of the national minimum wage
  •     rights and protections at work should be strengthened, including a right to flexible working and family friendly working arrangements
  •     women should be able to access legal advice and support with benefits entitlements and rights at work through their maternity service
  •     the 30-hour entitlement to childcare should be available to families straight after maternity leave

Ros Bragg, director of Maternity Action, said: “The cost of living crisis has exacerbated long-term underinvestment in maternity pay and benefits.  We should be protecting the health and wellbeing of mothers and their babies and not putting them at risk through financial stress.

“Statutory maternity pay is just 47% of the national living wage and only 37% of women’s median incomes. Families cannot make ends meet with the costs of a new baby and this dramatic drop in income. 

“All mothers should be able to afford a healthy pregnancy and time away from work to bond with their baby. Pregnant women and those with new babies should not be struggling to eat a healthy diet and pay for essentials.”

Read the full report here

The article Survey reveals impact on families of low maternity pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Survey reveals impact on families of low maternity pay

The cost of living crisis is affecting women and babies living on low levels of maternity pay and benefits, and affecting their health and wellbeing, warns national charity, Maternity Action, in its new report, A Perfect Storm, launched today.

A survey of 1,394 mothers who had taken maternity leave at some point between January 2021 and December 2022 reported that, while on leave:

  •     half (49%) were buying less healthy food and one quarter had gone without food to feed their children
  •     71% worried ‘a lot’ about money during pregnancy or maternity leave, an increase from 64% in an equivalent 2022 survey
  •     60% of respondents had relied on a credit card or borrowed money to make ends meet, up from 51% in 2022
  •     58% also returned to work before they were fully recovered from the birth due to financial pressures

The report outlines how criteria for maternity pay unfairly excludes many women in insecure work, women whose pregnancies were unplanned or unexpected or who have had periods of illness. It also states that many women are going back to work sooner than they’d want due to maternity pay being too low.

One mother taking part in the research said: “I had to go back to work when my baby was only three months old. I am still at work now because we couldn’t afford to live, we had to take a £5,000 loan to keep us afloat for those three months because maternity pay wasn’t enough.

“In the end, despite the fact that I couldn’t afford it, I went onto statutory maternity and got 12 months with the baby. We literally food banked it. We survived that way.”

UNISON national women’s officer Bukky Akinwale said: “Everyone is feeling the impact of escalating costs of living, but it’s hitting new families particularly hard. The failure of maternity pay to keep up with increasing costs of living is driving many pregnant workers and new mothers into severe financial hardship.

“As a union with predominantly women members – over one million of them – raising awareness of the issues faced by pregnant workers, new mothers and families, protecting their rights and campaigning for change is an important part of our work.”

The report makes recommendations to the government on how to better support pregnant women, new mothers, babies and their families, including:

  •     criteria should be changed so that more women who have zero-hours contracts can quality for statutory maternity pay 
  •     statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance should be raised to at least the level of the national minimum wage
  •     rights and protections at work should be strengthened, including a right to flexible working and family friendly working arrangements
  •     women should be able to access legal advice and support with benefits entitlements and rights at work through their maternity service
  •     the 30-hour entitlement to childcare should be available to families straight after maternity leave

Ros Bragg, director of Maternity Action, said: “The cost of living crisis has exacerbated long-term underinvestment in maternity pay and benefits.  We should be protecting the health and wellbeing of mothers and their babies and not putting them at risk through financial stress.

“Statutory maternity pay is just 47% of the national living wage and only 37% of women’s median incomes. Families cannot make ends meet with the costs of a new baby and this dramatic drop in income. 

“All mothers should be able to afford a healthy pregnancy and time away from work to bond with their baby. Pregnant women and those with new babies should not be struggling to eat a healthy diet and pay for essentials.”

Read the full report here

The article Survey reveals impact on families of low maternity pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Supporting lower paid women in UNISON

UNISON’s 2023 national delegate conference opened with a motion on increasing participation of lower paid women within the union.

The motion was introduced by Sharon Foster, on behalf of the national women’s committee. Ms Foster said: “Let’s face it. Sometimes women need a little bit of encouragement to step into the limelight and get more active in UNISON.”

“Most women are trapped in casualised, low paid work, and in-work poverty remains a consistent problem. It’s crucial for women everywhere, now more than ever, to make sure women’s voices are heard. To actively campaign and force change.

“The determination, anger and ability is there for sure. So why isn’t it more clearly represented among activists and officers?

“We do not need others to speak for us – we can speak for ourselves.”

Speaking in support of the motion on behalf of the union’s NEC, Lyn Marie O’Hara said:

“As a woman who came through the union of which I’ve been a member for 36 years, I’m proud to come from a branch where women’s voices aren’t just heard, but we have so many women who are so strong.”

Caroline Collinson from Newcastle city local government branch also supported the motion with a clear statement: “The strength and stability of our union relies on our ability to recruit, support and develop our women activists. It’s so important to have women lead on campaigns that affect them. The barriers to participation are clear.

“Women in UNISON are our strength”, she concluded.

Lola Oyewusi, supporting the motion on behalf of the national Black members committee, said: “It’s important we move this motion. Low-paid women are already feeling undervalued and as if they don’t belong.”

“Supporting this motion means building confidence in our low-paid women, increasing participation of our low-paid women, and having more voice among low-paid women changing and challenging our policies. Not just for women, for everybody.

“All these jobs that nobody wants to do, it’s our low paid women that pick it up, why would we not encourage them and lift it up? Why do we not want them at the forefront of our union?”

The motion calls on the union to:

  • provide information about the advantages of union participation;
  • work with the national women’s committee to provide written assurance of support from the branch and region for individual women who show interest in becoming an activist;
  • discuss with national Black members committee ways to encourage more Black women to take an active role in their union and what support can be offered.

The article Supporting lower paid women in UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON secures equal pay for 800 workers in Brighton and Hove

Around 800 Brighton and Hove city council workers, many of whom are women working in care, will see pay improved in line with refuse and recycling workers. They will also receive a settlement of up to £2000.

The equal pay issue started in 2013 when a special bank holiday payment, the Resident’s Services Guarantee (RSG), was negotiated for workers in refuse and recycling. 

The majority of workers benefitting from the payment in refuse and recycling were men, and the majority of those employees also working bank holidays but not receiving the RSG were low-paid women workers, many working in the care sector. 

UNISON was not included in those negotiations at the time, but has been trying to gain parity between the two groups ever since.

The council has now sent an offer out to affected workers, who will decide whether or not they wish to accept it. The offer consists of 70% of the difference between people’s current bank holiday pay, six years’ worth of RSG pay, and an agreement to pay everyone at the same rate until a new system has been negotiated.

UNISON member and care worker Rose said: “This settlement has made me feel valued and respected as an employee, which has been sadly missing from recent experience working for the council.”

UNISON Brighton and Hove Unitary joint branch secretary Corinna Edwards-Colledge said: “We are delighted that hundreds of key workers, including care workers, security staff, seafront officers and venue workers will now be being compensated for an historic inequality in how Brighton and Hove City Council pays its bank holiday workers.

“This is another example of the power of the collective voice that trade unions represent, and our branch’s prioritisation of fairness and accountability.”

The article UNISON secures equal pay for 800 workers in Brighton and Hove first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON celebrates International Women’s Day in Glasgow

On Wednesday 8 March, UNISON delegates from across the UK celebrated International Women’s Day in Glasgow.

The day-long event, organised by the Scottish region, included a walking tour of women’s organising and trade union history in Glasgow, a workshop on how to tackle sexual harassment at work and in the union movement and a panel discussion on the achievements of Scottish Black women.

Addressing attendees on the day, UNISON Scottish secretary Tracey Dalling said: “We come together to celebrate each other. We draw breath as we push on in achieving equality and equity not just for ourselves but for the women coming after us.

“Never ever pull up the ladder. As we say in Glasgow, there’s always room for a wee one.”

The evening’s entertainment featured live music from Yvonne Leon (pictured), Soundsational choir, Shaz Martin and Broghan.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “We all rely on women workers every day, and they carried us all through the pandemic. Their work is often undervalued and underpaid, but UNISON knows the true value.”

UNISON project lead Beth Bickerstaffe said: “The event was designed to celebrate the contributions of UNISON women and women throughout trade union history.

“It’s important that the union movement celebrates and values our women activists and makes sure to invigorate those who are normally on the frontline defending our members.”

UNISON is the largest women’s organisation in the UK, representing over one million members.

The article UNISON celebrates International Women’s Day in Glasgow first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Celebrating working women: UNISON prepares for IWD 2023

UNISON is organising an International Women’s Day event in Glasgow on 8 March next year to celebrate the contributions of care workers, cleaners, school workers, librarians, and administrators to their workplaces, communities and the union.

General secretary Christina McAnea said: “UNISON will be using the opportunity of International Women’s Day in 2023 to celebrate the vital contributions that women in our union make. Their work is often undervalued, so I’m looking forward to meeting women from across UNISON to thank them for everything they do, day in, day out”.

Guests will be able to attend workshops, including historical walking tours of Glasgow and banner making, before enjoying music and entertainment in the evening. 

Register for the event here

Branches will be asked to pay for travel, accommodation and any childcare or elder care required. Childcare at the event will be provided free of charge.

Cleaning supervisor Lyn-Marie O’Hara, who is part of the team organising the event, has been involved in UNISON for 30 years. After joining as a member on her first day of work at Glasgow City Council, she now sits on the union’s national executive council, representing low-paid women in Scotland. 

Ms O’Hara hopes that the event will encourage more low-paid women to become activists within the union: “I know a lot of women work part-time, and they won’t step up to become a steward or activist because they say ‘I can’t do that on top of everything else’, and we say ‘yes, you can, because you’ll get branch support, training and your hand held if you require it.’”

Ms O’Hara was involved in the historic equal pay campaign in Glasgow, when women working in traditionally female jobs such as catering, cleaning and care, found that they were being paid less than men in jobs such as refuse collection.

More than 8,000 union members – overwhelmingly low-paid women – took successful strike action and won pay increases.

Ms O’Hara is looking forward to the event in March: “I’m incredibly proud to be part of UNISON, and I want all low-paid women in the union to know: if I can do it, you can do it. I’m looking forward to welcoming women to our city, and celebrating what we can do when we all band together.”

The article Celebrating working women: UNISON prepares for IWD 2023 first appeared on the UNISON National site.