Usdaw highlights far right, along with maternity discrimination and the gender pay gap

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “We welcome the Government’s parental rights review and the opportunity to tackle the gender pay gap, support women in the labour market and enable both parents to participate equally in early caregiving. Our parental leave and pay system excludes low-paid, atypical workers and fails to give mothers financial security to recover from childbirth and care for their infant in the first months of life. 57% of mothers return to work early or seriously consider doing so because of financial pressures. Statutory maternity payments fail to prevent poverty or promote maternal and infant wellbeing. Low-paid workers struggle to establish entitlement to SMP due to the lack of timely and appropriate risk assessments, pushing women on to sick leave. Current entitlements assume a two-parent model, failing to provide flexibility or income support for single-parent households.”

Joanne Thomas continues: “We condemn the racist riots in UK towns and cities, and the rise in hate crimes to the highest level since records began. We reject the far right’s lies about ‘protecting’ women and girls, when they seek to exploit violence against women to fuel division. Aggressive misogyny including sexual violence is on the rise. The far right rely on peddling the damaging myth that the greatest risk of gender-based violence comes from strangers. We stand in solidarity with refugees and migrants, many of whom are survivors of violence and persecution. We must tackle the deep-rooted causes of abuse against women and defend all women and girls, including those in refugee and migrant communities. Those who have come here to work, study, join family, or seek protection are an asset to our country. Unions are vital in welcoming and defending migrant and refugee women.”