Women

Still a minority in a tradtionally male-dominated industry, RMT women are organising against sexism and for our issues to be heard

London Underground: Male/Female Passenger Percentages

RMT has obtained the following statistics showing how what proportion of London Underground's passengers are male and female:

  • Commuters (59.7%): 59.14 % male / 40.86% female
  • Leisure (35.8%): 54.36% male / 45.64% female
  • Tourists (04.5%): 56.44% male / 43.56% female
  • Total (100%): 57.31% male / 42.69% female

These figures show that significantly more men travel on London Underground than women, which reflects a continuing gender division and inequality in our society.

Workshop: Writing Resolutions for RMT Equalities Conferences

Venue: Unity House

Within the next few months, RMT will hold conferences for young members, women members, black and ethnic minority members, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender members.

Members put issues on the agendas of these conferences by getting their branch to submit a resolution. But that can be a bit daunting, so the Regional Council is holding a workshop on how to write resolutions. We will discuss the issues that these groups of members face at work and in wider society, and learn the practicalities of putting it down on paper as a resolution.

RMT AGM: Questioning the General Secretary's Report

Refusal to work on the grounds of safety - rights for pregnant women and new mothers

At RMT's AGM, the General Secretary presents a written report, and delegates can question and comment on it. These are the two points that I raised:

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There are two issues that are not in the Report, which I think should have been.

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Firstly, refusal to work on the grounds of safety.

General Secretary's Report: Women's Issues

This is the section of the General Secretary's report to RMT's 2009 AGM concerning the the union's work on women workers' issues ...

Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers - Rest Facilities

The lack of suitable rest facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers was fully aired during the debate at last year's AGM. As a result of the resolution carried, I wrote to all lead officers instructing them to raise the points of the resolution to ensure all companies are complying with their legal obligations under health and safety laws.

Report: RMT Women's Conference

RMT regional women's officer Carol Foster reports from the recent national RMT Women's Conference ...

People often ask me ‘why do we need a women’s conference?’

Why indeed? As I write, the Met Police have let a second rapist go; it seems that the Home Office targets place a higher priority on property crime than on sex offences.

The RMT national Women’s Conference met @ The Royal Station Hotel in Newcastle on 6th & 7th March 2009. As ever plenty of lively debate.

There was a talk by Etienne Attala from Thompsons on flexible working & Age Discrimination.

Delegate's report from TUC Women's Conference

Becky Crocker, our regional Young Members' Officer, was an RMT delegate to the recent TUC Women's Conference. She wrote this report for the socialist newspaper Solidarity. We nicked it from their website, here!

This conference opened my eyes to a different side of the labour movement. Among the 250 delegates, there were some militant trade unionists, but their voice was drowned out by the overwhelming conservatism.