GMB trade union staff have called off a strike that was due to take place against their own management. Last month, employees in the North East, Humber and Yorkshire region voted to take strike action from 8 April, but the walkout has now been cancelled. A spokesperson for the union said that this was “good news for staff and our members”. The strike had been called over alleged failures to implement reforms following a report that labelled the union as “institutionally sexist”.
Four years ago, the lawyer Karon Monaghan was asked to investigate allegations of sexual harassment and the wider culture in the organisation. Her report called for a complete transformation of the union, which, she said, was a “hostile environment for women” and home to a “bully-boy atmosphere”. However, staff have claimed that insufficient action was taken to implement recommendations from the report, which resulted in the strike being called.
Staff had claimed that a taskforce established to carry out reforms had been disbanded and that disciplinary procedures were not being followed. They also claimed that their own Unite union representatives had been intimidated. The strike action had been prompted by these and other concerns.
Sources said that staff who are represented by Unite had reached a “hard bargain” in their discussions with the union. As a result, Ms Monaghan may return to monitor progress and examine the culture in the union. If she is unavailable, an independent figure could be nominated by her rather than the union’s management. A staff working group will monitor action on the report’s outstanding recommendations, with the union spokesperson saying that all sides remained committed to working together
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