UNITE is calling for greater protection for women in construction, after findings revealed that almost a third of females in the sector have been sexually assaulted in the workplace.
The findings come following a survey launched by the union amongst its female members in the construction industry, as part of its Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment campaign which also separately covers all 19 sectors in which Unite has representation.
Focussed on experiences of sexual harassment at work, travelling to work, or from a colleague including in out of work hours, the survey revealed that 31% of female construction workers had been sexually assaulted at work, whilst 17% had been a victim of sexual coercion at work.
Further to this, it also revealed that two thirds (65%) had experienced unwanted flirting, gesturing, or sexual remarks; 70% had been the recipient of sexually offensive jokes; 54% had been inappropriately touched; and over 4 in 10 (41%) had been shared or shown pornographic images by a manager, colleague, or third party.
Out of those who had been sexually harassed at work in most occasions it was not a one off instance, with more than half (51%) stating it had happened more than twice, while a third (33%) had experienced it more than once. However, over three quarters (76%) of respondents did not report these incidents.
Many respondents to the survey said they didn’t report harassment they had experienced or witnessed as they worried they wouldn’t be believed or it would put their job at risk, while others felt it wasn’t taken seriously when they did raise it. Just 8% said the issue was addressed or tackled by management.
One woman worker said, “There was a man at my work who kept touching myself and one of my colleagues. When we approached the manager the person in question got spoken to, however the culprit then went round telling everyone we were dangerous b**ches for reporting him. I felt that it wasn’t taken seriously enough.”
Another said, “I still feel there are inadequate protections for women working in construction. The toilet and changing room facilities can often lead to increased incidences of unwanted encounters and behaviour from male members of staff.”
Meanwhile some women said they either had to carry on working with abusers after reporting incidents or were even forced out of their own job roles.
One respondent said, “I was sexually harassed by my manager in a previous job for several months. I finally built up the courage to confide in the company owner who reassured me that I’d done the right thing by telling him. He sacked me the following morning…it devastated me and drove me away from working in the construction industry for many years.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Staff safety should be among the highest priorities for employers in construction but the results of our survey are damning and show women workers are being failed by bosses.
“Nobody should suffer sexual harassment in the workplace. Unite is committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach and we will put every employer turning a blind eye on notice.
“We will fight every step of the way to stamp out workplace harassment once and for all. Every worker deserves a safe working environment and should feel able to report harassment.”
Unite national officer for construction Jason Poulter, added, “The results of the survey are very disappointing and clearly much more needs to be done to support women working in construction.
“All women in the sector must be protected in the workplace and feel emboldened to report incidents, as well as know they have the full support of their employer that harassment will be dealt with, but this is not happening.
“Unite stands with all of our women members who have been affected by this and we will work with our women’s officer every step of the way to eradicate sexual harassment from our sector.”
Last October, The Worker Protection Act 2023 became law. This means employers must take measures to prevent sexual harassment from happening in the workplace and at work events such as conferences. However, Unite said its research shows this is not being implemented fully and workers are being failed.
Unite’s survey found just a quarter (25%) of women working in construction felt their employer had done enough to promote a sexual harassment zero-tolerance culture within the workplace following the implementation of this legislation.
Unite has launched a campaign calling for greater protections to end workplace harassment. Measures Unite is campaigning for include:
- The introduction of a standalone sexual harassment policy
- Mandatory training on sexual harassment for all employees and a commitment to recognise union equality representatives with paid time off
- The deadline for being able to make a claim in an employment tribunal to be extended from three months after the incident occurred to six months as a minimum for lodging a claim
- The government to put in extra legal protections, for example third party harassment and sexual harassment should be treated by the Health and Safety Executive as a workplace injury.
Unite national women’s officer Alison Spencer-Scragg commented, “The Worker Protection Act has not gone far enough in keeping women who work in construction – a very male-dominated sector – safe from sexual harassment at their workplace.
“Employers are not taking their obligations seriously despite the fact it is the law. This is creating a culture where sexual harassment is going unreported, while those who do take the issues forward are left feeling disbelieved, forced to work with abusers and even losing their roles.
“Unite is calling on the government to take our demands seriously to stamp out sexual harassment in construction firms and workplaces.”
