Never heard of a union going on strike against themselves before. GMB union staff to strike over alleged sexual harassment failures Staff at one of Britain's biggest trade unions, the GMB, have voted to strike over claims the organisation has failed to act on a report which branded it "institutionally sexist". Karon Monaghan KC was called in to investigate sexual harassment in the GMB in 2020. Employees in the North East say promised reforms have not materialised. A GMB spokesperson said they were committed to listening to staff. The Monaghan investigation began after the abrupt resignation of the then-General Secretary Tim Roache. She concluded that "bullying, misogyny, cronyism, and sexual harassment were endemic" in the union. Her report found there was a "bully-boy atmosphere", describing the union as a "hostile environment" for women, and said a "complete transformation" in culture and practices was required. When Gary Smith was elected General Secretary in 2021, he promised to implement the recommendations of the Monaghan Report in full. But almost three years later, GMB staff in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber (NEYH) region claim progress has stalled, with a taskforce set up to carry out reforms being disbanded. Dozens of GMB employees - who are themselves represented by the Unite union - have now overwhelmingly backed industrial action. They also allege that disciplinary procedures are not being followed and their own Unite union representatives have been intimidated. "Enough is enough," one employee in the region told the BBC, adding: "We were all promised after the Monaghan report that the horrendous culture of sexism and outright misogyny within GMB would be tackled, yet we've gone backwards. "More and more of the staff are sharing their stories of harassment. "We've therefore been left with no choice to ballot to take this action to force the hands of those in charge to bring back Karon Monaghan or another trusted TUC advisor to properly and crucially independently throw a light on what's happening within the union." A Unite spokesperson said: "We can confirm that our members within the GMB's North East, Yorkshire and Humber region have voted for industrial action following a ballot over allegations which include failure to implement the recommendations of the Monaghan Report and other concerns from staff including women."
Do you think that Harris really started from zero yesterday or was he actually about to heave varadkar out?
I think he was prob waiting until after the elections to push for leadership... now he'll be overseeing a poor election instead. Other candidates wisely staying away from that poison chalice.
Princess of Wales being treated for cancer. Princess of Wales says she is undergoing cancer treatment
Just hope the media go do one and leave her alone. Doubt it though. Goes without saying wish her well.
I think they will. They're a very popular couple and I don't think people would be very happy with a lot of media intrusion. Hope she comes through it, for her William and the children.
Moscow attack: Gunmen kill dozens at Crocus City Hall in Moscow Horrendous. Brings back memories of the Manchester concert attack in 2017.
I don't support the Monarchy and I hate Putin, but on the two stories above, I have sympathy for Kate and the poor Russians caught up in the terror attack. The conspiracy theories, and media intrusion, that Kate had to endure must have been difficult for her at an already tough time. It's horrible, and hopefully now she will be given a bit of privacy.
Wouldn't massively surprise me if Putin didn't organise the attack to put the blame on whoever he wants to attack next and use it as an excuse to launch a 'retaliatory' attack or to escalate actions in Ukraine. Very dangerous times at the moment.
This was my first thought to be honest. He's been baiting NATO to attack so he can retaliate and he hasn't got his desire so the next best thing is to arrange an attack on his own soil to justify a heavy handed response. I still believe that this is exactly what Israel did as well I wouldn't worry yourself too much. He'll probably look at the UK, see it divided by a flag on a t-shirt and a tick on a bit of sugary bread and decide he doesn't need to make it any worse
Love a conspiracy story as much as anyone but seriously cannot get my cute bald head around Mister Vlad allowing a false flag operation to give him reason to attack elsewhere even if he is a nutter.
It's unlikely, but wouldn't surprise me. He's a classic dictator in that lives are disposable to him, even on his own side, so long as it furthers the 'greater good' and his own ambitions according to his own world view. If he's got plans for a further invasion or attack and believes that creating a fake justification would further that ambition, he wouldn't hesitate to arrange it. If that did turn out to be true it could be a very dangerous development.
