Groups urge government to protect women workers

Campaign groups are urging the government not to backtrack on its support for legislation “essential” for protecting women workers from sexual harassment.

The Fawcett Society, Amnesty International, Pregnant Then Screwed and the Women’s Budget Group are among those who joined the TUC in calling for ministers not to withdraw support for the promised worker protection bill. Tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, the private members’ bill will introduce a legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and protect staff from third-party harassment by clients and customers.

The government initially supported the move until pressure from backbench Conservative MPs and peers triggered a rethink. The groups responded with a joint letter to business secretary Kemi Badenoch that warned of “endemic” sexual harassment at work. The legislation is vital, they said, to force employers to take the issue seriously and adopt preventative measures.

“Reform is essential to protect women in the workplace and to drive the culture change necessary to tackle violence against women as well as other forms of discrimination,” it said.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak commented: “The government must come clean about its plans. Will it support this much-needed legislation and help keep women and workers safe from harassment, or will it cave in to demands from its backbenchers?”