Union survey reveals sexual harassment

An internal survey undertaken by the Aslef train drivers’ union and handed to its executive committee in 2022 has revealed sexual harassment within the union.

The union approached 1,483 women and received 467 responses. A quarter of those who responded (106 women) reported that they had been sexually harassed and nine in 10 respondents said the harassment happened in the workplace.

The report, compiled by assistant general secretary Simon Weller, was recently leaked to the press.

Aslef made a public statement in response to the findings saying that they had carried out the survey to understand the nature and the full extent of the problem so they could put in place concrete actions to tackle sexual harassment.

The union said that “the behaviour has no place in the trade union movement or in broader society”.

TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak issued a strong statement condemning sexual assault, harassment, and bullying within the trade union movement and expressed solidarity with the victims and survivors.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the Aslef survey findings, Nowak praised the union for commissioning the internal survey to comprehensively understand the nature and extent of sexual harassment and bullying within the union.

He commented: “Tackling and preventing sexual harassment in our movement and in every workplace is a priority for the TUC and our member trade unions.”