World Menopause Day takes place in GMB trade union regional office, Columbus Quay on Monday October 18th
World Menopause Day is October 18th and the GMB union will be holding a special event to recognise its importance. As a union we see the menopause as a daily health and safety issue which is constant for more than half of our members and are raising awareness of the impact of this condition.
The awareness is about the symptoms and the affect it can have on women members of a certain age. The symptoms are debilitating for around 80% of women at some stage in their lives and will impact on their ability to carry out workplace duties.
In too many cases employers do not have menopause policies or make reasonable adjustments to take into consideration these symptoms and how they can impact on women’s capabilities. This can lead to performance management and disciplinary problems and that is why GMB union reps and officers need to be alert to this situation.
We need to spread the word that the menopause is a problem and that we will discuss what needs to be done to support our members by recognising this and by being reactive in defending any member who is under threat or needs our backing in some way. However, we also need to be proactive by enlightening our whole membership and our employers in the need to look at mitigation when problems arise.
Absence management, disciplinary action, reasonable adjustments should all be on our agenda when our women members need representation. This event marking the World Menopause Day takes place in GMB trade union regional office, Columbus Quay on Monday October 18th from 10am until 2pm and is the next stage in our campaign to educate and train our reps and members on this important issue.
We are looking for delegates from branches and workplaces to come along and hear about some of the tactics and success we have been having but also how we need to do much more.
Paul Holleran Lisa Ryan
Health & Safety & Education Officer Regional Organiser/Equality Officer
Contact Julie Dowling, julie.dowling@gmb.org.uk or telephone 0151 728 2905
