Member

There have been a lot of fine words in this Chamber on this Bill about fighting for women’s equality at work. Yet, in a profession which is 90% female— nursing—basic rights have been thrown under the bus, often with the acquiescence, and even support, of workplace trade union reps. Nurses, of all people, need to get changed into uniforms when they arrive to work at the hospital and throughout the day, if their clothing becomes soiled or contaminated. It is part of the job of minimising the risk of infection. In a stressful front-line job, the last thing nurses need is to be self-conscious or anxious when getting ready to work long hours on the wards. That is why single-sex changing rooms are important, and indeed mandated by the health and safety regulations fought for by earlier generations of trade unionists—but no longer.