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I am delighted
to be here. I would like to thank you for inviting me to the National
Women’s Conference and I’d like to thank you for the support that you give
my constituency party where we are working extremely hard to defend a 2500
majority!
Your focus on
work life balance is timely and I was interested to hear what has come out
of your discussions this morning.
As Deputy
Minister for Women and Equality – and more importantly as a working Mum, I
am more than aware how important it is for women to be able to balance
work and home.
Families do
not come in one shape or size. We know there are more and more families
where both mum and dad work – for a number of reasons. Because families
need, or want, an additional wage, or because mothers want to work – they
want adult company or some financial independence.
Where the
balance is right, our lives are so much easier – and fulfilling. When the
balance is out, then the stresses can seem unbearable. And often it is as
mothers – sometimes as daughters – that women bear most of the pressure –
trying to juggle responsibilities or giving up work completely.
I should say
up-front that the Government’s agenda is not about interfering in what are
very personal decisions. Nor is it to suggest that caring for children –
or other dependents – is less valued than employment. This is about
enabling people to maximise their full potential and realise their
aspirations.
Work life
balance is about flexibility and choice. It has the potential to be good
for employees and for business. But I’m also aware – because USDAW members
have told me – that flexibility can be a two edged sword. Low hours
contracts with no certainty from week to week about when or whether you’ll
have work is not my idea of good flexibility. It’s certainly not good for
USDAW member and, in fact, I don’t believe it’s the route to long term
success for your employers either.
We have the
evidence that shows the benefits of a fair and decent approach to
flexibility and wlb. There is the hard evidence of financial savings,
reductions in staff turnover and reductions in absenteeism. But also
improvements in morale and reduced stress, positive impacts on an
organisation’s culture and improved employer and employee commitment.
Where women
are better able to balance their home life, they are able to contribute
more at work. And when they contribute more, they can be paid more.
So
increasingly it is becoming clear that there are important links between
work life balance and equal pay. Women's role as the primary carer is an
important underlying cause of the pay gap. Without sensible solutions on
work-life balance, women have fewer opportunities to progress and can be
forced into part time jobs at lower rates of pay, or are even forced out
of the labour market altogether. Our record of action supports equal pay
through supporting work life balance.
The pay gap is
not fair to women and it is not fair to the economy. It squanders women's
skills and productivity potential as much as it drains their earnings
potential.
But there are
many complicated factors affecting the pay gap. 30 years after the Equal
Pay Act, it is rarely just straightforward discrimination that causes
unequal pay – it’s more tricky than that.
But we’re
determined to get to the bottom of it and to make a difference. That’s
why we have just announced the setting up of the Women and Work
Commission. Chaired by Margaret Prosser, it will look at all the issues
in the round - labour market experience, skills and education, and
discrimination. We were very pleased to welcome your General Secretary to
the Commission, alongside other leading trade unionists and employers,
social partners and academic experts. And we look forward to seeing its
recommendations.
On working
time, I think it’s useful to consider where we’ve come from and the
progress a Labour government has made. Firstly, the issue of wlb is now at
the centre of political debate. It wasn’t long ago that, whether in the
Labour Party or even in progressive unions like USDAW, talking about wlb
was something that you let women talk about when there wasn’t something
more important to do! I have to warn you that even the Tory party has
changed – last week, one my Shadows on the Tory Front Bench told me that
‘wlb is an important issue and that Teresa May is working on it!’ Six
months ago, he said in the House of Commons that he didn’t know why
Patricia Hewitt and I were so obsessed with it!
But it’s only
become more important because unions like USDAW have been willing to
campaign on it and a Labour government has been willing to act.
For example,
incorporating the Social Chapter has given every employee a legal
entitlement to at least 4 weeks paid annual holiday, the first time paid
holidays have been provided in law, benefiting some two million people. If
we’re re-elected, we’ll extend this to include bank holidays – adding
eight days paid holiday to the basic legal entitlement.
The Government
has also supported businesses and unions through the work life balance
campaign, the Challenge Fund and the Partnership at Work fund to find the
practical ways of achieving the benefits of wlb. Promoting good practice
is important, but we’ve also been willing to legislate.
Higher
maternity pay, longer maternity leave, paid paternity leave and the right
to request family-friendly working hours are all making a real difference
to British families.
In the first
year of the laws taking effect, incredibly almost a quarter of parents
with a child under 6 requested to work flexibly. That is 800,000 requests
granted and a reduction in the proportion of requests being refused by
over a half.
But we need to
go further to ensure that choice and flexibility is available to all – not
just those who can afford it.
We have made
huge investments in childcare and will continue to do so – the Prime
Minister has pledged universal, affordable and flexible childcare for the
parents of all 3-14 year-olds who want it and a Sure Start Children's
Centre in every community of Britain.
However, I
know that some parents do not feel confident in asking for flexible
working or do not have the opportunity of changing their working patterns.
At the moment changing the legislation isn’t the answer – what works best
is cultural change. So employers recognising the benefits of flexible
working and employees being able to make the business case for changes in
their working pattern is crucial. There is a role for Government in
spreading best practice but this is also an area where unions can make a
real difference.
Government
needs to look at where our actions make most impact. There are still major
disparities between men and women’s roles. Women are predominantly
requesting to work flexibly. And women are still the primary carers.
Though increasingly we are hearing that fathers want more opportunities to
care for their children.
Earlier in the
summer we talked to parents, carers and employers across the country in a
series of round tables.
What came out
clearly is the sheer breadth of expectation about family and work. But
common to them all is the desire to give children the best start in life
or support elderly or sick relatives in the best way possible. Above all,
what mattered to people enormously, was being valued whatever they
choose.
There has been
much speculation about what we will be doing. I can say that we are
looking carefully at a range of options to try and understand the impact
and implications as well as the competing priorities:
· For
example, what would happen if we increased statutory paternity pay and
leave?
· Can
we do something more creative around leave which at the least enables, but
can also facilitate, greater sharing of childcare between men and women?
· How
can we better support those caring for adults? What would be the impact
of extending the scope of the legislation to people who care for elderly
or sick relatives?
I have talked
about what the Government has done. But I know that much of what we want
to achieve is cultural. It is about using the legislation as the
foundation on which employers and employees can build high performing
workplaces. And that is where unions are key.
You have the
opportunity to support individuals at work – to help them understand their
rights and know how to exercise them
In workplaces,
working with managers and staff you have the opportunity to bring about
change – not necessarily big steps – but sometimes small incremental
differences that can have a massively positive impact
At a national
level, you have the opportunity to negotiate terms and conditions and make
changes on a big scale.
I am pleased
to see how USDAW, our fifth largest trade union, has worked so well both
at helping its members but also in working with employers to ensure that
everyone benefits. With Tesco, for example, I have been impressed with how
well you have worked with them in exploring better ways to work.
You have shown
the rest of industry the way work will be done in the future and the DTI
has been pleased to help support your work in this area.
Finally, the
role for unions is to campaign on behalf of your members. I will listen to
you as you campaign on the work life balance agenda. I can not promise
that we will deliver everything that you are asking for – but I can assure
you that we are all working in the same direction – to support people in
balancing work and home. We have a strong foundation on which to build. I
look forward to working with you in the future.
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