Only 3 in 10 women are given protective clothing specifically designed for women at work, according to a new TUC report. Despite a legal duty on bosses to provide the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) to their staff free of charge, less than a third (29 per cent) told the TUC that the PPE they wear for their jobs is specially designed for women.
The TUC report, published on the inequalities-themed International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April, also revealed more than half the women (57 per cent) responding to the survey said that their PPE sometimes or significantly hampered their work. Just 1 in 20 (5 per cent) women working in emergency services said that their PPE never hampered their work. More than 2 in 5 (41 per cent) women said the protective trousers that were given were unsuitable. And more than 1 in 3 (35 per cent) found their overalls unsuitable for carrying out their work duties.
Problems were particularly acute during pregnancy, women said, with half forced to cut back on their normal range of duties or to change their role in the run up to maternity leave. The main reasons given were a failure by employers to supply suitable PPE during the pregnancy period, or that suitable PPE was not available.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “I’m shocked that so many women – even those working in frontline emergency services – do not have the right protective clothing to do their jobs safely. Bosses’ complacency risks serious injury. It shouldn’t be hard to ensure protective gloves and boots come in men’s and women’s sizes.”
She added: “Trade unions have fought for protections from dangerous workplaces for as long as we have existed. I would urge anyone worried about health and safety at work to join their union, and make sure their voice is heard and their interests represented.”
