Community backs GFTU campaign on Equality Act

Community has joined the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)’s call to enshrine the socio-economic duty (section 1 of the Equality Act 2010) in law as part of the legislative programme of the next Government.

The socio-economic duty would have required public bodies to adopt transparent and effective measures to address the inequalities that result from differences in occupation, education, place of residence or social class. The duty was scrapped by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in November 2010, although equivalent guidelines have since been introduced in its place in Wales, Scotland and some English local authorities.

Community’s National Officer for Education and Early Years, Helen Osgood, said:

“One of the first things to be removed from the Equality Act was socio-economic duty. When you look at the policies enacted by the Conservatives from 2010 onwards, you can see that the impact of this for working people was immense. Therefore the reinstating of socio-economic duty in the equality act must be a priority for any incoming government.”

You can read more on the campaign here.

If you are a member of Community and need advice or support, please contact our Service Centre at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.