Former FDA President Fiona Eadie chairs Women into Leadership in Edinburgh today.

FDA members get a significant discount - find out more at womenintoleadership.co.uk

⁦Women into Leadership⁩ is about to start here in Edinburgh with a line of excellent speakers ⁦FDA union⁩ ⁦Fiona Eadie⁩

“We've got delays in the courts & NHS. Jails are full, there's a housing crisis & a war on mainland Europe. Meanwhile, a minister with a made up job title is banging on about what colour lanyards half a million civil servants can wear” - ⁦Dave Penman⁩ dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

Whilst common sense has prevailed, it is disingenuous for No.10 to suggest McVey was simply 'riffing'. She talked about disciplinary action and that new lanyards were being provided. This “illustrative example” was deeply damaging to the Govt’s reputation as an inclusive employer

So glad to see that common sense has taken hold!

It’s extraordinary that maintaining a safe working environment for staff working in Parliament should even be in doubt.
Really proud of the work FDA has done to protect our members 👏🏻

Speaking on Times Radio, FDA Assistant General Secretary Lucille calls out 'minister for common sense' Esther McVey for 'virtue signaling' over proposed rainbow lanyard ban despite the government's claims to be promoting diversity and inclusivity in the civil service.

“Public servants need to ensure that the services they provide reflect the needs of the public at large. How does this happen if you have reduced - or in some cases, no - specialist knowledge of how equality legislation operates?' - Lucille
independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

Want to also give Jenny Symmons GMB Members’ Staff Dave Penman and the staff unions recognition for their hard work over years to make the case for bringing parliament into line with the workplaces we legislate for - privilege to work with them in making this case too.

After years of delays, Parliament has finally voted to introduce a formal mechanism to risk assess MPs who are arrested for sexual misconduct. Parliament shouldn’t have had different rules to every other workplace, this is the right step towards a safe working environment for all

Disappointingly, there hasn’t been further work done on third party reporting. E.g. allowing trade unions to initiate complaints where there are multiple complaints about one individual but those directly affected may be reluctant to complain but are willing to act as a witness.

For some time FDA union and Prospect Union have been jointly pushing for a formal information sharing protocol between House Authorities and political parties to identify and assess risks, and this recommendation is particularly welcome.

We also welcome mandatory training for all MPs on the Behaviour Code to address the current culture in the House. Recommendations to allow policy amendments and improvements to the scheme without having to go to the floor of the House would ensure it can operate more effectively.

@FDAunion welcomes this review. Overall, there are some good recommendations which will help improve the effectiveness of the scheme whilst maintaining its independence. 🧵

parliament.uk/business/news/…

Dave Penman Dave Penman accuses the “minister with a made up job title” of “virtue signalling”

“Pandering to a narrow, hostile culture war agenda against the civil service will not create “harmony, unity& inclusivity”, it will create division, resentment and anger, but then she knows that”

While FDA General Secretary Dave Penman tells me

“You have to wonder why Esther McVey feels so threatened by a rainbow lanyard that it deserves so much of her time, when public services are on their knees and government departments are cutting back services”

Dave Penman

Response from the FDA Union…

Assistant General Sec. Lucille Thirlby:
 
“Nobody joins the civil service in order to ‘impose their own political ideology’.. when the country is facing challenges, should the colour of a civil servant’s lanyard really be a ministerial priority?”

'Equality, diversity and inclusion is a serious topic worthy of serious consideration and debate. Unfortunately, we got nothing of the sort from Esther McVey, who instead rattled off of a tick list of culture-war talking points.' - Lucille dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

Lucille Thirlby, assistant general secretary of the FDA union: 'At a time when the country is facing serious challenges, should the colour of a civil servant’s lanyard really be a ministerial priority?'

huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/esther-m…

As Jawad Raza explains to Matt Chorley Parliament is a workplace for thousands who deserve a safe working environment.

He calls on MPs to vote tonight for the motion on precautionary exclusion incorporating the amendment which moves risk-assessments to the point of arrest.