The TSSA tried to prevent former female employees from making allegations of sexual harassment

Unions exist first and foremost to protect employee rights, and there are many examples of where they’ve done that well. But it turns out unions don’t always make for the best, or even adequate, employers themselves.

In last week’s parliamentary debate on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by employers to cover up abuse and discrimination in the workplace, Labour MP Louise Haigh recounted how unions have used confidentiality agreements to hush up appalling behaviour.

One example is the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which has used NDAs to try to prevent former female employees from publicly making allegations of sexual harassment against Manuel Cortes, the general secretary at the time; a 2023 review by Helena Kennedy KC later found that there had been “appalling incidents” and “leadership and management failings” at the TSSA in relation to sexual harassment and that Cortes’s behaviour around women was such an “open secret” that women joining the organisation were warned never to be alone with him. It is not just unions. Haigh has also used her parliamentary privilege to talk about the case of an ITN employee with functional neurological disorder who experiences seizures and blackouts. He experienced severe bullying and discrimination from his managers, including being forced to apologise to those who had witnessed a seizure, and being accused of lying...

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