UNISON Southend with the support of UNISON  Eastern region organisers held a  successful menopause workshop last week, with around a dozen women from Southend Borough Council taking part.

They went to along to find out about and share experiences of the menopause as well as empower themselves to tackle the taboo subject inside and outside of work.

UNISON Southend Borough Council branch secretary Claire Wormald thanked local UNISON  organisers Caron Mullins and Dionne Eade for leading the workshop, saying she received “great feedback” from the participants.

“The workshop allowed women to look at how their workplace could be improved,” she said.

“We came up with a number of ideas to put to our employer, including looking at a policy on menopause.

“Menopause is a workplace issue and we are now armed with ideas for a safer and more supportive working environment – and a potential new health and safety representative!”

We  publicised the event with stalls and posters and even negotiated an hour off for participants at the end of the day so that the workshop could start at 4.30pm and run through until 7pm in members’ own time.

Claire added: “Organising and educating members through a workshop empowers not only those that attend but also, through acting on the outcomes, the wider union by agitating for better support”

Southend UNISON is looking at repeating this workshop in 2020 and looking at an  awareness raising session with men that are interested in finding out more on the impacts of the menopause.

Let us know if you are interested.