REPRODUCTIVE justice is a trade union issue, central to equality and dignity at work, the TUC women’s conference heard today. 

Delegates at the conference in Bournemouth called for guaranteed paid reproductive health leave for abortion, miscarriage and related recovery for workers. 

Moving the motion, University and College Union’s Vicky Blake said that due to low sick pay and leave days, and risks of sacking, workers were returning to their roles days after a miscarriage or abortion. 

Sharing a message from “Becks,” who had three miscarriages, Ms Blake read out: “I had walked around for weeks knowing the baby had died inside of me, going to work, teaching lessons, trying to function. 

“I often described it as walking around like a living coffin.

“A deputy head came in and said to me: ‘Wipe your tears and get back in that classroom. We have no-one else to cover the lesson’.”

Ms Blake said the story was not rare, as workers across Britain “carry on working and dealing with grief and mental conditions, because reproductive health and everything associated is treated as invisible.”

“But our need for bodily autonomy doesn’t stop when we clock in,” she said. 

Kim Khajehnoori of Unison spoke about workers, especially on insecure or precarious contracts, returning to work due to a lack of “safety nets,” saying: “Reproductive justice is not a luxury, it is not ‘nice to have.’

“It is a fundamental part of workplace equality, and it is our responsibility as sisters and women to defend it.”

The conference also heard a composite on women’s health and safety in the workplace, warning that many gender-specific conditions, including menopause and endometriosis, remain invisible in workplace reporting. 

Lauren Thompson, of the Royal College of Podiatry, urged for “closing the gender pain gap,” with women’s pain often treated as normal or exaggerated.

She said: “We are often expected to show up [at work], smile and perform as if nothing is wrong.”

“We are self-medicating at our desks. We fit hot water bottles under our shirts or uniforms. We work through the pain.”

Kat Swan, from Prospect, said: “The only way that we will be able to ensure employers uphold the rights of women workers is to organise and build strong unions. 

“A key element of this must be recruiting more women health and safety reps.”