A dozen former and current GMB staffers and members are planning to complain to the equalities watchdog about allegations of institutional sexism and women being bullied out of their roles at the trade union.
The group plans to argue to the Equality and Human Rights Commission that the GMB is failing to adequately investigate sexual harassment and bullying claims, which could be a breach of its duties under the Equality Act.
The claims have emerged from multiple former GMB staff in recent days, with union sources saying a number of senior women have been given payoffs on leaving their roles.
The call for an independent inquiry comes four years after the GMB was described as “institutionally sexist” in a highly critical report by the barrister Karon Monaghan.
“Bullying, misogyny, cronyism and sexual harassment are endemic within the GMB,” the report concluded at the time. “The culture in the GMB is one of heavy drinking and late-night socialising, salacious gossip and a lack of professionalism.”
One GMB employee said: “Very little has changed since the Monaghan report and in many people’s views it has actually got worse.”
One former GMB staffer planning to be part of the joint complaint said: “What we are looking at is a pattern of abuse and misapplication of the GMB’s policies on equalities.
“Sine the Monaghan report, they’ve been allowed to police themselves. We are writing to the EHRC because any investigation so far has been piecemeal, selective and narrow.”
The GMB is a major Labour donor, and numerous cabinet ministers, including the prime minister and chancellor, are members of the trade union.
The Daily Mail reported this week that Anne Chandler, an official who claimed she was forced out in 2022 after 25 years, had said the GMB was “riddled with sexism”.
A GMB spokesperson disputed the allegations. “We categorically deny claims of a bullying culture and do not recognise our union in the accounts of these former members of staff,” they said.
“Since the Monaghan report four years ago, we have created stronger structures and introduced stringent policies to prevent bullying behaviour and continue to engage with our staff and independent experts to build a better workplace.
“We now have clear, comprehensive and transparent procedures to fully investigate and effectively deal with any allegation of bullying, sexism or harassment. Such behaviour has no place in GMB and is not tolerated under any circumstances.
“We are led by our members and it is our members, not officers, who take the most significant decisions involving disciplinary matters and claims of misconduct.”
On Chandler’s claims, the GMB said it was “untrue to suggest Anne Chandler was compelled to leave GMB after she chose to retire two years ago. She voluntarily chose to withdraw complaints raised at an employment tribunal and has taken no further action.”
The GMB said other allegations had been made by a “senior employee dismissed for sexual harassment, bullying and two other counts of gross misconduct [which] are also untrue” and a KC report had found them “politically motivated and an attempt to smear the reputation of the general secretary and other members of the senior management team”.
Since the allegations about the GMB emerged this week, Gary Smith, the general secretary of the union, wrote to Labour MPs and peers who are members of the union’s parliamentary group challenging the claims and suggesting the union was the subject of a campaign by the Daily Mail. He said: “GMB follows agreed policies and procedures, employment law and best practice. These are the standards that we operate to, and we remain committed to continually working with our staff and independent experts to build a better workplace. We will also not be distracted from our core purpose of making work better for our members.”
However, several Labour MPs are privately sceptical that the union has done enough to address claims of institutional sexism since the Monaghan report was published.
The union, which has paid out £800,000 of termination payments in the past two years, has also claimed it does not use non-disclosure agreements. But it said staff leaving the organisation were “asked to sign standard settlement agreements, similar to those used by virtually every organisation across the public and private sectors”.
It also said termination costs applied to a range of situations, such as early retirement, or people leaving the organisation due to ill-health, and that the union was always looking to improve its efficiency, with its headcount reducing by 14% over the past four years.
The EHRC has been approached for comment.
