International Women's Day: #meTU shut down GMB union HQ in London

Extraordinary scenes in London on International Women's Day, as officials in the GMB trade union shut down their Head Office rather than face a demonstration by #meTU.

The troubled union is running scared after fresh revelations this week of bullying and harassment by their General Secretary, Gary Smith - and a toxic culture that hasn't changed since the Monaghan report of 2020 found the union to have a culture of institutional sexism, bullying and misogyny.

But rather than do the right thing and come out to face women and GMB members who are demanding answers, they shut down for the day and scuttled away.

Let's be clear: this is not just a problem within the GMB, but across the trade union movement. And part of the problem is the leaders of our movement are completely silent about the widespread abuse - which is ruining countless women trade unionists' lives. If you're still saying silent, whatever union you're in, you're part of the problem too.

Now GMB staff in North-East, Yorkshire and Humberside region are balloting for strike action over bullying, harassment and failure to implement the Monaghan report. This could be a watershed moment in the battle to purge our movement of this vile behaviour and build strong unions capable of combatting the multiple crises we face.