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Last October, during the human rights conference, Joyce Hendy was awarded our annual human rights award. We recently caught up with Hendy to find out more about her legacy in our union and to pick her brain about human rights.<\/p>\n
Before 1990, the human rights committee (or, as it was once called, the equal opportunities committee) was made up of appointed representatives, as opposed to elected ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were appointed by their respective [regional] vice-presidents or the national president,\u201d explained Hendy. \u201cOne of the drawbacks of this status is that they didn\u2019t have an official voice on the National Executive \u2013 they reported through the national president.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of her work leading up to the 1990 convention, Hendy chaired a committee that saw the Vice-President of Human Rights become an elected position \u2013 and one that had a voice on the National Executive.<\/p>\n
Hendy\u2019s committee also led our component to adopt a clear and inclusive family policy.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The Union of National Employees] was one of the first components to have such a policy,\u201d said Hendy. \u201cAnd it\u2019s still a leader in terms of what family cares costs it covers for activists.\u201d<\/p>\n
The policy makes it easier for activists with family care issues to participate equitable in their union, she said.<\/p>\n
How far we’ve come<\/strong><\/p>\n A lot has changed, on the human rights front, since Hendy first became an activist at the national level in 1987.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were no equity committees,\u201d explained Hendy. \u201cEqual pay had not been achieved, gay rights weren\u2019t on the radar, First Nations issues were not discussed, and no one even considered that mental health issues were human rights issues \u2013 or ones that unions should take on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe union I first became a part of in the 80s is not the same union that we know today,\u201d she added. \u201cThe most significant change has been the inclusion and participation of the various equity groups.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a much better union as a result of the inclusion of all our members in the decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking towards the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n Like most of us, Hendy recognizes that the union has some tough challenges. She pointed to an increasingly global marketplace and an (equally) increasing anti-union atmosphere as two issues that will make it difficult for unions to hold on to the gains they\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenge will be to educate our new, younger members as to what has been won over the years and the reasons for continuing to push the agenda forward,\u201d said Hendy.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of these new workers do not understand how hard it was to win these rights.\u201d<\/p>\n