Civil service unions have said the Ministry of Defence is still not doing enough to tackle sexual misconduct, after CSW reported that the department has begun a programme of work to improve standards of behaviour among its staff.
In a rare joint statement, representatives from the FDA, Prospect and PCS trade unions have said they are “frustrated with the pace of progress” of the Reaffirming our Standards programme, which began in 2023-24 to set “clear standards and expectations of behaviour”.
Last week, CSW revealed the MoD had kicked off the programme as a direct response to a letter sent by 60 female senior civil servants complaining of a “hostile” and “toxic” culture in the department in November.
The letter to permanent secretary David Williams included anonymised accounts from female MoD staff of being “propositioned”, “groped” and “touched repeatedly” by male colleagues – and came the same year the department paid out more than £1.7m to settle bullying, harassment and discrimination claims.
In a joint statement to CSW, the civil service’s three main unions said the department’s response to the letter “remains far too limited”.
“While our unions continue to engage with the department’s Reaffirming our Standards programme, and despite some recent positive commitments to embed trade union representatives within some aspects of the programme, we remain frustrated with the pace of progress,” FDA assistant general secretary Lucille Thirlby, Prospect senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns and PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said.
“It has been nine months since 60 women wrote to the ministry to allege sexual assault, harassment and abuse at the hands of colleagues – and still nothing has changed for staff and the ambition and scope of the MoD’s response remains far too limited.”
In May, the three unions joined academics and women’s rights activists in calling for an independent inquiry into sexual harassment in defence, which they said should make binding recommendations. The MoD rejected the demand, saying that it had launched a review of its complaints procedure.
“The new government has the opportunity to tackle this issue head on by launching an independent inquiry and ensuring the department is compelled to enact its recommendations to make its workplaces safe for all staff,” the unions said.
“The longer we wait for action, the more we risk organisational inertia and the harder it will be to bring about the change staff deserve.”
The programme implemented by the department focuses on growing MoD leaders' accountability for tackling poor behaviour; creating an open and transparent culture, with clear standards of behaviour and inclusion; and overhauling systems and processes, including casework and HR, to ensure they work effectively and support staff to report concerns.
The department's annual report, which shared an overview of Reaffirming our Standards, said the programme “aims to improve the lived experience of personnel across Defence, be they military or civilian, through setting clear standards and expectations of behaviour; through ensuring we uphold these standards; and through increasing people’s confidence in our systems and processes that we will act swiftly and decisively if things go wrong”.
It also promised “swift and decisive actions” if any staff fail to uphold the standards of behaviour it sets out.
The department has also appointed a new director general for people and organisational development “to help drive the cultural, behavioural, and procedural changes required”.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The Reaffirming our Standards programme was initiated following a letter from a number of female civil servants about unacceptable behaviour and cultural issues.
“It builds on work taking place across the department and the military to ensure that all staff know and show the standards of behaviour that we expect, as well as instilling a positive culture, and eliminating unacceptable behaviour.
“As part of this, we are improving the reporting and handling of complaints, taking action to prevent harassment and discrimination, and have introduced zero-tolerance policies.
“The Reaffirming our Standards programme is overseen by an external challenge panel of experienced subject matter experts, and we are working with trade unions to help guide programme development.
“We know there is more work to be done and are committed to improving the experience for both military and civilian personnel in Defence.”