TORY ministers must not abandon their promises to strengthen protections against sexual harassment at work, trade unions and women’s groups insisted today.

The call followed multiple reports that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration plans to allow the worker protection Bill to fall following objections from Tory backbenchers. 

The proposed legislation would impose a legal duty on bosses to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and to protect staff from third-party abuse by clients and customers.   

In a joint letter to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, the TUC, the Fawcett Society, Amnesty International, Times Up UK, Pregnant Then Screwed and many unions warn that the problem is “endemic.” 

They wrote: “We know that half of working women will experience workplace sexual harassment.

“It is even higher for LGBT, disabled and black women, but these figures are likely just the tip of the iceberg, as 79 per cent of women do not report their experiences. 

“Third-party harassment is extensive, with 56 per cent of women working in the hospitality industry and three in five nurses experiencing sexual harassment.”

The coalition, which includes Unite, Unison, RMT, the National Education Union and the University and College Union, highlighted several scandals, including that engulfing the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), as proof that the issue “must be addressed.” 

Former CBI director-general Tony Danker was sacked last month after it emerged that the employers’ body had taken little action in response to two separate allegations of rape made by women employees against male colleagues. 

Today’s letter calls for reform and for guarantees that the worker protection Bill will be enacted before the next general election, due in the spring or autumn of 2024. 

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The time for excuses is over. We urgently need to strengthen protections to protect workers. 

“The government must come clean about its plans. Will it support this much-needed legislation and help keep women and workers safe from harassment? Or will it cave into demands from its backbenchers?”

Fawcett Society chief executive Jemima Olchawski said that it was “nothing short of scandalous that some Tory peers have sought to play politics with a Bill which would offer the first significant increase in protections for women since the Me Too movement. 

“Women deserve and demand better — it’s time for this government to deliver.”