Next month, the Trades Union Congress will vote on a motion by arts and entertainment union Equity to boost the representation of fashion models amongst its members. This is something that has been discussed extensively in the Models Direct office having reported on the realities of a career in fashion modelling many times.

Unlike commercial modelling, working in the seemingly glamorous and exciting world of high fashion can mean, for some models, working long hours without any breaks, risk of sexual harassment, and pressure to lose weight.

These often shielded issues were discussed on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this morning, and the Models Direct team were eager to tune in. As well as hearing from Dunja Knezevic, co-founder of the Models’ Union within Equity, the show’s presenter Jenni Murray also spoke with Equity’s Head of Policy, Louise McMullan, and The Chair of the Association of Model Agents, Laurie Kuhrt.

The group talked about why models need union protection and the implications for the fashion industry, and referred to a new report that shows a significant proportion of congenital abnormalities are going unreported because there are no registers in some areas of the UK,

We must say it was a very interesting and insightful listen. If you missed it, tomorrow Radio 4 should have the episode available to listen to on their website here. Check it out and let us know your thoughts on a models’ union.