HALF a million female members of working men's clubs across Britain could win new rights if a York club secretary wins a sex discrimination case.

Jackie Medley, 57, secretary of Bishopthorpe Social Club, is seeking to overturn a ban on her taking up associate membership of the CIU (Club and Institutes Union).

A long-standing union rule means that "lady members" such as Jackie cannot:

Take part in CIU-sponsored activities such as darts and dominoes, even at their own club

Stand for election to the local branch committee of the CIU or the union's national executive

Go into other working men's clubs without first being signed in as a guest.

John Bacon, a member of Northallerton Working Men's Club, heard about the rule while visiting relatives in York and decided to help Jackie take a case to an employment tribunal in Leeds last summer, claiming that the union was breaking the Sex Discrimination Act.

The application was turned down, but John has now won leave to appeal, and a hearing will take place at an Employment Appeal Tribunal in London, on March 10.

He told the Evening Press that the rule was anachronistic and humiliating, particularly for women with heavy responsibilities such as Jackie, who worked as volunteers for the good of their clubs. "It is blatant discrimination against women."

He stressed that Jackie had the full support of members at Bishopthorpe and that, while a change of rule would give equal access to associate membership, it would not remove the right of individual private WMCs to determine the formation and structure of their own membership.

The CIU's general secretary, Kevin Smythe, was unavailable for comment, but it is understood that the union has repeatedly tried to change its rules to allow women to become associated members, but failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority at annual conferences.

The union's executive is also understood to be planning to put forward the proposal again at this year's conference, to be held in April, even though it believes it is not in breach of the Act because private members clubs are excluded.

Updated: 09:29 Saturday, February 14, 2004