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22 August, 2007August 2007
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Contents
1. Australia - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Issues Findings on Work-Life Balance
2. Chile - Government Launches Campaign for Employers’ Seal of Equality
3. Colombia - Women Go to the US to Lobby Against the Free Trade Agreement
4. Ecuador - X Session of the Regional Conference on Women Is Held by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
5. European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC Calls for More Action to Reduce the Gender Pay Gap
6. Mexico - Job Segregation Persists
7. From our readers
Nepal – Binda Pandey, ICEM Vice-President writes
Netherlands - Margreet Pasman, FNV Bondgenoten, writes
United States - Emily Jefferson, USW, writes
Zimbabwe - Angeline Chitambo, ZEWU, writes
8. RESOURCES
1. Australia - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Issues Findings on Work-Life Balance
The issue of the work-life balance is a crucial challenge in Australia, not only in the context of an ageing population, but also as more women are working. The Commission published a paper called “It’s About Time: Women, men, work and family as a contribution to the debate on work and families”.
The paper proposes changes to legislation, policies and programmes, as well as changes to employment policy to address these challenges. Trade unions were one of the groups called upon to make submissions to the paper.
One of the paper’s key findings was that most Australians feel overwhelmed by time pressures. Government could provide more support mechanisms in order to ease these time pressures on workers and families. It is the women, with their responsibilities for child care, elder care and housework, who bear the brunt of the time pressures and stress.
The solution would be to share the burden of caring between families, the communities and public institutions, in order to make a contribution to share unpaid and paid work better between men and women.
Government must provide high quality and affordable care and support services for children and adults. In many cases, men would like to provide more care to their families, but time constraints prevent them from doing so. One solution to this dilemma is the availability of flexible, family friendly policies.
Awareness-raising and education are still crucial, however, in bringing about changes in attitudes. Role models are important as factors in social change. Demographic changes mean that, in the future, more people will have to take on the role of taking care of elderly relatives. Leave entitlements therefore must be enhanced – Australia is the only industrialised country, other than the United States, which does not have paid maternity leave.
2. Chile - Government Launches Campaign for Employers’ Seal of Equality
The Chilean government has launched a campaign to certify public and private companies for complying with gender equality for their employees. SERNAM, the National Women’s Service is promoting the voluntary programme.
The programme is made up of three parts – certification of public and private companies that voluntarily set up action programmes for good employment practices, employment services to help women look for work, including in areas traditionally reserved for men, and compliance with the Code of Good Employment Practices on Non-Discrimination for the Central State Administration.
Companies are diagnosed for certification in seven areas: hiring, career development and access to training, gender balance in managerial positions, working conditions, respect for and protection of maternity rights, reconciliation of work responsibilities and family obligations, prevention of sexually harassment.
In addition to the certification programme, the government is setting up more day care centres, as well as reforming the pension system, as incentives to get more women to work.
3. Colombia - Women Go to the US to Lobby Against the Free Trade Agreement
In July and August, six Colombian women went to meet with members of the US Congress and journalists to make it clear that the Free Trade Agreement and the Plan Colombia are women’s issues too. They provided a gender sensitive analysis of the impacts of poverty, the fight against drugs and the security policies on women’s lives.
In their view, the Free Trade Agreement, if ratified, would increase discrimination and violence against women. The trip was sponsored by human rights organisations, as well as Oxfam International, and included trade unionists in the delegation.
4. Ecuador - X Session of the Regional Conference on Women Is Held by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
The Conference was held in Quito, Ecuador, from 6 to 9 August 2007, and focused, in particular, on political participation and gender parity. The issue of women’s contributions to the economy and to social protection, especially in connection with unpaid work, was also high on the agenda.
As far as political participation is concerned, the conference recommended taking positive actions and making the necessary reforms to allow women to play a role in public policy, to increase women’s participation at regional and international level to advance the security, peace and development agenda, and to develop permanent electoral policies to get political parties to incorporate the gender perspective in their agendas in order to strive for gender parity.
Measures should be taken to promote the reconciliation of work and family life and to recognise the value of unpaid work. Also, the decent work agenda should be promoted. Public policies should be implemented to guarantee universal access and coverage of social security. Regional cooperation should be used to provide citizenship rights to women and for women to exercise their real human rights.
5. European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC Calls for More Action to Reduce the Gender Pay Gap
The EU Commission published a communication on the pay gap between women and men in July 2007, which was applauded by the ETUC. The pay gap is caused by factors such as job segregation, stereotypes, undervaluing women’s work, no work-life balance and division of work between men and women at home, few women in collective bargaining, and so forth.
The ETUC has called for more concrete measures to be taken to close the pay gap. In 2005, the European social partners recognised the important role that they have to play in tackling the pay gap.
The Commission suggests ensuring a better application of legislation, making the pay gap an integral part of member states’ employment policies, using social responsibility to tackle the pay gap and exchanging good practices among EU member states.
In January 2007, the Eurobarometer surveyed EU citizens and found that people felt that too few women were managers and members of parliament. Europeans saw family responsibilities as an obstacle to women being managers, and 47% of those surveyed felt that women were less likely to be promoted than men with the same qualifications. The Commission concluded that the pay gap is a complex issue which can only be solved with the involvement of all stakeholders and by acting at all levels.
6. Mexico - Job Segregation Persists
On-the-job discrimination is not likely to stop soon in Mexico, according to government figures. Statistics show that between 2001 and 2006, complaints and accusations about sexual harassment increased by 122%, firing for reasons related to pregnancy went up by 106%, accusations of on-the-job violence rose by 61%, and discrimination in general was up by 133%.
Firing for pregnancy-related reasons continues to be the main source of discrimination. Sexual harassment is the second most cited cause. The women’s institute in the capital reports that sexual harassment is one of the main reasons why women do not have access to management jobs.
Discrimination is rampant before hiring and firing – more requirements are made on women, including in terms of appearance or marital status. On the job, women are denied training, women are paid less and harassed, and then they are fired. Because of the unemployment situation, women are forced to accept these conditions for their very survival. What is needed is to establish an equality culture.
7. FROM OUR READERS
Nepal – Binda Pandey, ICEM Vice-President writes about the Interaction programme on Constituent Assembly and Women Workers’ Agenda
July 30 - GEFONT has organised an interaction programme on Constituent Assembly & Women Workers' Agenda at United World Trade Centre in Kathmandu. The programme was mainly focused to find out the gender issues that should be included in the declaration of different political parties before the CA poll and to pressurise for the inclusion of these agendas in Constituent Assembly. Forty representatives from different organisations, political parties, women organisation, human rights activists, women movements, media person and trade unionists participated in the programme.
Chief Guest GEFONT Chairman Com. Mukund Neupane, appreciated the women's participation in the April upraising and focused on socio cultural discrimination in our country. He also suggested to implement women awareness programmes to uplift consciousness in the rural area of the Terai region where the socio cultural discrimination is very high. He further added Gender issues should be identified and included in the Constituent Assembly for the social transformation.
GEFONT Deputy Secretary General Binda Pandey stated that the new Constituent Assembly should not only be free from gender discrimination, but also find out the gender issues before representing the issues in a charter of demand letter. She represented the GEFONT position paper with 13 issues identified in two-day workshop on the Constituent Assembly Election and Issue of Women Workers, held on July 16- 17, 2007.
The main agenda included in the work plan was equal wage for equal value of work, registration of informal economy workers, opportunities to capacity building, welfare state, economically accounted women work at home, proportionate participation of women in every sector with at least a 33% participation, women’s right on reproductive health, stern action against violence against women, equal right to parental property, recognition of National Women Commission as one of the constitutional bodies, guarantee of social justice, and no discrimination regarding marital status, origin of birth and physical condition.
Various leaders and representatives expressed their view on the GEFONT position paper and the importance of the upcoming constituent assembly election. Interaction during the programme identified the other issues for Constitution Assembly.
Issues are compulsory education for women; free health service; employment guarantees for the enlistment of women; management of child care centres in workplace; maternity leave before and after delivery; elimination of feudalism in social, traditional, religious, cultural and ritual practices; equitable oriented society; active participation for 33% representatives in Constituent Assembly Election; discrimination Free State; hygienic canteen facilities for women workers; consumer Protection; involvement of women in decision making; employment opportunities on the bases of their qualification and skills; security and other facilities for women in foreign employment; establishment of family court; public related issues; problems of girls trafficking; change in education system; equal participation of men and women in household work; identifying children in mother reference genetic right, etc.
Netherlands - Margreet Pasman, FNV Bondgenoten, writes:
“I wanted to inform you that our trade union has developed a "babyproofbox" for employees. This document is written for men and women, but mainly focuses on male employees. It concerns reprotoxic substances. We developed a babyproofbox for the chemical (and pharmaceutical) industry, as well as one for the metal industry. We made a project plan for the development of a babyproofbox for the agricultural sectors (among other, for green house workers) for the coming year.
In the Netherlands, women are at a high age when they get their firstborn, i.e. on average at 29 years. The high age is one of the reasons why women have difficulty conceiving. But also there is a lot unknown when it concerns reprotox exposure in the working environment. Men (and women) work in environments where there might be a risk for fertility or risk during the pregnancy or the period of breastfeeding. Most employees do not know if substances are reprotoxic and can cause fertility problems.
We asked our members what they need from us as a trade union, concerning reprotoxic substances. This resulted in a babyproofbox. The box contains information about frequently used repotoxic substances (in the chemical or metal industry). It also contains information on how you (or the works council) can find information/collect information when you suspect that you are exposed to reprotoxic substances.
Another issue I want to inform you about. Our Dutch Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has recently published a report concerning pregnancy and sickness absenteeism. This study shows that pregnant women in the Netherlands do often take sick leave (between 41 and 55%). Women work until 4 - 6 weeks before the baby is due. When you compare this with the average sick leave among workers in the Netherlands (54,1%, 57,7% female employees), pregnant women aren't doing so badly.
The main concern (we think) is that women in the Netherlands take less sick leave after the pregnancy. But when they do take sick leave, it's much longer (88 days), while during the pregnancy women have an average sick leave of 48 days. In the Netherlands women have only 10 to 12 weeks maternity leave after the baby is born.
So you see that a lot of mothers of newborn children have difficulties getting back to work soon. As a trade union, we want women to have a longer maternity leave after the baby is born (+ 6 weeks). On top of that, we think that women should return slowly to their work. In the Netherlands, it is normal that when you have a long period of sick leave, you slowly return to work. The funniest thing is that we do not think the same when it concerns women returning from their maternity leave.”
United States - Emily Jefferson, USW, writes:
“Every female member of the (USW) is a Woman of Steel. While the name Women of Steel was not coined until the mid-1980s, the United Steelworkers (USW) has always known the power their female members possess. For more than 60 years, the USW has drawn upon the priceless organization skills, the sheer determination and endurance that women bring to the table. The USW also realizes that helping their female members enrich their lives at work and home can only benefit the Union. Therefore, the Union provides continuous support for their Women of Steel.
One such example of support came at the 2005 International Convention where the USW passed a resolution requiring every local union that has at least one female member to have a women’s committee. This committee is not to be an auxiliary committee, but a standing committee with all the rights and privileges of other standing USW local union committees. The USW is going in the right direction since women in the United States account for nearly one-half (43.6 percent) of union membership in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics.
The Woman of Steel program is designed to prepare and assist women at all levels throughout the Union. At the local union and district levels, Women’s Committees and Regional Women’s Councils are geared to raising the awareness of working women’s issues, increasing female activism and expanding the union’s visibility in the communities where they live and work. On the district, national and international level, educational programs are held on a regular basis and are designed to increase self-esteem and provide an extensive understanding of the various functions of the Union.
WOS Facilitator’s Training at Nashville, USA, 2007
One such program is the Women of Steel Leadership Development Course. This three to five day course is held in the districts and further prepares women as their roles in the union expand. At the international level, classes such as the Women of Steel Facilitator’s Training Course brought sisters from across the country together for an intensive five-day training session. At this training, close to 40 women learned how to facilitate courses that will help women in their districts grow stronger in the Union and enrich their personal lives.
Women’s conferences are another venue in which female members of the USW have the opportunity to develop skills. Building Power, Taking Action is the theme of the upcoming USW International Women’s Conference which will be held September 23 – 26, 2007 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At the conference, plenary sessions and workshops focusing on enhancing bargaining skills, global solidarity, building stronger women’s committees and health and safety issues will be offered.
Great emphasis will also be placed on the need for women to be more politically active in the upcoming U.S. and Canadian elections. In addition to U.S. and Canada, sisters from South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Chile, Australia, Mexico, Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom have been invited to attend and share their stories. It is anticipated that this conference will draw close to 1,000 delegates.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America with 850,000 active members.”
Zimbabwe - Angeline Chitambo, ZEWU writes:
“Things are getting worse than before here in Zimbabwe and I don't know what the end results would be. Women are spending hours and hours in queues, queuing for basic commodities which are not available on the market. And to make matters worse they have stopped the bringing in of commodities from neighbouring countries which is what most women were doing to supplement their husbands low salaries, which they in turn sell and get money to assist within the families.”
Amnesty International reports that women are treated violently during arrests and detentions. All women in Zimbabwe face harassment such as having food and goods confiscated by police. “Zimbabwean women have demonstrated incredible resilience, bravery and determination in the face of increasing government repression. They are aware of the dangers they face but refuse to be intimidated into submission,” said Secretary General Irene Khan.
8. RESOURCES
www.observatorioviolencia.org is a Spanish language resource to combat gender-related violence.
For a 10-step equal pay self-audit for employers developed by the US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau see: http://hr.cch.com/hhrlib/issues-answers/Conducting-an-equal-pay-audit.asp?date=July-3 .