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19 October, 2006October 2006
Contents
1. Austria – GMTN Surveys Women in Works Councils
2. Brazil – Pay Gap between Women and Men Narrows
3. France – Industrial Cleaning is a Nightmare
4. India – All-women Police Pursue Dowry Complaints
5. Pakistan – Working Women Organization Fights Against new Labour Laws
6. Palestine – Women Join Striking Workers
7. Qatar – Women Workers Are Entitled to Equal Pay
8. Russia – ROGWU Holds Women’s Conference
9. Spain – Repsol YPF Signs a Framework Agreement with UGT and CC.OO.
10. Switzerland – Women Should Get More Pay
11. United Nations – Kofi Annan’s Report Finds Violence against Women “Severe and Pervasive”
12. From our readers
13. Resources
1. Austria – GMTN Surveys Women in Works Councils
The GMTN Metal, Textile and Food Workers’ Union recently surveyed its women members in works councils to find out how to get them more involved.
They asked them what they would like to discuss at meetings, when they would prefer to hold meetings, how long the meetings should take, whether they would like to have documents for the meetings beforehand, and how long it takes them to get to the meetings.
According to Erika Nussgraber-Schnabl, Federal GMTN Women’s Officer, “we have to give thought to how to create conditions for everyone, women and men, to be actively involved in trade union life.”
In Austria there are about 10,250 women who are active in works councils. 1,800 works councils have women chairs, and 2,250 have women vice-chairs. And about 6,200 women are members of works councils. Altogether, 28% of works council members in Austria are women.
2. Brazil – Pay Gap Between Women and Men Narrows
The general rise in pay in 2005 narrowed the gap in pay between women and men in Brazil, although it is still wide. On average, women earned 82% of what men earn. The worst gaps exist in the best jobs with the highest pay and the highest education levels.
A man with higher education received on average 3,742.85 reals per month in 2006, while a woman with the same degree was paid only 2,131.82 reals, i.e. a mere 57% of what an average man earned. Women also have less access to management jobs because of discrimination.
The pay gap between men and women narrowed in 2004 and 2005 as well. However, that was due to the fact that men’s salaries were falling. In 2006, average pay for both rose, but women’s pay grew by slightly more.
3. France – Industrial Cleaning is a Nightmare
About 380,000 people were working in the industrial cleaning sector in France in 2005. In 1999, that figure still stood at 280,000. At this moment, 65% of the workforce are women and 32% are foreigners.
70% of all workers in the sector work part-time. One of the worst problems is that these shorter working hours translate into less pay, leading to a situation where the average pay in the sector is about half the minimum wage. As a result, people who work in the industrial cleaning sector often live in poverty.
The sector is divided in four different activities – classic cleaning, window washing, cleaning in the heavy industry, and specialized cleaning in the food industry and hospitals. The last three sectors generally have more full-time workers since some specialized skills are required.
Working time is more fragmented for workers that clean offices since the work is generally done either early in the morning or after 6 pm. The employers are reluctant, however, to pay a supplement for night work.
The number of square meters that need to be cleaned per person also does not stop rising. Competition is tough in the sector, which leads to the undercutting of rates and lower pay.
Many cleaning workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders. Repetitive strain injuries are rampant. Leg pain and backaches are also common, the result of constant standing.
4. India – All-women Police Pursue Dowry Complaints
India has established roughly 300 all-women police stations to help curb dowry-related violence. Whereas a dowry was once a gift from a bride’s family to a daughter, often consisting of cash, jewellery and clothing, it is now increasingly seen as a payment to her husband and his family to reinforce or improve their financial and social standing.
Abuse frequently begins when additional dowry demands are unmet. In those cases, emotional and physical blackmail often start and continue until the wife’s family finally gives in.
India is attempting to address the problem of domestic violence, in particular related to dowries. Although already outlawed in 1961, the system of dowry continues to flourish, regardless of religion, caste or educational background and regardless of whether marriages are arranged or are love marriages.
Dowry-related violence increased more than three-fold between 1990 and 2000. Dowry deaths rose by 38% during the same period, with about 7,000 women being murdered each year. Many others may not have been reported.
In 1992, the government of Tamil Nadu opened the first all-female police station because of fears that the social stigma of confessing family problems to a stranger, together with the possibility of being raped, kept women away from male-dominated police stations. The stations give women a more comfortable place to report domestic violence.
In 2005, India adopted a federal domestic violence bill that offers victims state-sponsored advocacy and aims to speed up the legal process by creating more courts and hiring additional judges. India, in addition to Brazil, has pioneered the use of the all-women police station.
In 2005, India had 295 units. Brazil, which began operating the stations in the 1980’s, now has over 300.
5. Pakistan – Working Women Organization Fights Against new Labour Laws
On 21 June 2006, the National Assembly in Pakistan passed an annual finance bill, which included a series of inhuman and anti-worker amendments that affect labour practices, without any debate and without submitting it to the Senate.
By amending the Shops & Establishment Ordinance, the government increased daily working hours from 8 to 12. It also abolished the compulsory weekly holiday. Provisions to bar females from working in factories before sunrise and after sunset have been amended. Employers now have the right to force women to work in two shifts, up to 10 PM.
A new category of contract workers has also been added, according to which employees that work as contract workers will not be entitled to overtime compensation. In addition, the ceiling on overtime has been raised from 150 hours to 624 hours a year for adults, and from 100 hours to 468 hours for younger workers.
The scope of both the workers’ welfare fund and the employees’ old-age benefit fund has also been reduced. Registration with the funds is now only compulsory for establishments with 20 or more workers.
In order to condemn and resist these anti-worker amendments, the Working Women Organization initiated a campaign and carried out different activities, including publishing a poster, to make people aware of the amendments’ impact on workers.
6. Palestine – Women Join Striking Workers
On 17 and 18 September 2006, a workshop was held in Palestine on strengthening women in trade unions by the General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemical Workers in Palestine. The workshop was coordinated by Dr Nuzha Mohammed Jadallah and Mrs. Nabeela Sadeq.
Topics at the workshop included the fact that trade unionists must be more aware of women’s roles and contributions and that no development in any society is possible without women’s full involvement, which is why women must participate more. Women also have a role to play in the implementation of laws. Women furthermore need more political education and more women’s training is needed in this regard.
After the workshop, the women joined the striking workers in the Ramallah camp. Workers there have stopped work to protest the non-payment of their salaries since the beginning of the year.
7. Qatar – Women Workers Are Entitled to Equal Pay
New labour law in Qatar now provides equal treatment for women and men. The new legislation does not discriminate between men and women and clearly specifies that they are to be treated equally, including in wages and benefits. Women workers are entitled to housing and all other allowances that are given to their male counterparts.
In addition, the Qatar Foundation for the Protection of Children and Women has set up 42 offices all over Qatar to report on sexual harassment and violence. The centre will provide hotlines for support and train women to help in detecting violence against children. The foundation has already provided protection for 459 children and 178 women between January 2005 and June 2006.
8. Russia – ROGWU Holds Women’s Conference
ROGWU, the Russian Oil and Gas Workers’ Union, held a women’s conference, from 25 to 27 September 2006, which was attended by 40 women from all across the federation. The conference was chaired by Evgenia Esenina, who also chairs the ICEM women’s committee. The theme of the conference was Women – Work – 21 Century.
The conference coincided with the 100 years anniversary of ROGWU and listened to a narration of historical developments, as well as to an analysis of changes in unions’ attitudes toward women and gender issues.
An analysis of the labour market in gender terms was also provided, together with a reflection on the country’s demographics.
9. Spain – Repsol YPF Signs a Framework Agreement with UGT and CC.OO.
Repsol YPF and the UGT and CCOO chemical workers’ federations FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CCOO signed a framework agreement to cover more than 15,000 workers all over Spain until 2008.
The framework agreement includes clauses and specific protocols on work-life balance, on hiring disabled persons, on equal opportunities between women and men and on the protection of victims of domestic violence. The agreement also provides for support services for such victims. It also provides for improvements in the health, safety and environmental areas and on training issues.
The agreement was signed on 18 September 2006.
10. Switzerland – Women Should Get More Pay
On 23 September, a national demonstration was held in Berne, Switzerland, where real increases in pay were demanded. In most industry branches, women still earn less than men, even though that such discrimination is against the law.
The demand is therefore to provide women with a higher increase in pay, above and beyond the 4 percent demanded for all. In industry, the UNIA union is demanding double pay increases for women.
UNIA also finds that managers’ pay is escalating, and that corporate profits are sky-high, whereas workers’ pay is stagnating. It is high time for women to have pay justice. Another action day is scheduled for 24 October.
11. United Nations – Kofi Annan’s Report Finds Violence against Women “Severe and Pervasive”
"There is compelling evidence that violence against women is severe and pervasive throughout the world," said UN chief Kofi Annan's report, titled "Ending Violence Against Women: from Words to Action.”
The study cited surveys on violence against women conducted in at least 71 countries showing that "a significant proportion of women suffer physical, sexual or psychological violence. “... On average, at least one in three women is subjected to intimate partner violence in the course of her lifetime."
A World Health Organization study in 11 countries found that the percentage of women subjected to sexual violence by an intimate partner ranged between six percent in Japan and Serbia and Montenegro, and 59 percent in Ethiopia.
Murders of women often involve sexual violence, with between 40 and 70 percent of female murder victims killed by husbands or boyfriends in Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States.
The report noted that more than 130 million girls are victims of female genital mutilation, a practice most prevalent in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries, but also found in immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. Female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and systematic neglect of girls were said to be widespread in South Asia, Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.
The study also highlighted the fact that women experience sexual harassment throughout their lives, with between 40 and 50 percent of women in the European Union reporting some form of sexual harassment. "The majority of the hundreds of thousands of women trafficked each year are women and children and many are trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation," it added.
It also focused on the phenomenon, including sexual violence, in armed conflicts, noting that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, while between 20,000 and 50,000 suffered the same fate during the conflict in Bosnia in the early 1990s.
In Europe, North America and Australia, more than half of women with disabilities have experienced physical abuse, compared with one third of non-disabled women, it said.
The study noted that women subjected to violence were more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs and to report sexual dysfunction, suicide attempts, post-traumatic stress and central nervous system disorders. And it concluded that despite progress in recent decades, "violence against women has not yet received the priority required to enable significant change."
"A more cohesive and strategic approach is needed from all actors, including governments, the international community and civil society," the report said.
FROM OUR READERS:
Ramona Parra Martín from FITEQA-CCOO, Spain, had the following to say about the article that appeared in BULLETIN 15:
“Glaxo is a company that in Spain does all it can to keep trade unions from organizing. In Spain, Glaxo has 13 so-called union representatives, all of them yellow. It has a work force of 380, out of which more than 100 are casually employed. We would like to indicate that we do not know anything about the equal opportunities project that Glaxo allegedly participates in.”
This just goes to show that not all prizes for corporate social responsibility are what they are made up to be….
Carol Fraser from CEP, Canada, writes:
The Harper Government has set pay equity back 25 years with its recent announcement that it will not implement new and proactive pay equity legislation and has ignored all of the recommendations proposed by the Federal Pay Equity Task Force.
“It’s a dark day for women in Canada,” stated Gisele Pageau, Human Rights Director for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers of Canada. “I cannot believe that the government has no interest in closing the wage gap. Women still earn only 72 cents for every dollar a man earns. The current legislation is unacceptable and has proven to be ineffective, time consuming, and extremely expensive.”
The CEP just recently settled their pay equity battle for its Bell operators after a 14-year ordeal and extremely long and complicated legal wrangle that saw Bell take the CEP through almost 30 federal court appeals and one supreme court of Canada appeal. Though the CEP was successful, it doesn’t wish this on any other group or individual.
Also from Carol:
“A June 24, 2006 amendment to the Employment Insurance Regulations, more particularly a revised definition of “family member” for compassionate care benefits, brings the program more in line with the realities of caregiving in Canada.
The new regulation broadens the definition of family to include brothers and sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces, guardians, foster parents and wards.
In situations where an individual with a serious medical condition is cared for by a more distant relative or by a person who is not directly related, the new regulation allows the caregiver to claim benefits if he or she is designated as “like” a family member by that individual or by a designated representative.
Linda Briskin
Professor, Social Science/School of Women's Studies York University
4700 Keele St Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
416-736-2100 x77824; fax 416-736-5615 http://www.arts.yorku.ca/sosc/lbriskin
writes:
The Gender and Work Database - http://www.genderwork.ca - is an interactive research and teaching tool. The union module, one of six modules in the GWD, explores unions as a key labour market institution that impacts on production and reproduction, households and workplaces. Central to any analysis of gender and work, unions are also part of a broader social movement seeking justice, equity and inclusivity.
The Module highlights five key themes: union renewal, leadership and representation, worker militancies, organizing the unorganized, and the union advantage. The Module explores gender, work and unions through statistical data, a unique set of union equity and web resources, and research papers on key themes.
To illustrate how researchers may use the module to address a particular research question, the guide also provides a demonstration focused on 'union advantage'. The searchable library of over 2000 entries contains papers, citations to papers, and links to relevant theoretical and empirical works. The GWD thesaurus identifies core concepts in the study of gender, and contains over 1200 subject headings.
13. RESOURCES
The International Center for Transitional Justice has released six groundbreaking case study summaries on gender and reparations in Guatemala, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Timor-Leste. See:
http://www.ictj.org/en/tools/search/index.html?search_text=Engendering+Reparations&go.x=7&go.y=5.
People's access to services and resources are determined by government budget policies. Gender budgets initiatives around the world have attempted to systematically examine how government budgets address discrimination with regard to women's access to housing, employment, health, education, and other services. For Budgeting for Women’s Rights, see:
http://www.unifem.org/resources/item_detail.php?ProductID=44.
For information on the European Parliament’s Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, see: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/
femm_home_en.htm
For a new course on training and political capacity building for women, see:
http://www.yopolitica.org/scripts/herramientas/
generica/estaticas.asp?cp=1&i=1&u=1&activo=0&
subActivo=&subOpcion=&a=presentacion.html (in Spanish)
StreetNet News is the newsletter of StreetNet International, an international federation formed to promote and protect the rights of street vendors. For their Newsletter, see: http://www.streetnet.org.za.
For a series of gender maps providing information according to different criteria, and to see the world as you have never seen it before, check:
http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/
display.php?selected=1.