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13 September, 2005
Contents:
1. Brief Report of ICEM Women’s Committee, 9-10 May 2005
2. Brief Report of Evaluation of ICEM/FNV/SASK Equal Opportunities Project in Latin America
3. Equal Opportunities Agreement at Repsol
4. Information from Canada
1. ICEM Women’s Committee, 9-10 May 2005
The ICEM Women’s Committee decided to prioritise the following issues for work up to the 2007 Congress:
a. Women’s Communication and Information. This includes a women’s website page, the women’s network, a women’s section in ICEM publications, and gender issues in global agreements. The ICEM website is currently being remodelled. Once this work is finished, there will be a women’s section on the website. The main ICEM publication, the twice-yearly GLOBALINFO, will contain a page on women’s issues. Gender issues will be given greater priority in global agreements. AND THIS IS THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN. It was decided to send this bulletin out electronically on the 1st of every month. All of these initiatives will only work, however, if we receive sufficient input from YOU, because without the input from our affiliates, there will not be sufficient information to publish. We therefore call upon each and every one of you to send us information.
Binda Pandey, Nepal, ICEM Vice-President, wrote the following suggestions for women to communicate:
These can be the content to share among women’s network as well as include into the Gender WebPages
- ICEM’S Gender policy, 11-points programs and activities
- Women networking/structure under ICEM structure
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Gender proportion in participation
- Decision making structure of ICEM
- Workforce participation in sectoral basis (if possible)
- Participation in activities organized by ICEM as sector and regional basis - National Labor Legislation from gender point of view
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Information collected from affiliates
- Women’s participation as member, congress and executive committee
- Gender participation in activities on annual basis.
- Women’s structure, activities and achievement
- Major gender agendas at workplace and society, which is being dealt by UNION
- Gender demand in CBA process and agreements
- Action against HIV/AIDS and women trafficking
- Ratification of ILO convention related with gender issues
- Gender agenda included into Global Agreements.
b. The ICEM Women’s Committee further decided to prioritise equal pay for work of equal value in the pharmaceuticals industry. This will include giving maximum publicity via the website, publications, press releases, a briefing note and leaflets, posters and stickers. Surveys will be done of major companies, and CEO’s of multinational companies approached. The policy should be pursued in collective bargaining, with ICEM assistance if required.
c. One additional priority will be the offshore oil and gas industry. The ICEM is already involved in the ICEM-ITF Oil and Gas Alliance, a working group with the ITF, the International Transport Workers’ Federation, and gender issues should be included in future meetings of the working group.
d. The women’s committee also heard reports about ICEM’s work on contract and agency labour as well as HIV/AIDS. Women’s involvement in these two areas of work is vital and should be boosted.
2. Brief Report of Evaluation of ICEM/FNV/SASK Equal Opportunities Project in Latin America
The evaluation seminar was held from 24 to 26 May in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The main results of the 3-year project were as follows:
- Significant rise in women’s participation in trade unions, including in leadership. For example, six women union presidents attended the seminar, five of whom were elected as a direct result of the project work.
- Progress in collective bargaining proposals, especially in Chile and Brazil. 70% of the unions involved presented new gender-related proposals in their demands. In Nicaragua the sisters realised that it was a great achievement already having women present in negotiations.
Special highlights were the creation of a permanent parity commission in Sao Paulo to discuss equal opportunities in the pharmaceuticals industry, where a major conference was held in 2004 to discuss gender and bullying at work, attended by 120 employers. The parity commission is a direct result of this conference. A second conference will be proposed to discuss women’s health, with particular emphasis on RSI, repetitive strain injury, which is an epidemic in Brazil.
CNQ-CUT, the Brazilian chemical confederation, has been training 30 women a year with its own resources in the FORMAQUIM program.
In Santa Catarina, the FETIESC federation organised a public hearing on RSI, which was attended by 600 people.
It is important to stress the fact that the experiences in the different countries in Latin America differ greatly due to the political, social and economic contexts. In many countries, negotiations have not even taken place for some time. Of all countries in Latin America, Brazil has the most advanced process of collective bargaining, due to its size, socio-economic situation and the history of the trade union movement.
Work will continue on the oil industry, pharmaceuticals, collective bargaining, health issues such as RSI and HIV/AIDS, contract work and violence against women.
3. Equal Opportunities Agreement at Repsol
On 17 May 2005 the Spanish energy company Repsol YPF concluded an agreement on equal opportunities with the Spanish trade unions FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CCOO. The main objective of the agreement is to improve women’s working position on the job and in their career in the Group’s companies. This will be achieved by:
- Increasing the number of women working in each of the Group’s companies,
- Diversifying the jobs done and functions performed by women,
- Promoting women workers’ participation in job training,
- Re-evaluating women workers’ skills and abilities to guarantee equal pay for work of equal value,
- Making work more compatible with family responsibilities, both for women and men.
The Repsol YPF group will strengthen its role as a Group by committing and advancing equal opportunities policies as part of its strategic plan, which will contribute to its future viability by making the objectives of competitivity and employment more compatible. This will be achieved by:
- Managing human resources to avoid discrimination and to provide real equal opportunities, backed up by permanent social dialogue,
- Committing to the adoption of positive action programs, backed by efficient instruments and adequate funding,
- Promoting changes in attitude detrimental to the achievement of this objective,
- Projecting an image inside and outside of a company committed to equality.
4. Information from Canada
Carol Fraser, CEP Canada, communicated the following website www.gov.on.ca/lab/pec/index.html, which contains information on pay equity in Canada.
For further information on these topics, do not hesitate to contact ICEM.
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