Women's Issues
The ITGLWF recognises that the majority of workers in our sectors are women, and that there can be no real trade union democracy without full and equal participation of women at all levels of the trade union movement.
Worldwide, the majority of women in the sector continue to be concentrated in unskilled, low-paying jobs, and are frequently discriminated against in educational and training opportunities. Technological change has heightened these problems.
Furthermore, women are disproportionately affected by violations of human and trade union rights, which occur most frequently in the informal sector, in export processing zones and in small scale businesses, which employ a high proportion of women. In addition, sexual harassment at the workplace and even in unions is common.
Moreover, in most countries it is women who generally assume the burden of family responsibilities, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue full-time employment in conditions of equality.
The ITGLWF will:
-
ensure the full participation of women in all activities and structures of the ITGLWF and its regional organisations, including working towards a goal of half of all members of its governing bodies being women;
-
improve the quality and quantity of its statistical information about women workers and the extent of their participation in affiliated unions;
-
vigorously monitor its education and development aid activities to ensure that they are geared to full equality for women;
-
undertake action to assist affiliates to secure equality of treatment, opportunity and remuneration in all their structures, activities and agreements;
-
support pressure for full access for women to employment, promotion, education and training opportunities through the implementation of joint positive action programmes and equal opportunities policies at the workplace, drawn up with the full involvement of trade unions;
encourage affiliates to take up the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace as well as within the trade union movement itself, and disseminate information on trade union policy and action aimed at protecting workers from this form of victimisation;
-
increase its profile on women’s issues by campaigning on women’s rights and on events relating to women, including International Women’s Day;
-
lobby for a linkage between trade and worker rights which would make trading privileges conditional upon core ILO standards, including non-discrimination as set down in ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 100 on the prevention of discrimination in employment and equal pay for work of equal value;
-
encourage affiliates to campaign for the ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 103 and Recommendation 95 on Maternity Protection;
-
support pressure on governments to ratify and implement ILO Conventions No. 156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities, in order to encourage equality and enable workers with family responsibilities to engage in employment without being subject to discrimination.
