International solidarity

BELGIUM

Women trade unionists are supporting the Justice for Jimena Lopez campaign and are increasing the representation of women within the union.

SPAIN

DOCKS / PORTS

The Social Dialogue Committee for Ports had adopted a document about women's employment, including recruitment and working conditions for women. Women's employment has increased as technology has led to much port work becoming less physical.

Now the document has been adopted, it needs to be implemented. The strategy is based on raising awareness and changing the image of port work rather than on imposing quotas. Some trade unions have objected to this initiative, as they see women as "taking men's jobs".

The European Transport Workers' Federation's Women's Committee meets twice per year to discuss issues facing women transport workers across Europe and to drive forward the programme of work agreed by the four-yearly ETF Women's Conference.

WOMEN'S HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK

An ETF Women’s Committee meeting consists of the elected Committee members, representatives of each sector (railways, civil aviation, etc), guests from affiliated trade unions, local women trade unionists (this time, from Antwerp port), and ETF staff. At the next meeting, we will be joined by the newly-elected young women’s representative. I have proposed that RMT arranges for our National Women’s Advisory Committee Chair, Becky Crocker, to attend the next meeting, in March 2015.

Women’s Health and Safety at Work

Women Working at Antwerp Port

Having begun working as a receptionist in 1975, Monique Verbeeck is the first female secretary of the Belgian port union, BTB. She is also the ITF and ETF women port workers’ representative. Monique introduced a deputation of women union activists from the Port of Antwerp, who addressed the meeting and took us on a visit to the port.

A DHL worker told us that port working is no longer entirely a “man’s world”, although it is still male-dominated.

Country Reports

Spain

From 2007, the socialist government introduced equality legislation and a framework to demand action against sexism and harassment. But since then, the situation has been worsened by economic crisis, with equalities driven off the agenda, curbs on collective bargaining, crèches closed, and equality plans dropped.

There has been a “dualisation of the labour market”, a split between secure workers and precarious workers, who are harder to unionise.

More from the ETF Women's Committee meeting on 19-20 March 2014

The ETF Women's Committee meeting on 19-20 March 2014 heard the following reports:

SECTION REPORTS

Civil aviation
Unions are campaigning for a non-punitive reporting system, and demanding consistency of workplace rules across all grades, from cabin crew (female-dominated) to pilots (male-dominated).

Dock/Ports

• Working in ports is very ‘women-unfriendly’. The unions are raising two main issues: the recruitment of women to port jobs; and improving working conditions for women.

On Wednesday 18 March, the ETF Women’s Committee attended a public hearing on Work-Life Balance and Gender Equality, held by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. Click this link for event information, including some of the speakers' presentations. The afternoon was divided into two sessions, each addressed by a panel of speakers followed by a question-and-answer session.