INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU)
ICFTU OnLine 047/000308/DD
International Women's Day (I) Working Women Launch World Women's March
March 8 2000 Brussels (ICFTU OnLine): Trade union women round the world will be using International Women's Day, March 8, to launch the trade union aspect of the World March of Women Against Poverty and Violence.
The march has already attracted the interest of 3000 groups in 143 countries, and will be mobilising millions of women worldwide. Women trade unionists are involved and will be lobbying for the march's demands which particularly touch on the lives of women workers: * measures to combat the structural causes of poverty; * equal rights for women in the workplace; * a respect for core labour standards, including the recognition of the importance of unionisation for women's rights at work; * the improvement of working conditions in free trade zones * an end to speculation through implementing the Tobin tax.
On March 8 women trade unionists will be organising conferences, assemblies, workplace meetings and press conferences, as well as distributing leaflets on the situation of women workers in their countries. This activity will be carried through to the ICFTU's Congress in Durban, South Africa, April 3 - 7, where the ICFTU is working with its South African affiliates, COSATU, NACTU and FEDUSA to organise activities to publicise the march.
Beginning on March 8, and throughout the year, women trade unionists will be collecting signatures on petitions and getting women to sign cards to support their demands. These will be delivered to the United Nations in New York at a rally on October 17, the World Day for the Elimination of Poverty.
Campaigning on New ILO Convention on Maternity Protection In addition to launching the World March, women trade unionists will be using International Women's Day as the opportunity to step up campaigning for a new ILO Convention on Maternity Protection to be adopted at the International Labour Conference, in Geneva, this June.
The present Convention 103 (passed in 1952) protected maternity rights. While everyone agrees that it needs to be updated, the unions want to ensure that a new one embodies six key rights to give the best possible protection to women, particularly as globalisation is making women's work more insecure. The key demands are as follows: * that it protects the rights of all working women, whether in full time, part time, homeworkers, or casual workers: * that it covers all women, whether they are married, and whether their children are born in or outside marriage; * that maternity leave should include a period of compulsory leave of 6 weeks to protect the health of the mother and child, * that it ensures economic security during the maternity leave period, * that it prohibits pregnant and nursing mothers from being dismissed or discriminated against at work, * that it allows women to breastfeed their children at work.
During first discussions which were held at the International Labour Conference in 1999, it was clear that employer groups and a number of governments were trying to water down current protections. So between March 8 and June this year unions will be working hard to make sure that all workers, both men and women, governments and employers understand about the rights which must be enshrined in the new Convention to protect working mothers with newborn children.
Unions, and especially their women's sections, will be running campaigns amongst their members and at their workplaces, through journals and bulletins, posters, leaflets and information sessions. They will also be approaching employers, asking them to commit themselves to a charter of minimum maternity protection, based on the six key rights. The unions will be fighting to make sure that the international instrument adopted at the ILO in June includes the best possible standards for maternity protection.
ICFTU affiliates are working on the campaign, as are the International Secretariats, in particular the Public Services International and the Education International.
Beijing Plus 5 The ICFTU is making a submission on behalf of the ICFTU, the Public Services International and Education International to the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in New York this week, which is preparing its submission to the June Beijing + 5 meeting.
As part of their demands the unions are asking that the following items should be prioritised in the Beijing Platform: * governments must observe ILO Conventions, particularly covering core labour rights; * the link between trade and union rights must be acknowledged; * there must be an assessment of macro-economic policies on all women, particularly structural adjustment programmes, and the reduction of state services; * the unions' important role in promoting women's equality must be stressed; * work must be done to ensure equal pay for equal work; improving health and security at work, particularly maternity protection and dealing with double discrimination facing women from ethnic minorities, migrant women, young women and disabled women, * the important role that quality state education plays in preventing girls from becoming involved in child labour must be emphasised.
All in all, trade union women will be working to ensure that the world remembers that March 8 is International Women's Day!
The ICFTU 17th World Congress takes place in Durban South Africa from April 3 - 7, with more than 1000 trade union leaders. The Congress theme is Globalising Social Justice. There will be a pre-Congress Symposium for women trade union leaders on April 1, at the Durban International Conference Centre
For further details please contact ICFTU Press Department on: ++322 224 0212