European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) WOMEN’S COMMITTEE Janine Booth, March 2014
Dec 31, 2015
European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)
WOMEN’S COMMITTEEJanine Booth, March 2014
ETF and its Women’s Committee
Transport trade unions from across Europe
UK affiliates include RMT, TSSA, ASLEF, Unite, Nautilus and others
Campaigns on issues such as the EU Rail Packages (privatisation)
Women’s Committee elected at Women’s Conference every four years (2013-2017)
Meets twice per year
last meeting in Helsinki in September 2013
next in Brussels 19-20 March 2014
For the first time, RMT now has a nominee on the Committee
ETF Women’s Conference 2013
May 2013, Berlin
The work of the previous four years
Country visits
Economic crisis
Training package – now available
ETF Urban Transport Committee project on women’s employment
Delegates
Unions
Countries
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
94
41
22
Work plan 2013-2017
Workplace violence
Women’s health and safety at work
Recruitment and promotion of women in trade unions
Women and the economic crisis
Workplace Violence
We need to change the culture that
violence at work is part of the job.
It’s none of my business.
It’s totally unacceptable.
Sexual harassment/ assault:
You should take it as a compliment.
It’s totally unacceptable.
Workplace violence: what are we going to do about it?
25 November: annual day for the elimination of violence against women and girls
Collate good practice – and bad practice!
Guidance and ETF policy
Highlight impact of austerity measures on levels of violence
Poster – ‘Violence and abuse against women transport workers – it’s not part of the job’
Working group: Janine, Ekaterina, Brigitta
Women’s health and safety at work
Concern: women’s health and safety issues often overlooked because women are more likely to work in jobs with less obvious physical dangers
Workplace stress and bullying
Develop training module on women’s health and safety
Working group set up
What issues would you like to see included?
Women in trade unions
country visits
meetings with women in workplaces
meeting with union executives and women reps
‘Women: Making Unions Stronger’
‘A Woman’s Place is in her Union’
training package
designed to be used in different settings
formal as well as informal
Too many women – good, strong
women – are lost to the trade union
movement by discrimination.
Progress in women’s representation
ETUC has its first female General Secretary
Half the ETF Rail and Road Section Executives are women
8 out of 14 members of ver.di Executive are women
Some unions have reserved seats or quotas to ensure women’s representation
How does RMT compare?
8 wome
n
6 men
ver.di executive
Women and the economic crisis
ILO: 2008-2011
One in seven transport workers were women.
three-quarters of transport jobs lost were women’s jobs
but
Women and the economic crisis
Precarious work / casualisation
Women concentrated in jobs that are insecure, temporary, part-time, low-paid
Known in Germany as ‘mini-jobs’, “based on the prejudice that when women have children, they return to the home and only work for pocket money”
Arguing for a set of demands to defend women transport workers eg.
Defend public services – reverse privatisation and contracting-out
End low pay – make the minimum wage a living wage
Childcare
Women migrant workers
Women migrating across Europe, working in transport
Often in most low-paid, insecure, super-exploited jobs eg. contract cleaning
ETF and unions should work hard to recruit and organise these workers
Exciting possibilities for international solidarity eg.Bulgarian trade unionists - ‘We support RMT London Underground cleaners!’
Through ETF, can arrange for women trade unionists from these countries to visit UK and help RMT communicate with and organise migrant workers
Has been proposed to RMT Executive, but decision deferred
Finland: women’s employment
Women’s employment rate = 68.2%
higher than the EU average
Casualisation and part-time work is increasing
Service sector is growing
-> women’s jobs not hit as hard by the economic crisis as men’s jobs
Over the age of 40, women’s employment is higher than men’s
Unemployment -> growth of ‘shadow economy’
68.2% in work
31.8% not in work
Finland: limited progress for women
1966-70: committee on women’s position in society
Full-time childcare -> increase in women’s employment
Equal pay legislation 1962: pay still unequal
More women paid less than 1800 euros per month than men paid less than 2000 euros per month
Finland: gender segregation in transport
Service sector mainly women
Industrial sector mainly men
25% men
75% women
Finnair cabin crew
92% men
8% women
Finnair technical workers
Finland: gender segregation in transport
1,000 railyard workers
2 are women
1770 train drivers
36 are women
Finland: gender pay gap
7% of women in supervisory posts
25% of men
Even disregarding sector and supervisory position, there is still a pay gap of 8% between men and women
Finland: sexism at work
Men receive more workplace training than women do
Employers will not hire women because they don’t have facilities eg. changing rooms
Regular sexist comments at work
Raising equality issues is seen as ‘trouble making’
Violence and verbal abuse against women transport workers
Law requires all companies to have an equality plan and employer/employee committee
Men workers often oppose women working there, and the public companies are not doing enough to challenge sexism and gender segregation.
Finland: privatising public transport
All public sector companies, including transport, are being sold
Largest party in the parliament is the National Coalition (equivalent of Conservative Party in the UK)
Green Party also part of the government – holds position of Transport Minister, privatising state-owned transport companies
Helsinki Metro to go ‘driverless’ next year: lessons from the unions’ failure to stop this
The gender pay gap across Europe
ETUC ‘Bargaining for Equality’ project
Gender pay gap (gross hourly earnings) across Europe:
2007: 17.6%
2011: 16.2%
Gap in take-home pay will be even higher
Gender pay gap narrowing, but
Not nearly fast enough
Partly due to fall in men’s incomes
We want to close the gap through levelling-up not levelling-down!
It is – or at least it should be –
shocking that such
inequality still exists.
Gender pay gap – why?
straightforward discrimination (10-15%)
bargaining coverage
unequal balance of work and family
women’s over-representation in part-time, temporary, casual, low-paid jobs
workplace segregation: ‘women’s jobs’ paid less
gender socialisation
‘glass ceiling’
level of legal minimum wage
overall level of gender equality in society
overall level of pay inequality in society
Gender pay gap – what are we going to do about it?
Demand and compile information
Assess pay claims and pay offers for impact on gender pay gap
Oppose performance-related pay and reliance on overtime
Flat-rate pay increases
Childcare / work-life balance provision
Example: London Underground station staff
Equal Pay Day
The day on which women in the UK effectively work for nothing for the rest of the year due to the gender pay gap
7 November
2013
Where do we go from here?
look at how RMT can use the ETF Women’s Committee training package
consider information on what strategies different European unions use to encourage women’s participation and ask women members’ views on these
consider arranging a visit by Bulgarian women trade unionists
use strategies to tackle the gender pay gap
use and circulate ETF (and ITF) materials
What more would you like the union to do?
How would you like to get involved?
Keep in touch
Reports and information: www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/women
ETF website: www.itfglobal/etf/women.cfm
Contact Janine:
07957-217639
@JanineBooth