March 8 Update

Thirty-three different countries and many more unions have reported their participation in this year’s activities for International Women’s Day, 8 March.

Ranging from campaigning to encouraging active participation of women in union activities at branch level and organising seminars for women leaders in Tanzania, to demands for specific cabin crew regulations regarding maternity, breastfeeding and childcare in Portugal, women transport workers are campaigning under the slogan "Strong Unions Need Women".

Meetings, forums, seminars and rallies are being organised to mark the 8th March by the Sindicato de Conductores de Taxis de Cartagena, Colombia.

The East Central Railway Karamachari Union, Hajipur, India, will march in front of the railway station to push for equality for women transport workers. The union will also focus on organising young women transport workers - one of the major focuses for this year’s campaign.

"This year’s activities are very focused on organising and recruiting women into unions, and are very practical" said Sarah Finke, ITF Women’s Officer.

For more information, visit the campaign activities pages.

Arab World women’s network launches

Ten women from the Arab region have been nominated to form the core of a network for women transport workers.

The women were nominated following an education event which took place on 11 -12 December in Beirut, Lebanon; nominees will communicate with each other and assist the ITF’s office in Amman, Jordan, to keep up to date with gender and transport issues

During the successful seminar in December, women from Lebanon, Bahrein, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco decided on a raft of education, communications and campaigning methods to address the negative effects on working conditions of privatisation and deregulation.

The participants discussed the impact of globalisation for women in the different transport sectors.

and older women had been marginalised and some laid off, or been encouraged to leave their jobs. Women had been impoverished as a result – and past 45 years of age, it was very difficult to get another job. Temporary contracts with inferior conditions and increased working hours were introduced. Staff had been transferred to inferior jobs in ticket sales – sometimes women were forced to change city, or travel long distances as a result of such transfers.

- In aviation, privatisation and open skies policies had led to fierce competition and to subcontracting. The numbers of workers had decreased, and benefits had worsened for those who kept their jobs. Temporary employment had increased and wages plummeted. Women were vulnerable to management pressure because of their economic situation. Trade unions were losing their strength. Young workers with high level IT skills were however getting a foothold in the industry.

- In the maritime sector, port privatisation had impacted on workers – both men and women. Temporary contracts had been given especially to women, whose employment was seen as secondary. Working hours had been extended.

"We are now waiting for a decision at Congress that the ITF can allocate a women’s committee seat for the Arab region" said Arab World Coordinator Bilal Malkawi "that will be a real boost to women in this region".

Making unions stronger in the ITF Regions

Several regional meetings for women took place last year.

The ETF Women Conference in May in 2005 concluded a detailed policy and work programme for the organisation.

The Asia/Pacific Women’s Conference in Delhi in September 2005 agreed structural measures to improve women’s representation in that region.

The African Regional Conference and Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conferences for Women Transport Workers, which both concluded in November, called for concrete measures to give women a clear voice in ITF structures – and emphasised the need for women’s structures in unions themselves.

Conference calls for leadership

Under the slogan "Making Unions Stronger - Working for Women in Transport Worldwide" the ITF Women Transport Workers’ Conference on 22-23 September 2004 discussed the gender effects of globalisation, focused on organising from a gender perspective, debated sexism in airlines and discussed gender in the logistics industry.

The meeting concluded that unions must revitalise themselves and face the challenges of the future by involving women at the forefront of the international struggle for decent work and societies.

"Trade unions need to build alliances with progressive social movements and civil society, and international organisation is vital in the defence of both male and female workers’ rights" said Alicia Castro, ITF Vice-President.

The ITF Women’s Committee needed to ensure its structure reflected the diversity of women transport workers so that young women, call centre and logistics workers, and women from all regions were involved. Other resolutions included a call to support women’s leadership in trade unions and gather best practice data on dealing with gender issues.

Road transport safety survey

A new survey focusing on safety issues for women working in the road transport industry has been launched, via the ITF website.

Unions will be asked to circulate the short questionnaire, which is multiple-choice format, to women members, with the aim of assessing some of the safety concerns faced by women working in road transport internationally.

Women in road transport - whether they are truck drivers, working in bus stations, carrying out clerical work, or cleaning premises and vehicles, suffer from specific safety issues. These range from exposure to fumes, to violence, vibration and muscular-skeletal problems.

"The ITF wants road tranport unions to focus on the issues faced by women members" Road Transport Section Secretary Mac Urata said. "By improving health and safety conditions for women we can make conditions better for all".

T&G Women Win Toilet War

Last month, following pressure from the ITF’s British affiliate the Transport and General Workers Union, the Harbour Master at the UK port of Flokestone announced the opening of a women’s toilet - where previously only men had been catered for.

Pressure was brought to bear following action by the local T&G branch. Rachael Webb, the T&G branch secretary, said the inspiration had come from women bus workers in Bristol who started the campaign with a resolution to the ITF.

"It comes to something when we have to celebrate the opening of a toilet," said Ms. Webb. "But this means a lot to us and we say ‘thank you’ to the harbour master and the Bristol women bus drivers who have opened the door for us."

The campaign arose as a result of a resolution from the T&G Bristol Passenger Services Branch to the ITF Women’s Conference in August.

Ms. Webb stressed that this is not only a "women’s issue". "Frequently having to "hold oneself in" has very serious, even fatal, consequences for men who can develop prostate cancer," she said. "Our reasonable demand for toilet and shower facilities for all transport workers is a matter of importance for all of us."

Pledging to continue the campaign, Ms. Webb said her T&G branch would keep the pressure on employers through the union and the ITF.

For more information, see the TGWU website.

Calling women seafarers

Seafarers’ unions have been asked to nominate officials responsible for gender, with the aim of building ITF expertise and resources in this area.

Please contact the ITF for a copy of the nomination forms, should your union wish to submit a name.