75 women from ITF road, rail, civil aviation and urban transport unions, and members of the ITF women’s committee, met in Bali last week to build on or kick start their work around tackling violence women transport workers face in their daily lives.
Of particular focus were the potential expansion of a women’s advocacy programme as championed by Canadian member union Unifor, and the part unions can play in their home countries in campaigning and lobbying for an ILO (International Labour Organisation) convention covering violence against women at work.
The convention – ‘violence against women and men in the world of work’ - is due for discussion at an ILO experts meeting in October with a view to potentially coming being adopted in 2019. It would be the first official international treaty that specifically focuses on violence at work.
Talking about her experience during the forum one participant said: “We do a lot of talking about violence against women and this forum was an opportunity to share stories and experiences. But more than that it was a chance to be practical and to say this is what I can do however big or small, this is the part I can play and my union can play in moving one step closer to the eradication of violence against women.“
Interviews, pictures, reports and comments were captured on the ITF violence free workplaces for women blog throughout the event. Access it here.
Go to the ITF women’s pages for more on the work of the ITF and its unions around supporting women transport workers.
