The UITP summit (Union Internationale des Transports Publics), 15 to 17 May 2017, involved 2,500 delegates from 84 countries.
Since 2013 the ITF has signed several global agreements with the UITP, and the ITF activists used the summit to promote these to UITP partners as part of the Our Public Transport programme.
At a joint ITF-UITP workshop on women's employment in public transport held during the summit, Wilma Clement, Barbados Workers Union, spoke on the importance of decent work to ensure women transport workers are treated equitably and that they have access to employment, training, advancement and the best conditions.
"Getting women into paid work cannot be the only solution to women's economic empowerment. Regrettably, unless and until the concept of decent work is accepted and enforced, not much will change."
Leslie Dias, UNIFOR, explained that women face systematic discrimination through workplace harassment, public violence and wage discrimination. She called for internships dedicated to women and mentoring opportunities to ensure better access for women to leadership roles.
At the summit the ITF and UITP proposed to develop a positive corporate gender policy as a joint union and employer project, addressing recruitment, health and safety, qualifications and training, wage equality and work-life balance. They will also identify employers and unions willing to implement the initiative as an example of good practice.
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