Transcript European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)

European Transport
Workers’ Federation (ETF)
WOMEN’S COMMITTEE
Janine 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
COUNTRIES
22
UNIONS

The work of the previous four years
41
DELEGATES

Country visits

Economic crisis

Training package – now available

ETF Urban Transport Committee project on women’s employment
94
0
20
40
60
80
100
Work plan 2013-2017
 Workplace
 Women’s
violence
health and safety at work
 Recruitment
trade unions
 Women
and promotion of women in
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? 
ver.di executive
0 0
6 men
8
women
Women and the economic crisis

ILO: 2008-2011
but
One in seven transport
workers were women.
three-quarters of transport
jobs lost were women’s jobs
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%



00
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’
31.8%
not in work
68.2% 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
Finnair cabin crew
Finnair technical workers
0 0
00
8% women
25% men
75% women
92% men
Finland: gender segregation in transport
00
0
2 are women
1,000 railyard
workers
36 are
women
1770 train drivers
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
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:
 [email protected]
 07957-217639
 @JanineBooth